Sanderson's Diary, The Interim (2001-2005)

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Okay, I’ll try to wake up from my nap long enough to catch you up on what’s been going on. In September 2001, Mom became a Data Processing Manager with the California Highway Patrol.  I continued to eat, drink, and be merry, in between plenteous quantities of naps and episodes of mischief, and despite popular belief about us Maine Coon cats, I did continue to grow a bit.

The following year brought another promotion for Mom and a bit more time on my own for me. But hey, I developed some really neat tricks in that time. Our neighbor swore that there was a crying baby next door when there was no one home but me.  You can’t blame a guy for getting a bit vocal now and then, particularly when working up to the daily big one. My Aunt Barb calls it the Potty Song.  She also says that I make cougar poop. I’m not sure whether to take pride in the designation, or to raise my paw in umbrage. Moi?

So, you are probably asking yourself how Aunt Barb knows so much about my potty habits.  It all started with a trip up north to visit some friends about the time Mom was seriously starting to make plans for her retirement.  She fell in love with a place about as far north as you can get and still be in California, with beautiful views of the Marble Mountains and Mount Shasta, and just happened to contact a realtor (my Aunt Phyllis, one of the owners of Century 21 Pioneer Realty). Only problem was, it was a five hour commute to work. So Mom came home, went back to work after her short vacation, and life moved on.

Turns out the house was still on the market 60 days later, and Mom took it as a sign that it was meant for us. She showed me photos, and I approved, by the way.  So Mom made an offer that was accepted and we had our “vacation” home until retirement. In February 2003, she sold the townhouse, and we moved in with my Aunt Barb and cousins Gypsy and Amanda for the next year.

Boy did I have a good time.  These cousins are the ones I’d stayed with when Mom and Aunt Barb went on vacations and my Aunts Michele and Haley took care of the three of our daily needs together.  All of a sudden life got much more interesting. Gypsy and I played this game.  She pretended to dislike me (voluminous quantities of hissing and growling while laying in the door to Mom’s bedroom, as if she could trap me inside and I couldn’t get past her).  Amanda, on the other hand, became my buddy, which might say something about the dynamics between her and Gypsy.  We snoozed together and had a lot of fun turning the place into the feline version of the Indianapolis 500 for exercise. Gypsy just looked at us “kids” with disdain, punctuated with an occasional hiss.

Mom got her own CHP command in March 2003, with an accompaniment of, you guessed it, longer hours. But with my new housemates, it didn’t bother me much.  I was always ready to lead the parade upstairs for brushing and treats when she got home.  So now we get to the cougar poop. I had my own litter box, but it was more fun to gang up on the girls and use their box. Sometimes Gypsy got so disgusted she would whizz down the bath tub drain. Anyhow, I guess my “size” gave me away. 

A year later in March 2004, Mom and Aunt Barb both retired, Mom from the CHP and Aunt Barb from the Woodland Public Library, and we all moved north.  They stayed with us until Aunt Barb could find the house she wanted. We had more room to move around in, but Gypsy still had her hissing fits now and then. Hey, why quit when you’ve got a good thing going!  And while there were plenty of good spots to nap, we usually ended up wanting the same place.

Within a year of Aunt Barb getting situated in her own place, I lost two of my cousins and gained two more, not necessarily in that order. Right after Aunt Barb moved, Aunt Rita brought her a little piece of fluff with attitude that needed a good home.  Aunt Barb named her Fancy, because her gray and white markings made her look like she had on a pair of fancy pants.  She became Fancy Anne Pants, and I took an immediate dislike to her. Well, not really, but when Aunt Barb brought her down to meet me (actually, she brought her down to give Gypsy and Amanda a break) she just sat around and hissed at me while I gave her that “whatever” look.  Then Gypsy passed on and I was down to two cousins. Then Amanda passed on and I was down to one. I sure wish I could have influenced which one Aunt Barb kept, not that she really got a choice.  Now Fancy has a playmate named Buffy (Buffington Beauregard Bottomley, III, {or 3-B}), who just showed up at the front door one cold winter day demanding to be let in. Every time Aunt Barb heads for a door to the outside, Buffy heads for another room.  He’s not taking any chances on that door being meant for him. One thing can be said for the cousins situation now, I’m the oldest and I demand my own room!

So that’s where we are going into 2006.  Hope I didn’t confuse anyone too much, and please, read on and enjoy the rest of the diary!

Sanderson