Attack of the Fuzzballs.

Do you know what happens when male cats and female cats get all jiggy?

Kittens! That's what!

A few years ago I was seemingly awash in kittens, the progeny of strays which had planted their vagrant roots in the various hidey-holes of the vicinity of my neighborhood. Fortunately, with the help of charitable veterinary organizations, I was able to neuter all the cats I could get my hands on and bring the matter under control. Many kittens also found good homes. Thank goodness for Craigslist.

Now it's Beloved Girlfriend's turn to feel the feline heat. We knew that a cat in her neighborhood had recently given birth but we've only caught brief glimpses of her with her three fluffy little charges. We'll be setting traps out soon and hope to catch her and get her neutered before she breeds again. Homes for the kits are next.

Then last Sunday we found a pair of kittens, no more than two weeks old, in a neighbor's hedge across the street from BG's house. They could be clearly heard crying piteously but, after watching them all day, momma cat never answered their calls, so BG is now doing the substitute-momma thing. (Hail, Beloved Girlfriend!) This entails feedings every four hours and a lot of stroking of little pink behinds to encourage proper elimination of, you know, kitten stuff. The mother cat's tongue normally suffices for such practices but since she's nowhere to be found the next best thing is good old Kleenex. LOTS of good old Kleenex.

The vet says they're healthy, and they have appetites to prove it, but we'll be needing to find them homes in about six weeks. So if you live in the Dallas area and would like a kitten you can brag that you got from a "famous cartoonist" then please stay tuned. Please.

=Lefty=