Andromeda

My daughter Ashley, the new bride, called me today. She is somewhat frustrated, and I can sympathize. She is trying to adjust to life on her own, go to school work, take care of a child, adjust to married life, try to keep her apartment in a state they can at least walk through, and keep up with one small cat.

The cat broke Ashley's last straw. Andromeda is not the neatest little cat in the world. She scatters her litter, she jumps up on stuff and breaks things, wakes you up in the middle of the night by using your nose as a scratching post, and today her messy toilet habits prompted the immediate need for a kitty bath.

Feeling completely overwhelmed, Ashly asked me if I would be willing to take Andromeda back home. She felt bad about it, but I didn't mind. I am used to kids, to messes, to less then helpful around the house spouses, and I am used to pets, and I long ago got used the fact that my house rarely sees completely clean status.

Little Drama was a rescue brought home by my youngest child. She was the second rescue we had adopted, the first being Chernobyll. This cat was a scruffy disaster, ear mites, fleas, dirt and skinny to boot. It didn't take long for the gorgeous cat she was destined to be to become apparent, however, and soon she was ruling the nest despite being half the size of my other two.

When Ashley and Derek found their townhouse, Derek wanted to take a cat over to the place. As he was there for a couple of months before Ashley and Helene's moved in, he thought having a kitty would help him feel less lonely. Well it didn't, as he spent most of his time here with us. Of my three cats, he picked Andromeda. They tried taking Chernobyll as well, but poor Nobyll takes to any life adjustments badly very badly. She lasted 4 hours away, before I had to go fetch her home.

Andromeda stayed in the town house just three months. Long enough to gain weight and get used to being the top cat around the place. Now we all have to adjust. I had just gotten used to a three cat home, so I adjusted once again to a two cat house, now its three again. At least I gained a new kitty condo, more food and litter and a better litter box out of the deal. The newlyweds gained one less entity to clean up after. Helene' will have one more kitty to chase and harrass when she comes and visits. The felines in question? Well after they stop posturing and snarling at each other they will proceed to steal all the covers off my bed when I sleep. Andromeda will soon learn how to be an effective alarm clock, and changing the litter box will be done more frequently now