The transformation from cat lady to cat nerd.

For the first time since I was 19 years old I have less than three cats. Frankly my house seems empty and carefree with Twinky being the only animal I have over the age of 7 or 8 (I forget exactly how old Jingles is at the moment). This causes me to ponder...am I still a cat lady?

My friend Teagen and I have discussed this label many times before (while Teagen may not currently have any cats she is without question a cat lady). While it is of course mentioned light heartedly, the label cat lady brings with it a stereotype of a spinster woman in tennis shoes talking to herself much like Eleanor Abernathy, the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons. In fact, the image is so severe that a group has been formed to combat the assumption that cat ladies are animal hoarders without a productive connection to society.

Someone once told me that you are allowed to have up to one cat per bedroom in your house without receiving that title. My den is technically considered a bedroom despite the fact that it isn't actually big enough for a twin bed and that it has french doors leading into the living room. That would allow me two cats, which is what I currently have. So I am now declaring that I am no longer a cat lady ("Not that there is anything wrong with that!" she said reminiscent of that infamous episode we all know and love). Instead I declare myself to be a cat nerd. While nerd was once considered a derogatory term it has become an affectionate label of someone who is highly enlightened towards a subject but not to the point to cause alarm.

Of course, one factor threatening to effect my status is Barry White, the previously mentioned stray cat I've been befriending. Just last night in fact I was discussing with him (as he was doing his best to get past the screen door into the living room) that I am not a cat lady and therefore he is not allowed to be "my" cat. I suspect he knows as well as I that I won't be able to hold out for long. As the weather cools and as his health improves (turns out my next door neighbor to the South has been able to pet and romance him just as I have been and I have been treating him with antibiotics left over from Max) I will eventually adopt this very loving and affectionate little critter into my home and become a cat lady yet again.

**For those of you curious about my follow up to vindicating Max's death I offer you these updates. I have filed a very thorough complaint with Multnomah County regarding the two dogs (or really the owners of the two dogs). While I do not wish any harm to come to the dogs I do want the owners to be held accountable. According to the ordinances I have read, the worst that will happen is that the owners will be fined, required to restrain their dogs in a 5 foot enclosure while outside and carry a liability insurance policy.

In order to hopefully (but I am certainly not holding my breath) recoup some of the $1,700 I spent on vet bills I will be filing paperwork to go to small claims court. Yesterday I spoke with an attorney who sued the neighbor of his mother last year for nearly the same identical issue. He gave me a lot of helpful advice and support which will no doubt be of great use to me.

For those keeping track, I am in the "anger" phase of the Kubler-Ross five stages of grief.