The December Thaw usually occurs in the last week of the old year, obliging those who like a bit of snow for Christmas. This year it came early; and it was a long, warm thaw, too. The cats didn't need to come inside at night, and didn't ask to.
One of my frugal practices is trying to become accustomed to the coolest temperatures humans were designed to endure. Earth temperature, the temperature inside caves, is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I try to get my metabolism up to the point where that feels like the right temperature, in winter. This means that if I'm asked to spend the night with a patient I'll probably spend the night clutching a cold water bottle, but I like my funny little two-figure heating bills.
One small difficulty with this is that my sense of just what the outdoor temperature is can be affected.
"Rain washed away the Thaw. That north wind is chilly," I thought yesterday evening. "It must be getting down into the thirties (Fahrenheit). Let's see what Google says the temperature is in Kingsport and see whether it's exactly ten degrees colder here." I clicked and typed. Google said the temperature in Kingsport was 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Would the thermometer on the porch read 16 degrees? I looked. 15 degrees, it said. No, 14.5, it shivered. I started bringing things inside, not a minute too soon, and invited the cats to come inside too.
"I have missed this," Serena nonverbally said, making a beeline for the spot on my bench where I usually let her sit on my knees, before I had a chance to sit down. Serena was a non-cuddly cat for seven years; then, after her first serious illness, she seemed to decide to turn over a new leaf and make sure she'd expressed affection before our last goodbye. "Dear human," she nonverbally said as I edged into my usual spot, "I will sit right on top of you, all night long."
And so she did. Twelve hours, with a break every six hours to go to the sand pit.
I reflected, as my legs stiffened up, on which of the cats here had ever seemed to love me back. Magic, yes. Minnie, no. Graybelle always seemed to be putting up with me because Her Man had asked her to; I liked her loyalty, anyway. Mackerel, yes. Polly, perhaps, in her way... and so on. I did not actually get much work done, nor did I sleep. I spent some time looking at the detritus of other sleepless brains on X.
Loving cats, the late British author Robert Westall wrote, demands a few sacrifices. (Westall's cat characters, most memorably News in Devil on the Road and Lord Gort in Blitz Cat, are some of the best fictional cats in literature.)
Loving dogs? I remember the challenge of lifting wet retrievers over the fence as a dog-loving student. I remember LB Johnson's story of how Barkley cost her the use of a knee, for some time, but also led to True Romance (they are still married). I remember the athletic family who tried to keep up with Donald the greyhound...
And what about loving humans? Don't even start...
But I think we're hard-wired to like making sacrifices for the sake of love and friendship, with one another, with animals, for the sake of ideals beyond ourselves...
"Holiday adoptions," Messy Mimi reports, are cleaning out some shelters. Good to hear. Here are some animals who are still languishing in shelters.
Zipcode 10101: Lillian and Shirley from NYC
Their web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/lillian-shirley-f7e42c2f-c08b-4721-bb79-97f4b53d575c/ny/new-york/city-critters-inc-ny114/details/
Last winter's kittens. Both are Torbies, one lighter-colored than the other. Still growing, friendly, bouncy-pouncy,
Zipcode 20202: Rose from DC
Her web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/rose-502207e9-4a5a-4995-910a-acbe93d612fe/dc/washington/metro-ferals-md-md307/details/
Trapped and rescued from the city streets as the frazzled mother of five kittens, Rose is recovering now that the kittens have been adopted. She likes being indoors, likes being petted, likes food, and may need to be watched to prevent overeating and obesity now that she's been spayed. The agency may specialize in feral cats but it seems clear that Rose has been a pet and wants to be one again.
Zipcode 30303: Mickey and Minnie from Atlanta
Minnie is the mostly black one claiming the top position, in the photo. According to shelter staff she's the high-energy kitten (yearling cat actually) who likes to bounce about. Mickey is the snugglebunny who will start to purr at the sight of someone he wants to snuggle up beside. Of course, he likes to play with Minnie, too.
Bonus: Zipcode 37662: Jubilee from Kingsport
Just a kitten, she's so bouncy and energetic she seems to be celebrating something.
Zipcode 10101: Dulce from NYC
His web page: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/dulce-69eccf33-77b9-4927-a2a7-4d79fa806eb0/ny/new-york/every-last-one-rescue-inc-ny1653/details/
In English "Dulce" sounds like a girl name, but in Spanish dulce can be either masculine or feminine. Dulce the puppy is masculine. Only just declared adoptable at eight weeks old, he's not giving humans much information yet, but he's a nice baby dog who likes to snuggle up for naps or play gently with his litter mates. The litter mate shown behind him in the photo is a sister and seems to be a favorite playmate. They may not have put together a web page for her yet, or she may not be cleared for adoption because she's so small. Nobody's even trying to guess what breeds might have gone into the mix, yet.
All puppies are tiny and adorable. Do not be deceived. Between the tiny helpless adorable stage and the fine handsome well-trained dog stage there's a rather long stage that calls for a lot of patience and tough love. First-time puppy adopters should try to work with experienced puppy adopters to ensure an optimal dog ownership experience.
Zipcode 20202: Cooper from DC
Though not purebred, this Maltese mix is close enough to the classic Maltese look to have an inflated "adoption fee." He's not for just any family, either. Though protective of apparently all women, he's wary of men and may growl at them. He likes calm, friendly dogs. Children make him nervous and he may growl, yip, or even nip if he has to spend time around them. He could be a nice pet for a single woman or a mature couple. If that's not you, click around--they may not have another Maltese but they're sure to have another dog who might fit into your family.
Zipcode 30303: Bijou from Atlanta
His web page: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/bijou-712b024c-e3ff-4902-a72a-18800668c25b/ga/atlanta/tiny-paws-rescue-ga1042/details/
This two-year-old, ten-pound miniature poodle was dumped out beside the road. He is somewhat insecure and the shelter staff insist that he be adopted by a family with a confident, well-behaved dog to show him how to behave. He needs a fenced yard. Once he decides to trust a person, he quivers and taps his feet with excitement when that person approaches. If you are the person he can safely trust, he'll make you feel loved for, very likely, another ten years...cat-sized dogs can live as long as cats.
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