ANNUAL ROUND-UP

Lisbeth

Lisbeth

Wednesday was the Annual Round-up. At least, that’s what our dad calls it. Mom was going to take photos to post here, but we were all totally uncooperative, and some of us were downright rude and mean. She has, however, included photos from Thursday showing what most of us did after our traumatic and exhausting experience.

“So what’s the Round-up,” you ask? That’s when the vet, Dr. Neel, comes to the house to give us our annual check-ups and shots. We don’t like to get shots, but having them at home is better than being caged and carted across town to the place with lots of sniffy and barky dogs.

Calista Josette was lucky as the odd cat out. She’s not even a year old yet so doesn’t need any more shots right now. Even so, she was sequestered in the kitchen with the rest of us as we awaited our fate. She had no idea what was about to happen. She just didn’t want to be left out if something good was about to take place.

Giulietta

Giulietta

Things went well (for the vet and her technician, Tamika) with the first couple of us, Mauricio and Lily Olivia. But when Dad went to grab another cat, we were no where to be found. One of us—we are not ratting out that housemate—had managed to open the door to the foyer. We all headed for the hills with the hope that we wouldn’t be found.

So while Dr. Neel and Tamika waited in the kitchen, we played Hide and Seek with our humans. Eventually most of us were caught and taken to our death  torture session. Two kitties, however, remained on the lam.

If you are a long-time reader of this blog, and few are, you have probably guessed the identity of the two. They’re the two who like to get “nekked.” One of them is the kitty who abhors strangers in the house. If you haven’t guessed…Fiona and Astrid! They both hid under the bed and played Keep Away with Mom and Dad. Mom finally caught Fiona. For her effort, she got her hand bit, clawed and bruised. (By Thursday morning her hand had swelled noticeably. It’s better now.) As Fiona can gyrate and wiggle and turn herself topsy-turvy, Mom can never hold on to her and so quickly handed her off to Dad who hauled her back downstairs.

Lily Olivia

Lily Olivia

Then it was time to catch Astrid. Way easier said than done. She’s as fast as Danica Patrick (even without a car) and as slippery as a pickpocket in a crowd. In an attempt to get her to show herself, Mom got the wand toy with the streamers. Astrid grabbed it with her paws but would let go when Mom tried to drag her from under the bed. This is not to say she didn’t come out. She did! She was under the bed, on the bed, running in circles around the bed and pressing herself against the wall at the head of the bed.

Disgusted, Mom finally announced that she was giving up and would pack up Astrid and take her to the veterinary office. She opened the bedroom door and watched Astrid shoot out from under the bed, fly down the hall passed Dr. Neel and Tamika (who had come upstairs to assist in catching her) and hurtle down the stairs. By the time she got downstairs all four humans were on her tail. The pocket doors were open to the living room and she sprinted in. Dr. Neel and Mom followed and closed the doors. She was trapped. They just had to find where she was hiding.

Misty May

Misty May

Mom checked under the couch, and there she was. And Mom could reach her. She just couldn’t get her out from under it. We suspect the only reason Mom could get her is that Astrid was stuck and couldn’t get out by herself. While Mom had a tight grip on the escape artist, Dr. Neel lifted the end of the sofa. Caught at last. It took a little time to calm her down, but once she had her shots, she just lay on the counter and stared at everybody.

Besides being checked over thoroughly and given shots, we all got weighed. Mauricio was still the heaviest, weighing in at 14.2 pounds. Since he’s the only boy, that’s appropriate. Giulietta ranked second at a hefty 13.7 pounds. The light-weight was Astrid at 7.2 pounds. Who would have thought she’d be the most trouble? The baby, Calista Josette, was not the lightest or even the second lightest. She weighed in at 9.2 pounds.

Astrid

Astrid

That was the wildest Round-up ever. After the fiasco, Mom’s a little worried that Dr. Neel won’t come back next year. If that meant we didn’t have to see her at all, we would find that to be quite satisfactory. Unfortunately, it only means that we’d all have to be crated and carted.

The following morning Astrid and Lisbeth still were freaked out. They were skulking around the house and looking nervously at the front door. Even with many reassurances, Astrid was unable to put the experience out of her mind.

The humans just hope we’ll forgive them for their unacceptable behavior. Maybe some treats and catnip will help. Hint! Hint!

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette