Meet the Kitties!

Well it has been one hell of a week in the world, so I think this is the perfect time to get in some fuzzy cuteness by introducing my kitties. First up we have Dana:

Dana is a 5 year old DSH polydactyl brown tabby. She first came to me in October of 2010 as a foster from Mid-Michigan Cat Rescue. She was my second foster and my first foster fail. As you can probably figure out, a foster fail is an animal that the foster parent just can't give up and ends up keeping. While many fosters tend to fall in love with the cutest, sweetest kitties that come through their homes, I fall in love with the broken ones. Dana had just finished nursing her litter of kittens when she came to me, and she was very shy and nervous. She didn't want to have too much to do with me at first, but when I pet her she would flop over on her side and let me rub her belly (probably a reflex from nursing). This is probably my favorite thing that a cat can do, so that was the first hook she put in me! With some time, love, and lots of treats, Dana decided I was pretty okay and has been my best buddy ever since. She always has to be by or on top of me while I'm sleeping and still loves to have her belly rubbed, although sometimes she likes to trick me into thinking that's what she wants and then bites me. It's at times like this that I like to remind her that she is damn lucky to have me as a mom, because if she did that in the shelter she would get euthanized. Are you starting to get a sense of my twisted sense of humor yet? Dana has moved with me from Michigan to Minnesota to Texas, and puts up with long cross-country drives that make her puke so that I can visit my parents with her. She definitely keeps me sane and I love her to pieces!

My second kitty is Charlie:

Charlie with my foster, Lucia

Charlie's name is actually Charlene, but I really don't like that name so while I was fostering her I called her Charlie and it stuck. Charlie was my third foster and my first with my rescue group in Texas. She came to our group from a local animal shelter where she was being used as a nursing mom after her litter of kittens died. I believe she was only around 9 months old at that point, so she definitely got pregnant on her first heat. By all reports she was an awesome mom. She saved around 15 kittens, and they said whenever they brought her a new one she would reach out as soon as she heard it cry. However, since she was pretty much feral and not friendly with humans, she was scheduled to be put down when her milk dried up. Yes, I cried when I saw this note on her medical records. Thankfully one of our volunteers saw her and begged the shelter to give her to us once they were done using her as a nursing mom. The first week I saw her at an adoption event she was curled up into the tiniest little ball and absolutely terrified. They tried to convince me to take her home to foster but I said I couldn't have more than one cat in my apartment (famous last words). I thought about that poor little terrified kitty all week and decided I could take her in and help her get socialized. It took an awful lot of work with her and after months of hisses and running away she slowly got comfortable with me. Every time she comes home to MN with me she seems to get sweeter. Over the last year and a half she has become incredibly sweet and cuddly, it's just so wonderful to see her learn to trust and love. She is also the softest kitty I have ever met in my life and she lets me rub her belly, so she's a keeper!

So these are my forever babies. Only 2 for now, and I'm pretty firm on that, but I'm sure at some point when I'm more settled that might increase. Now I think I shall go cuddle them before bed!

Introducing...me!

Well, I suppose if I want the people of the internet to spend their precious minutes reading this blog, I had better begin by telling you who I am. My name is Katie, I'm 25, and I like long conversations, good meals, and back rubs. Oops...wrong site, pretend you didn't see that. So here it is, this is me:

Me in Florence, Italy, 2010

Awww, aren't I just too cute? And look at the fascinating foreign locale, I must be so interesting! Well, sadly for me this picture is almost 3 years old, and I'm currently stuck in the beautiful landscape of Denton, Texas. For those of you who have never experienced northern Texas, it is absolutely gorgeous...for about two weeks in late February. I guess I can't complain too much, because after my 18 years in Minnesota and 6 years in Michigan, the Texas winter is pretty nice (but I do miss snow!). 

So what am I doing in Texas you ask? Oh, you didn't ask? Must have been one of the cats... Well, I am in the second year of my doctorate degree in vocal performance at the University of North Texas. That is the fancy way to say I didn't entirely know what to do with my life when I finished my master's degree and I didn't want to start paying student loans back, so I decided more school was the answer. I study singing, and I also teach undergrad students. I still don't really know what I want to be when I grow up, but I'd like to try to do some performing in opera, and find a steady teaching job, hopefully with good health insurance!

You likely all associate the fat lady with horns and an iron bra with opera, and while that costume truly does exist, the fat lady is soooooo last century! Opera, too, has fallen prey to the cultural ideal of skinny. Let's face it, when given the choice between a size 26 with a great voice, and a size 6 with a pretty good voice, the size 6 is going to win almost every time. This leads me to my on and off relationship with dieting. I've been on some sort of diet or feeling guilty that I'm not on some sort of diet since I was 10. I finally found a good fit with Weight Watchers but I just don't know a good thing when I see it so I keep wandering away. Maybe this blogging business is just a plea to the internet gods to help keep me on track.

The other important thing to know about me is that I like cats. Like, a lot. So much so that at the ripe old age of 25 I am a certifiable cat lady. But I promise I don't hoard cats, I foster them! I love my work with a local cat rescue group and I usually have anywhere from 1-3 foster cats and/or kittens in my house. As crazy as it might make me sound, working with the rescue group really keeps me sane. It's so wonderful to step outside myself once a week at adoption events and do something that makes a tangible difference in lives of the kitties and the people who adopt them. 

So that is me in a rather large nutshell. Hopefully I haven't bored you too much. Although if you're still reading at this point I guess that's a good sign! Now get off the internet and be with real people! Go! Well, I suppose you can watch a few cat videos first...