May 23, 2004

• Yesterday, a short time after getting off the phone with a friend, I heard a loud, familiar "Whump!" I didn't hear the car before the whump, but ran out only to find one of my kitties lying dead in the downhill lane of the road in front of my house & no car in site. This is the kitty I wrote about back in November who came through my front window & never left. http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=Pikake&tab=weblogs&uid=42540023

  
  

  Aggravatingly, this kitty spent alot of time out in the roadway or at least near the road. I had chased him back into the yard many times, on foot or in my car when I've come home to find him in the roadway, presumably waiting for my return. I guess my lessons didn't take.

  
  

  I never did pick out a name for him, having planned to take him to the Humane Society when they weren't so overloaded that they'd just put him down. I waited too long.

  
  

  Just a few weeks ago, I was outside messing in the yard when I heard that familiar 'whump' & ran out to the road in time to see another of my kitties as an orange ball of fur flash out from under a neighbor's van & take off running for my house. I hunted around for him for awhile, then grabbed my keys to go to the neighbor's house to chew her out. This woman has a habit of flying up & down this road, at speeds as much as 50 mph, when residental limit is 35 mph, unless otherwise posted.

  
  

  Since I had taken a bit of time before going to her house, I was less agitated & able to maintain a polite manner when dealing with her. She never saw the cat & thought she had run over an avocado (there aren't any avocado trees in my block overhanging the road). She was certain she wasn't going over 35, but I told her that her speed was more like 45. She asked what I expected & I asked her to just slow down & be more aware of my kitties when she's near my house. Where my property's located on the street, there's excellent visability both directions... as much as 3-4 blocks each way. There's NO excuse for someone to hit any of my animals! They're either just NOT paying attention to their surroundings or flying so fast they can't avoid hitting something that happens to be in the road.

  
  

  The one who got hit a few weeks ago turned up in my house, a tad dazed but apparently uninjured, other than only having 8 lives left. That was Rhubarb.

  
  

  Here, on the right, is a pic of Rhubarb, taken in January. The odd stuff on his tail tip is dirt adhering to sticky stuff from when he accidentally got a fly strip stuck to his tail, getting up where he didn't belong. It took a long time for it to wear off.

  
  

  When I went out into the road to pick up my dead kitty yesterday, another neighbor was coming down the hill as I was in the road. I flagged him down so I could pick up the kitty & not have him get totally smashed by being run over again. That neighbor also has kitties & told me 2 have been run over lately. This is happening out of pure meanness! What they sow, so shall they reap. I pity them!

  
  

  This kitty died instantly, apparently with extensive internal injuries, since I found no external ones nor what appeared to be any broken bones. He did have severe hemorhaging in his lower abdominal area. I laid him to rest with some of my other kitties gone before him.

  
  

  Please pardon my apathy. It's been going on for a few months now & doesn't seem to be getting any better. I know of a few others dealing with PTSD who seem to be behaving much like I am... sorta withdrawing from everything (almost). I've had to 'kick' myself just to go into Hilo town for groceries, etc, & to my DAV meetings. At the last 2, we went through the election & installation of officers for the upcoming fiscal year. I got installed as Treasurer. YIPES! Apathy or not, I've now taken on a responsibility that MUST be followed through. I'm one of 3 women now holding officer positions within my chapter, much to the chagrin of one of our former commanders.

  • 9:54 pm
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