Fred Underfoot

Little Fred Underfoot came to live with us last winter. The people two houses away moved away and left him behind. When the cold of winter set in, I let Fred come into the house. Colorado in the winter is no fun for a stray. He's a friendly little guy, always underfoot and just wanting to be loved. He sleeps with the kids, will sit on anybody's lap and Jen and WebbyKitty are both afraid of him (I guess he's a bit of a bully). Last night he pee'd on my pillow. MY PILLOW. Now, why would a cat do that? I told Fred he would have to leave this comfy little life if he pee'd anywhere but the litter box again. And then, he pee'd in the kid's tent. So, I called the animal shelter. I'm not the type to take pets to the animal shelter. I foster animals, rescue them... save them. But, this! I have eight kids in my home, every day. My house is a mess on top of a mess. It NEVER feels clean. NEVER. I just can't handle one more stinky, messy thing. I can't do it. So, I called the shelter. They didn't have room. The animal control officer recommended that I call my vet. So last night I took Fred to the vet. Try doing that at 7:45 at night with two small children. Fun. It turns out that Fred has a urinary tract infection. He's on antibiotics. Theo says we can't get rid of Fred just because he's been peeing in the house. Afterall, he noted, last winter he threw-up in my bed and I didn't get rid of him (Theo that is). And, Fred is a member of our family and you can't just get rid of family members. You work with their problems and love them forever. Hmmmm, he has a point. My boy is pretty smart. And he hit all of the important things. Family, Forever... Love. All important concepts for a kid, especially one that has been adopted. And so, $186.00 later and I think we'll keep the little guy. All he wants to do is just sit on a lap and purr...