*gestures broadly at everything*

[kellan_the_tabby]

[Major Tom, a big grey tabby, is sitting in the blue cat stroller. It’s zipped partly closed, but there’s enough open for Tom to peek out. His ears and whiskers are relaxed but alert.]

… look, everything’s just a whole lot, & I haven’t been able to convince myself that posting cat pictures does anyone any good.

We’re all still here, we’re all right, we’re as safe as four disabled queer people can be in Trump’s America. CJ & I go to the weekly protests in town when we can; he makes it more often than I do.

I can’t follow the news more than very briefly. I can either keep up with things, & spend most of my time in bed; or I can hear what’s going on second or third hand, & be able to function, chop wood, feed myself & the boys, run the business, & help as I can. I don’t like it, but here we are.

[Major Tom is flopped at his ease in front of my keyboard, looking at the monitor. I don’t remember for sure what he was looking at on there, but I think that photo probably had a cat in it somewhere.]

I can’t fix anything, but I can tell you that Remy managed to get loose a week ago, & apparently spent a couple hours visiting EVERY DOG HE COULD FIND, because in my hour or so of driving the van very slowly down every road within a mile, I saw dogs at no less than three places that I didn’t know even HAD dogs — because said dogs were jumping up & down barking their heads off, instead of taking their usual afternoon nap.

I didn’t even bother calling him. He’s gotten loose a couple times recently with me right there, & both times he ran around for a while having a wonderful time, & then ran up to the van & jumped in as soon as I opened the side door. & then proceeded to be Extremely Smug about Basically Everything.

… which is what happened this time, except that he had anywhere between an hour & several hours’ head start. After several laps, I spotted him bolting through someone’s front yard (their dogs, of course, barking their heads off). I stopped smack in the middle of the road, opened the side door, yelled out that he was GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, YOUNG MAN, & then shouted apologies to the other dogs after he’d happily jumped inside.

“I apologize for his manners. He was raised by cats.”

Anyway that was far more excitement than I felt I needed in one day, but he was pretty much the happiest dog in the universe AND slept for approximately eighteen hours straight, so all’s well that ends well.

[Tom is asleep on the van’s front passenger seat. He’s leaning against a container of strawberries, and his head is resting on his paw.]

The boys do not attempt such excitements, being much smaller & very aware of their place in the pecking order …

… okay, no, that’s Tom. Loiosh would happily face down an entire pack of coyotes (& possibly win through sheer force of FUCK YOU) but he’s too old to actually go that far, especially in the cold. But he’ll still go outside every day or two, patrol the yard, find somewhere to dig a hole (& occasionally poop in it), & then come back in & demand snacks. I’ve had him in to town a few times, but it’s mostly been too cold even for that. Maybe soon … I did just get him a brand-new stroller, so we’ve got to see how that works for him.

I’ve been learning more of Tom’s body language, so I can tell when he wants love & when he needs a comb run through a snag on his hindquarters. Sometimes, anyway — Jasper’s still way better at it than I am. But then his first language was ASL; he’s WAY ahead of me on visual language.

Tom also continues to be willing to let me pick up his front half by sitting behind him & wrapping my hands around his forelegs, because it gets him headkisses. He LOVES headkisses.

[Seen from upstairs, Tom is meatloafed on Jasper’s folded-up blanket, which has been tucked into the corner on top of the wrestling mat he uses as a bed. There are several dusty boot prints on the bed as well. Tom’s looking directly up at the camera, a clear ‘what’ expression. To his left and much higher up the wall is a plywood shelf, painted a dark green, loaded with various food items.]

… what?

Loiosh continues well, for a cat his age. His appetite is great, he regularly bolts across the yard in his characteristic camel run, he still taunts Remy whenever he gets the chance. His yearly vet visit is pretty soon, & I just hope his kidney numbers are still not too bad. Another year and a half, maybe, until the promised miracle drug is on the market …

… pictures of a boy next week, I think.

---

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

Comments

[alatefeline]

Reading about your cats helps ME.

And thank you for protesting.

[kellan_the_tabby]

💜💜💜💜💜

[alatefeline]

<3 <3 <3