A sad day...

Nala & Simba

Today is a sad day around Nepper's Landing. One that was inevitable, but a day that no one was looking forward to. We are giving away our two cats to a lady who owns an acerage outside of the city.

The reason? Well, lets just say there was one too many missed litter box incidents. We have no idea what changed things. Was it the new house, a new cat? We don't know, and unfortunately I think we spent far too long trying to psychoanalyze our cats, rather than dealing with the problem.

Regardless, that brings us to today. I put an ad on kijiji for Simba last week. I explained the problem and said outdoor life would be best for him.. When I got two replies, I was really surprised. Then it occurred to us, we actually technically don't know who the problem is, so we offered this lady Nala as well, and she took her! So we go from a two cat home to a catless home.

I'm not being all that emotional about it...yet. I hope I don't turn into the lady who is bawling in the parking lot (we are meeting at a local mall to do the "switch"). Rob on the other hand (if you'll remember, the cat hater) is actually the one who is quite upset. I'm sure I will be too. As much as they are trouble, and what they are doing is totally not OK, they still are our cats, and have been for almost 4 years (well, Simba. We've had Nala for 1 year).

So as an ode to my cats, I thought I'd post a picture, and maybe share a few of our favorite cat memories:

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We had friends visiting, and that same night I had arranged to pick Simba up. So she and I drove for who knows how long to some strange corner of the city at night, to find Simba. Getting there was an adventure!

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The day we brought Abbi home from the hospital, we put her car seat on our bed (because she was sleeping) and brought Simba into the room. We put him on the bed, and watched...with our hands cocked, ready to slap him if he tried anything silly. But he didn't, and for 3 years he has put up with her torment. And even now with Gabe's.

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We used to enjoy it when Simba was acting a bit skittish we could twitch our body just slightly (like tap your toe) and he would jump at least 3 feet in the air. Repeatedly. It was great entertainment.

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Once we took Simba out to Rob's parent's house for the weekend. On the way home, Simba started making that dreadful cat heaving noise. We looked at each other and said, "The cat's puking in the car!" He was getting carsick. So I did what I could to clean up while still driving, so that we could get home faster. We were still about 40 minutes from home at this point.

Then the next thing we know...there was this smell. We looked at each other again, knowing the other was incapable of making such a smell. And I think it was me who said, "The cat just s___ the car!!!" We turned around, looked at Simba in his crate in shock and disgust. So Rob put the pedal to the medal and when we saw the nearest gas station on the opposite side of the road I'm sure the tires were squealing by how fast we pulled off.

We both got out, I'm sure with a complete look of disgust on our faces. I picked Simba up by his scruff (he was covered), and Rob was wiping him and the crate down with paper towel. And yes, people were staring. So yeah, it was a smelly drive home. And I think Simba even got a bath after that little episode.

And the best part? About three days later we got a letter in the mail from the police in that little town. A speeding ticket!

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At our rental house we had this blue jay that seemed to quite enjoy tormenting Simba. It would start out at the front window cackling at him. His tail would be twitching, then his mouth. He'd be making a little growl sound. Then it flew around to the back to a large tree there and sit on a branch and do the same thing. Then it got so bold as to sit on the railing to our front door and caw at Simba. We would have the storm door open, so Simba could see it plain as day, and was about 3 feet away, but couldn't do anything. This bird came back for weeks, every day.

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We used go for walks in the evening around our old neighborhood. One night Simba was outside and started following us. We assumed he turn back, but he didn't. One block, three blocks, 10 blocks! Sometimes we'd be gone for an hour, and there would be Simba, happily trotting along beside us. We always said he was the most dog like cat we've ever known.

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Rob's favorite memory was the time he locked himself out of the house and had to "break in" via the kitchen window (the locked out bit isn't the favorite par!). It was winter, so Rob was quite geared up. He popped the screen and started taking the windows off of their tracks. He stuck his head through and all he could see was this giant ball of fur yowling, hissing and spitting at him. Only once when he started taking did Simba calm a bit, but even once Rob was in the house, Simba still giving him the evil eye. Rob was quite proud that he had a guard cat!

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As for Nala, we don't have as many, mainly because we didn't have her as long. But she is the way too cute, but oh so skittish one. She loves a good snuggle, but is often aloof. But will also give Simba a good smack every now and then. When she first came there was a lot of play fights. When the fight was done, Nala always had to get the last paw in. So as she was walking away, she would slap him on the face and bound away. Rob always said, "Dirty woman." I always thought she was quite clever, I too like getting the last word in!

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Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our little walk down cat memory lane...