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The School Board ruined it. "Mothers Held Hostage" ended on the eve of Day 5. I think there were threats. We had what was going to be a 10 day vacation going there. So what would normally be a TGIF is feeling more like a Monday. Since Monday is a holiday, I think we will all be completely out of whack for quite some time! The snow is still on the ground but reports indicate a warming trend is on the way (migraine confirmed) so I guess the Snow-In/Snow Out of 2011 will be over shortly.

I can clean the house though. That would be good. Do some laundry. Get ready for CWC tomorrow. Spread some more de-icer. Check a neighborhood for a Lost Kitty sign that I received an email tip on. Put a poster up over there if I don't find theirs. We had one close call, but it ended up not being their black & white cat Cookie. We heard all about him, and how they named him that because of an argument about the merits of Oreo as a name. Mariah and I were shooting looks likes crazy! We tried Cookie out on McKitty, but to no avail. I don't think he has a name. He doesn't answer to anything. Not CAT, not Kitty-Kitty, not even Bob. I spent an hour last night just throwing out names every now and then to see if I got lucky. During that time I concluded, he was a Man's Cat. McKitty loves to have his tummy firmly rubbed in any direction. He does not play with toys. He was not fixed. He probably lives in a garage and spends the majority of time outdoors. He responds excellently to FOOD, but doesn't hear his own name...and come on Kitty-Kitty-Kitty is universal!

I am praying about whether or not to follow up on an offer for him. I don't want to give away someone's pet, but I just can't decide what to do. It is very possible that in this snow, he just couldn't smell his way home. Or his owner got stuck out of state and was unable to return home and refill the food dish in the garage. I could just let him out again and put food out and see what happens. If he sticks around, I can decide what to do then. But my cats will end up fighting the intruder. If I go that route, and he sticks around, my choices are to recapture him and remove him, or get McKitty vaccinated and neutered for my cats safety, basically making it my "outdoor cat" It's not the best option because a bite or a wound on my cats will end up costing me a vet visit and antibiotics. If he was fixed, I could afford to wait much longer but the musk glands in unaltered male cats is STINKY. I have to decide soon, because I can't take that smell much longer. Poor McKitty. He really is a sweetheart. He definitely has had owners. What I can't figure out is why he wasn't fixed and why they hadn't missed him yet. In this weather, in the low teens at night, a pet owner would bring their cat in at night or at least make sure there was a warm and dry place. By the time I found him he had to have missed several meals and water to come meowing for help. That cat drinks more water than I've ever seen a cat down. I'm pretty sure McKitty was keeping warm in car engines judging from his dirty paws and the smell on him when I first found him. That went away and was replaced by his current he-cat odor.

One good thing that has come from this is it's helped me think about an idea I had to test the market in the area for in-home cat pet-sitting. There are pet sitters who will go to your house to feed your pets, and there are places you can take your pets for long term housing. But for cats, those places aren't so hot. The cat has to live in a space the size of a cupboard if it is a posh facility. Half of the space is for the litterbox. It's like taking your cat to the pound for a couple of weeks. But if you have to give medication or will be gone for a long time, your neighborhood kid might not be an option for you. I have a friend who boards dogs and gets about $25 a day. I was thinking boarding cats in one of the spare rooms might be worth a try. McKitty doesn't seem to mind being a free renter, except he really wants OUT now! Being the gentlemen he is though, he hasn't clawed anything... just looks out the window and meows to let you know when you come in. Until you put down the food. Then it's all business.