Old Cat Lady.
An observation:
If I were to decide that my niche is OLD CATS… that would make me the OLD CAT LADY.
And perhaps, then finally, I might FULFILL MY DESTINY.
Conveniently, I already have the perfect outfit:
FANNY PACK
SHIRT WITH CATS
It’s like I was born ready.
I’ve taken (in succession, not simultaneously) four adult cats; two of whom were waiting at the shelter OVER SEVEN MONTHS.
Can you imagine sitting in a box, in a room with no windows, FOR SEVEN MONTHS?
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
The three below GOT ADOPTED!!
(the fourth is hiding at my feet, under the desk as I type!)
It’s easy to overlook the adults at the shelter, in favor of ERMAGAWD SQEEE DA FWUFFY FWUFF PANTS… but the shelter is not overrun with munchkins (yet) AND my life is going through one of those all-you-can-eat-stress-buffets where you are just COUNTING THE WEEKS UNTIL IT CAN BE OVER.
So I gave my task-list a break and took some adults. And I have to say that fostering adult shelter cats is ZERO work, in comparison to the kittenmonsterbabiesofdeliciousness who somehow REQUIRE ALL OF YOUR BRAIN ATTENTION BECAUSE KITTENS.
We also had a new scruffy stray grey guy show up at our house; he is SO good-natured!
Considering his age and obvious/long/adult life as a tomcat, (adult, un-neutered males develop a distinctive head and thicker body), not to mention a face full of scars! I’m certain he is VERY USED to roaming; I assume we are close to whatever territory he lived in before he showed up here.
So I don’t think getting him adopted somewhere else is the best solution for HIM… and he has already settled right in with my other full-time porch-cat.
I got him fixed, but not his ear tipped, because as soon as he sees me, he RUNS to me calling– hello! hello! There is no doubt that he is definitely mine now! I have been inviting him in, and he will come in just to the doorway, so we will see if he wants to have an inside home by next winter.
Also for what it’s worth, our porch is not a horrible place to live! Here is the index of our porch renovation… or here is the finished/after.
Also, the staff here makes the porch cats shelters with heated mats that are heavy-duty design for use outside.
BUT! So MANY stray animals DON’T have an old cat lady’s porch to live on with heated mats!! They brave freezing weather, lack of food, and very short and hard lives… PLEASE HELP RAISE AWARENESS OF HOW IMPORTANT SPAY AND NEUTER IS!
On top of that, almost ALL of the kittens who are euthanized at shelters are born to the stray, feral, and other unfixed cats who live outside in our neighborhoods… TNR prevents the suffering of kittens born to a very hard life!!
If you love animals, please get involved with TNR programs!
Trap. Neuter. Return.
If there isn’t one near you, BE THE PERSON WHO STARTS ONE.
Don’t JUST be an animal lover!
Be an INVOLVED animal lover!
I just did these two boys!!
I caught BOTH of them in one cage! Had them fixed and their ears tipped and sent them back to their clan… who will keep me busy for the next however-long-to-catch-them-all.
Because AN OLD CAT LADY’S WORK IS NEVER DONE.
We’re like The Knights of the Round Table, but with pajama pants and oversized handbags.
❤🐾💕amo feles pavitant finguntque 🌱🐯🐒
Ally
April 9, 2018 @ 12:01 pm
I have TNR several cats over the years, including some that ‘belonged’ to negligent neighbors. I plan on being a foster once my current old gal lives her life. She is too persnickety to get along with others and I just want her to live in peace. I’m not sure how it’s done elsewhere, but here in Tampa, there are two places that do TNR at extremely low price. Animal Coalition of Tampa and The Humane Society of Tampa. We also have a group called Ferrel Feline who has a lot of people who trap cats each week. Tampa is very overrun with ferrel cats. I’m glad to see you voice the TNR needs for the kitty population.
Martha
April 9, 2018 @ 12:04 pm
Great article. Thank you for doing TNR and everything else you do to help the kitties!
Susie Durrschmidt
April 9, 2018 @ 12:16 pm
Your cats are beautiful! Can’t wait to meet #4. I now live fully understanding those signs I used to see along the way “your outfit isn’t complete unless covered in cat hair” and “cats are like potato chips, you just can’t have one”.
Nonya B.
April 9, 2018 @ 12:21 pm
I’m on a fastrack to cat-ladydom as I work with 2 local TNR groups and help maintain a half dozen feral colonies. Kitten season came early because of the summer-like heat all winter here in CA, so our colonies are crawling with baby fluffyness and our trappers barely have time to sleep!
Having 4 of my own “unadoptable” house lions (2 are special needs with CH, another with asthma) pretty much the only gifts I receive anymore are objects with cats on them. I’m being forced into Cat Lady status by kitschy default! I plan on opening an Instagram museum of Kitty Kat Kitsch, lol!
Thank you for raising awareness to TNR needs and for your wildly entertaining blog!
Lindsay
April 9, 2018 @ 12:59 pm
Thank you for your dedication to this, VEB. It’s clear that you walk the talk, as you are willing to bring in feline after feline IN SPITE of all the lovely gilded and velvety things in your home. Priorities. Keep up the good work.
Lisa D.
April 9, 2018 @ 1:36 pm
Victoria,
Please tell me where you got your shirt.
Lisa Smith
April 9, 2018 @ 1:40 pm
Thank you for loving the adults and seniors. I am an Old Dog Lady myself. I have a rescue for geriatric, special needs and hospice pugs. We currently have 13 pugs, one ancient pekingese and the oddball heeler/shepherd mix who has made it her job to tend to her herd of pugs.
They live with us in our home and due to the unpleasant fact that most are incontinent, and they consume all of my money, it requires me to abstain from ultra-fancy in favor of easy to clean. So my love of huge, heavy and old things has focused on the Craftsman era. Craftsman = sturdy and easy to clean! My heart goes aflutter at the sight of quartersawn oak or oversized mahogany. I need a bigger house because I simply have no more room for the next fabulous two ton humongous piece of loveliness…..and I need more squishy-face old dogs.
Melanie Plum
April 9, 2018 @ 1:44 pm
I hope you follow KittenxLady (Hannah Shaw) on instagram! You two remind me so much of each other…except maybe without the GFTs 🙂
Ann
April 9, 2018 @ 2:44 pm
To show you how pathetic I am, I tried to click on “shirt with cats on it” thinking there would be a link. I am so happy that you are helping these kitties. I have helped a few over the years, but have retired from the business. Although, I still become extremely excited when a cat occasionally cuts across our back yard. Luckily, we don’t see many stray cats around these parts anymore.
Lisa W.
April 9, 2018 @ 3:00 pm
I am with you . I feed strays and have done so for years. I catch and find homes for the ones that I can ( which have been many ) and I have proper subzero housing in my yard available for those that want it . All are neutered or spayed . There are very few left now … but I will continue on … because more poor , desperate souls will show up . Thanks for spreading the word and for doing all that you do for animals ! It’s truly wonderful !
dee
April 9, 2018 @ 3:44 pm
Love how involved you are and how you take the time to “spotlight” issues like this………keep it up! You are a wonderful soul to give your love to orphans and then let them go to forever homes, as well as reminding people how wonderful older cats can be. I cannot imagine a life without animals…….my rescue cats and dogs……they will always repay me with unconditional love, and all it took was an open heart. I hope others will read your posts and be encouraged to make a difference in an animals life, get involved and adopt, foster or support their local shelters.
Vicky Evans
April 9, 2018 @ 3:48 pm
Why do you tip their ears? Just wondering. I had someone bring a found female kitten to me a couple years ago. I kept her inside & was saving up to get her fixed (full price) when she went into heat. She clawed her way through the upstairs window screen & jumped 2 tall stories down (I live in an old victorian house with 12 ft ceilings) to go get laid. Next thing I had 5 kittens, she birthed 4 & my vet asked me to foster a new born with no mama. My vet had a spay neuter clinic charging only $20 a cat so I got everybody fixed. I feel responsible for them entering the world so I have kept them all. I now am the crazy cat lady with 7 cats total. Also 3 dogs all rescues, 1 a huge Great Pyrenees. Yes, I am officially nuts. Love my animals.
Amy Stees
April 9, 2018 @ 4:24 pm
What does tipping their ears do?
Barb
April 10, 2018 @ 9:06 am
Tipping allows others to know that this cat has been neutered and released. It’s an easy and permanent way to identify cats that have been trapped before when you are working on a colony or other large population of feral cats.
https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/veterinary/eartipping
Sunnie Mitchell
April 9, 2018 @ 4:33 pm
VEB, you are an absolute STAR – thank-you for your blog, your fostering kittens and seniors, the porch cats, and TNR. We do something of the same over here in Scotland (TNR). Off-topic (sort of) our neutered Si-Abby cross is 12 and has to be kept inside after murdering a neighbour’s 14yo rose parrot she’d left on the terrace with the cage door open – the last of too many kills. He still doesn’t like being on the permanent KASBO (Kat Anti-Social Behaviour Order, no such thing really but it’s what we tell him:) but the neighbourhood peace has been restored these past five years…
Di Elliott
April 9, 2018 @ 5:23 pm
What a great person you are Ive fostered babies but with 3 adults of my own adult cats create difficult tensions.
Pam H
April 9, 2018 @ 5:35 pm
Thank you! I’m another one who has caught, fixed and re-homed strays … or ended up with new house kitties! People are so irresponsible! I once had a cat that kept coming to visit … I found out where this very affectionate cat lived, and kept taking him back (without the collar with the bell, in a rural area full of predators) … they didn’t know/care that he had been gone for days, multiple times. The last time he came to visit, I gave him to a friend … and then found out his owners had moved and LEFT HIM! Argghhh … at least I got him into a good home!
Mare
April 9, 2018 @ 5:43 pm
Good for you on the fosters and TNR, my vet does not tip ears ( to identify neutered cats) but puts a bit of tattoo ink under the skin under the sutures at closure. If you parted the fur on my white cats belly it was blue. Therefore, Lucy the blue-bellied sneetch ( Dr. Suess)
Marianne in Mo.
April 9, 2018 @ 6:10 pm
Love that you are helping the cat community. We once had a neighbor who did TNR on a few kitties in our subdivision, however, she moved away. Happily, the cats continued to live around the area, and I would put out food for them until we no longer saw them around. Yes, they would catch birds and other critters, but I could handle that. Just knowing they were not killed just because they were not loved was a good thing. You are an old cat lady superhero in my eyes. Personally, we have a big stray dog problem here, so I support that effort and help the cats as well with funds. I’m not able to physically help otherwise, or I would be there in a flash!
Kate
April 9, 2018 @ 7:21 pm
My shelter pup has a 1” long green stripe tattoo on his belly, indicating that he’s been neutered.
Genevieve
April 9, 2018 @ 8:18 pm
Those are hardly a run-of-the mill cat shirt and fanny pack, Victoria. I like that, if you are going to embrace the stereotype, you are going to be absolutely fabulous about it.
Also, YES!, please foster and adopt older animals (dogs and cats). They are usually so much easier than kittens and puppies, and often times, the information about their personalities which a foster parent can provide is the missing piece that “sells” them to their new families. Additionally, black cats and dogs of all ages sit in the shelters FAR longer than others. Foster and promote them, too!
For those who cannot foster, shelters ALWAYS need volunteers to walk, play with, and care for the animals. Not your thing? What about doing laundry, writing social media posts, or filing paperwork? Shelters need help there, as well!
Thank you, Victoria, for this wonderful post, and for continuing to raise awareness about animals in need!