trinityvixen: (kitteh!)
trinityvixen ([personal profile] trinityvixen) wrote2011-01-18 10:42 am
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I am still resolved

Despite the best efforts of the Big Momma's House sequel trailer to put me off the movies forever, I did get out to the theater this weekend with [livejournal.com profile] viridian , [livejournal.com profile] xannoside ,[livejournal.com profile] jlc , and [livejournal.com profile] ecmyers to see The Green Hornet. Honestly? Not as bad as I was expecting. It was stupid, but I laughed. I still loathe Seth Rogen and the idea of his being a movie star for doing absolutely nothing but playing himself (so, stupid and usually stoned). I still laughed. Perhaps because he looked like the idiot he so clearly is for pretty much all of the movie? Probably.

We did see one intriguing trailer for a movie called Hanna, which features a little girl who's able to kick more ass than all the 300 dudes combined. I've added it to my list of movies. I'm probably going upstate at the end of this week, since engagements prevented it over the long weekend. (They were lovely engagements, and I wouldn't have traded.) I think I've almost talked my mother into seeing Season of the Witch with me.

Other weekend highlights included my first weekend of volunteering. It's fabulous. I'm actually somewhere where I care to be, and even doing the gross stuff like constantly cleaning up after kitties (as if I didn't get enough of that at home), I feel like I make an important contribution. One thing I've been making it my mission to do is to add write-ups on each of the kitties up for adoption. They encourage us to do it, but I've only seen one other card added to the files on the cats by anyone other than me. On my personal recommendation, I got this enormous cat (even larger than my Wally) adopted out on Saturday. She was a sweetheart and a love and now she has a home! Also, her name was Chewie, and another volunteer almost scooped her up for herself because she has a Luke and a Leia at home. (The volunteers are neeeeeeeerds!!)

As good as that felt, I had an even better Sunday, staying an extra hour over my time, because I was the only one volunteering until the adoption volunteers showed up at noon. They were two fabulous ladies, Iris and Judy, the latter of whom threw an appropriate shit fit over the fact that the lack of a vet on staff meant that no one was cleared to give rabies shots--which were put off for the cats until they were ready to be taken home--so none of the kitties actually adopted on a Sunday would go home on a Sunday. She's right in saying it will cost them adoptions if people can't take home cats the same day.

Iris won my immediate love because she invited me to go play with kittens in the nursery/maternity holding room. We're not technically supposed to go in there if we're just Level 1 Cat volunteers, but she didn't seem to care. I got to cuddle the most adorably quiet and loving tiny kitten. She was a pastel calico, so instead of black-and-brown, she was blue-gray and cream, and she had streaks of gray running down the inside of her eyes along her nose. She looked kind of like a cheetah. Her name was Stiletto, which is a ridiculously outsize name for this lovey-dovey tiny cat. There was one other kitten named Puck, which is just asking for trouble. He was super playful, and he purred louder than anything. Iris also had two of her foster kittens that had only just opened their eyes. They were black and white, with absolutely gorgeous markings, and she happily dumped them with me and with a woman who was waiting to get her cat via adoption. One of them fell asleep curled up in the woman's hand. She looked like she might cry with joy.

For anyone who might be worried that I will suddenly have fifteen cats, rest assured this won't happen. I feel desperately bad for the two all-black kittens that I've seen in the shelter that are sweet as anything and tiny. They should be adopted out because they're well-behaved and beautiful. Gaia, a Bombay mix, has such sleek fur and a dignified face that's totally ruined by the fact she constantly has the tip of her tongue sticking out. Malinda is smaller even than [livejournal.com profile] viridian 's kitty Callisto, but she's a cuddler and so adorable. I am not in any danger of adopting myself because I have the best cat in the world that loves me best and I've never had a cat that loved me best and I would never jeopardize that. That, and my other cat is so traumatized by the other cats that have come through my home that I couldn't put him through more of that either. And then there's the fact that these cats weigh, literally, one-quarter what my cats do. They'd never be happy.

So, no, I'm not adopting any pets. I am trying to get my mom to take one, though :) Her favorite kitty, Magic, who passed away all too young not so long ago, looks just like Gaia, right down to the few tufts of white hairs at her throat. My mother is remaining steadfast in her refusal to adopt more kitties, though, and with good reason. My brother has to give up his cat because his fiance is allergic. We're trying to see if my brother-in-law will take him, but my brother-in-law is being stubborn about wanting to pick out his own cat. (That's fair but annoying.) We won't let him go to a shelter, so my mother might end up with him. And she seems to think that she's going to end up with my cats when I go to school. Which is heartening--she thinks I'm definitely getting in!--and disheartening--I don't want to live without them!--but is mostly reassuring. (They'll always have a home with Grandma.)

What I don't understand is how people who can't have pets volunteer at the shelter. Without the quirky and difficult situation of cats at home, I'd probably have gone and adopted Malinda and Gaia already. But I have cats that I love and a dynamic that, while not perfect, would only destablize further if I brought more pets home. (Mostly because my roommates would, rightly, kill me.) Half the volunteers I talked to are pet-less, many because roommates are allergic, and I have no idea how they keep from taking home every sob-story pet they see.
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[identity profile] viridian.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
*weeps* A Bombay mix! I'd love a Bombay. They are so pretty.

And I, too, would take Malinda home in a minute. But three cats have to be my limit or I'll never have a limit.

Where would you be going to school that you couldn't keep cats? Don't most graduate students get apartments, such that you could find one that allowed pets or didn't care as long as you kept them out of the way?

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Gaia is adorkable with her little tongue hanging out. And she is very pretty. Malinda's head is only as large as the kitten's that I cuddled with. It's ridiculous how small cats can be. I've just got no experience with small kitties. Who knew they could be healthy and that tiny!

I understand what you mean about a limit. I'm limited to two. [livejournal.com profile] feiran keeps wistfully talking about taking Wally, which I could see letting her do, since he's so traumatized by other cats, he might really like being a loner for a while. Oscar would hate it, though. He'd be very lonely. So it's me and my two from here until I don't have one or both of them. (WHICH I HOPE NEVER HAPPENS.)

As for school accommodations, I have no idea. Most graduate schools, you're right, won't offer housing. So instead of being at the mercy of school policy--which, come to think of it, would probably be very pro-pet if I were at a veterinary school--I am at the mercy of individual apartment renting agreements. It'll depend on my budget, what's available, and how flexible the place I live will be about pets. Obviously, I'll bias my searches in favor of pet-friendly places. I need my kitties around. I'm really very lonely without them!
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[identity profile] viridian.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Well. I wonder, how, if Callisto's size was an indicator of her future health problems. She was tiny when her siblings got pretty huge. On the whole I've always noticed that the very large cats seem to live longer, but then, my mom's cat, Poppy, was teeny tiny under a massive amount of fur, and she lived to 15.

Clearly the solution to the Oscar & Wally solution is to let [livejournal.com profile] feiran take Wally, and get Oscar a kitten friend!

Yeah, I would be really sad if I suddenly had to live alone with no kitties. You need to take your kitties with you!!!!

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
The teeny cats are just so cute. Callisto was adorable. Topher is really slim, too, and he's a love. I love my big fat kitties, but there's something so squishably wonderful about teeny, bitty kitties you can pick up with one hand.

As for separating Oscar and Wally, I've debated it more of late just because they seem to be fighting a lot. I'm not sure if it's really more than it used to be, just that I've seen a lot more battle wounds on the two of them of late.

I want to take them with me when I go to school so badly. It will depend on how I get to school, really. If I have to fly, it might not be worth the stress of shipping them...

[identity profile] moonlightalice.livejournal.com 2011-01-19 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
But Oscar would HATE her for having to lavish so much attention on an attention-craving kitten.

Besides, his and Wally's relationship is the love that dare not speak its name.
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[identity profile] viridian.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Also, my solution to an allergic roommate problem would totally be to kill the roommates. :P

(What? I've actually in all seriousness told Ben that if we have kids, and the kid ends up allergic to cats, it's not the cats who will be given up. I would be miserably depressed without cats.)

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I told one woman at the shelter about my brother's cat. And her response was, "Well, then why is he marrying that person?" I laughed because while I don't really want to get rid of a perfectly good sister-in-law over a cat, I would never allow an allergic person to get in the way of me having kitties. I mean, they were there first.

Except, of course, in the case of current situation, where my roommates were there first and the allergic [livejournal.com profile] moonlightalice has been putting up with a lot, which I do appreciate. (And will not make worse by bringing in more kitties.)
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[identity profile] viridian.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Seriously, I have no idea what I'd do if Ben or a future kid was actually so allergic. It would be agonizing and I'd probably cry every single day. I have never been without cats except for semesters at college, and I was severely tempted even then.

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I don't know either. I'd probably drug the kid. Or get him/her the shots. Because I'd be a basket case.
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[identity profile] viridian.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Fortunately cat allergies are not lethal, so I guess I'd subject the suffering party to Benadryl for the rest of their life!

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I mean, if we're talking the kid is LETHALLY allergic to cats, there's always an Allercat (http://www.allerca.com/html/hypoallergenic.html). It's not like dogs where an allergy is pretty much a barrier to having a cat. Dogs are a source of a lot more allergens than cats (whose only allergenic property is saliva). Funnily enough, though, my brother's fiance has a dog she's not allergic to...

[identity profile] moonlightalice.livejournal.com 2011-01-19 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
OH MY GOD $40,000 IS IT MADE OF GOLD WHATTT

[identity profile] chuckro.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Moonlightalice is allergic to cats? Somebody call the pope about a beatification, 'cause it takes a saint to handle that. When Xannoside and I were living together, I wouldn't even let his girlfriend bring her cats over when I wasn't home, because of the potential shedding.

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-18 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, she's allergic. Recently, she's been really rather itchy, more so than usual. Typically, she's been all right so long as they're not allowed in her bedroom and she washes her hands after handling them. But it's gotten slightly more difficult for her of late. Which reminds me I should go buy her some drugs for that, since she shouldn't have to pay for that on her own just for putting up with her allergen...

[identity profile] moonlightalice.livejournal.com 2011-01-19 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Sometimes it's fine for days and sometimes I am up all night scratching monstrously (which has been happening recently more than usual, ugh). I wind up spending a lot of time in the cat-free room, alas. I knew beforehand that I was "moderately" allergic so it's not like I was unprepared and that's really my fault. In the end, though, I'm really glad I at least have the experience, because I had been wanting a cat for so long and now I know that that would be a TERRIBLE IDEA in a permanent situation. Sad. :(

If I ever did get a cat, it would have to be an Allercat.

[identity profile] ecmyers.livejournal.com 2011-01-19 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
Pshaw. I'm allergic to cats too! But it's totally worth it because they are adorable.

[identity profile] fairest.livejournal.com 2011-01-19 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
Well! If you come to Philly NOT THAT I'M BIASED OR ANYTHING, we just found a really exciting affordable place that is pet-friendly. It can work!

[identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com 2011-01-19 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
Be honest: you only want me to move in to save on rent and so you can have access to Wally.