Six cats now reside in my house.
I don't know how it happened -- Richard and I had vowed to stop with four, which already put me close to the category of "crazy cat lady". Our four -- the fat curmudgeon Stinkerbelle, the shy flower Me-Me, the calico lady Girlie-Girl, and the diva Snowy (or Ironic Cat, given she's totally black) coexisted in mutual disdain for each other.
Then, a student of mine brought a kitten to my office and asked me to watch it for her. The kitten was a mangy, skinny ginger boy who acted as if he'd never gotten affection in his whole life. Naturally, when the student couldn't keep Chuckie, I volunteered to adopt him. -- who am I kidding. My husband told me I had to (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).
Chuckie, a year later, is this immensely lanky cat who greets people by running up to them and digging his claws into their butt. He chases Girlie around, and she grunts and snarls at him. For the most part, though, the other cats are used to him.
Then we had to adopt another cat. Dreamsicle, an orange and white cat, started taking up residence in our garage this last summer. He had clearly adopted us as evidenced by his morning greetings, and we fed and watered him outside daily. Then he showed up one day with a long laceration at the base of his tail that looked like something tried to take his tail clear off. The vet who stitched him up told us that we'd have to keep him inside three to four days.
"This cat isn't going back outside, is he?" I asked Richard as said cat cuddled in my lap.
"Nope. He's an indoor cat now."
"We have six cats now. That's too much." I didn't protest too vigorously, because there was a little purry creature in my arms.
"It can't be helped."
Dreamy gave me his most ingratiating look. The other cats gave me dirty looks.
************
The cats are still readjusting to each other. Chuckie still chases Girly, although I sometimes think her protests are just for form given how she waits for him to arrive. There are still occasional snarled conversations between cats at the food dish. But sometimes they sit near each other, which is the closest I figure they'll ever get to cuddling.
No more cats after this. I promise.
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