Startling Conclusions! (And other updates)

I came to two rather startling conclusions about the cat I've been calling Little Grey. The first is that Little Grey has something living inside of him-- either a terrible case of worms (possibly extraterrestrial, to make his belly look *this* big), or, as is more likely, little cats, making him a her.

Why was this so shocking, knowing that Bessie is pregnant, and Daisy might be, too? Kitten season is pretty much here, after all. Well, it was surprising because of how little Little Grey seems to be. How could I have missed something like this, I wondered. In yesterday's Flickr update I even commented on how odd it seemed that Little Grey could make himself look so big in some of the pictures.

Well, that led me to a lot of intent staring at photos and startling conclusion number 2: I've been calling two smallish grey cats "Little Grey." ::blink:: Well, I feel silly. But now you see why I've been taking photographs!! So there is the Gray Tabby who is pregnant and has a white blaze on her face, and there is the smaller Gray Tabby who is shyer and always looks a bit crooked, somehow. So many things make more sense to me now!!

<---(Not the same cat!)-->

(Don't even get me started on my inability to tell you how many orange cats and moo-cow cats there are. I'm still working on that question.)

Hm, so that puts my cat estimate a bit higher. Good thing we're still raising money! (Remember, the Raffle goes until 5/11! Buy your tickets now! And remember to tell me how you want them allocated!!)

In other news: the Happy Divorce Brownies of Doom have not quite reached 200 tickets, but very close. These delights have somehow become nearly legendary-- I was stopped in the hall today on campus by a friend who had donated money/bought raffle tickets and wondered if there was any way to get the inside scoop on these brownies. (There isn't, don't worry. I'll be using a random number generator to choose winners for all the Raffle prizes.)

As per usual, I have updated the Flickr set. 11 new pictures today (cats were being shy this afternoon, even though I went out at two separate times) including Little Grey (the pregnant one), Daisy, Bozo, Calico and the Dilute Tortie. (Either the Dilute Tortie or Daisy has been sponosored by Shadesong and her family, I should mention (hurrah! Thank you!) but I'm still unclear as to which pretty kitty they wanted to sponsor. You can sponsor a cat, too, if you like, but donating $50 or more. You'll get individual updates about 'your' long distance feral pet, especially during the TNR process, as well as lots of pictures. (Not all the picture I take, after all, end up on the Flickr site.)

I didn't really get to speak to the apartment complex's management today, but I did give them a 2 page report on what's been done so far, from planning, to fund-raising, to scheduling the actual TNR (see previous entry for more details on that.) I also asked, in said update, for a space for the cats' aftercare (some place air-conditioned or shaded and able to be cooled by fan, someplace away from passers-by, protected, and able to house a whole lot of cats in traps overnight.) It would be better to be able to keep the cats somewhere close to their home (it'll help with the release, after all.)

More importantly, the volunteer (from AzCATs) who will be helping me with this Giant Endeavor gave me a call as well. This was great, because for all of the Scheduler's helpfulness, I was feeling a bit adrift about this process. (I've read all sorts of things about TNR on the interwebs and Tamnonlinear is a fabulous resource, but still, y'know?) Anyway, he's going to be sending me some information, and we'll touch base again before the actual trapping, and then he'll be here to bring me traps and help on the 11th. So, there's a plan. A plan is good.

I've also emailed a few local friends to ask if they'd be willing to help. However, those friends are all Teaching Assistants/Associates, and therefore finishing their semester's grading as well as their own graduate schoolwork and therefore have not gotten back to me.

And as I, too, am a TA, I should get back to non-cat related things now. This has been your Thursday update. :)