The boys in my life.

My 4 leggeds are all girls, with the exception of Max. Max is my 15 year old cat who has this nasty habit of "making love" to the pillows on my couch, whose fur is matted most of the time and just falls out when I try to brush him (he currently has a huge bald spot on his side from such a session), who refuses to stand up to the youngster kitties who taunt him incessantly and who therefore spends as much time outdoors as I allow him (the 2 youngsters don't go out).

I found Max fifteen years ago while I was house sitting at a farm near Carver, Oregon. He was a small kitten at the time and so covered in gas and oil that I didn't even realize he was part white. He and I have gone through some serious bonding over the years as he nearly died several times. His liver is shot (no doubt from the oil he was exposed to as a baby) and consequently he has had many near death moments (thankfully at the time he was most sick I had a close friend who was a veterinarian). Previous roommates have referred to him as the "crack baby" because he does weird stuff and is completely different than most cats.

Max has been ecstatic this past week because I've been spending time out in the yard with the laptop and a book so he can hang out with me. But now it seems Max is no longer the only man in my life.

Enter Barry White...a very straggly creme cat who has been a stray in my neighborhood forever (I've been here 7 years and he was here before me). The fact that he has survived all these years is amazing. He is definitely worse for the wear, he has some sort of infection in his eyes and probably a respiratory issue (my vet said that Max's immunity is probably pretty high with his age so I'm not too worried about them being together outside) and I have said for years that I was going to catch him, get him some help and release him again. Well the time is coming closer.

I've been feeding him in the morning and night when I feed my other babies. He waits for me in the morning and he meets me on the front porch when I come home from work. He breaks my heart because he is so afraid (I can only get within a few feet from him) and so hungry and in such bad shape. I need to find a vet who will deal with a homeless (I don't think he is feral...I get the idea he once had a home) and perhaps not so cooperative cat and I need to sell some stuff on eBay to raise $500 bucks or whatever it will probably cost to get this guy fixed up but the time is coming soon, Barry, very soon.