Bonny if you can wait another month or so there's a possibility new ones will be debuted in March (check out macrumors.com) and then old ones would be cheaper.

Thanks so much for this, meara. I can definitely limp along for another month. Toddling off to macrumors right now. Cheers!

This comic reminds me of (a) Firefly and (b) PMM [link]

I always ask if there will be toys available, or if the sitter should...um...sit...and read until the kitty comes to them. We really try to work with the personality of the creature.

The only foolproof way for me to get both cats to appear is for me to crawl in bed and turn out the lights. Then they snuggle up on each side of me and trap me in whatever position I had assumed. Not going to ask that of a pet sitter.

Miss Kitty will demand attention. Noodle will hide.

Miss Kitty will demand attention. Noodle will hide.

When unfamiliar humans appear, Slinky doesn't give a crap and expects pettins. Toke flees. EXCEPT for the petsitter -- Toke will initially flee, but will come back out, because she knows that petsitter = foods.

Some of our sitters would not mind!

We require that we lay eyes on every creature at every visit, so we ask folks to close closets and cupboards to cut down on our hunting time. Some of our feline friends are super stealthy.

Anyone remember my sweet son being sick a couple of days ago? Now I feel like utter crap. To make it even more fun, Jack is sharing certain symptoms but acting fine otherwise. I want to crawl in bed but I need to stay downstairs to let him out when he rings the bell.

We require that we lay eyes on every creature at every visit, so we ask folks to close closets and cupboards to cut down on our hunting time. Some of our feline friends are super stealthy.

Oh, yeah, that wouldn't work with The Professor. She hides when pretty much anyone comes to the house and there are too many places for her to hide for us to control her access to all of them. On the other hand, Magellan, Professor's brother, greets everyone at the door. Like a puppy! In fact, sometimes the actual dog in the house will wag from her spot on the couch while Magellan runs to the door to see the visitor!

This reminds me that we have to work out kitten sitting for the next time we're away. Our friend who regularly came to stay here when we went out of town moved to Colorado. sniff. (the other end from where you are, Suzi, otherwise I'd recommend her for your petsitting needs!)

Gud, that's wonderful! It's such a relief.

meara, I hope the trip gets worked out. That's really upsetting.

My petsitter charges $15/visit, but she lives just up the hill, so she doesn't have to go far.

We require that we lay eyes on every creature at every visit, so we ask folks to close closets and cupboards to cut down on our hunting time.

It's a good thing my cats have gotten used to T.; even the shy ones will come out for petting now. Otherwise I don't know how she'd find them. They can open the cabinets. I had to put doorstops in all the doorways to keep Percy Shelley from closing himself in rooms - he doesn't understand the consequences of not being able to open the doors he so enjoys shutting.

I've noticed that my anxiety and depression are almost non-existent on days when I don't have to work. Huh. Who would've thought.

How incredibly shocking, Zen! I am amazed.

I talked to my brother today, and he did actually really hit it off with the therapist on Tuesday. I'm hoping it will help him, even if it's hard. He's finally dealing with a lot (A LOT) of ugly shit.

He told me he's having an impossible time setting boundaries with Dad, who, over THIRTY years after the divorce, relishes shit-talking about Mom whenever he gets the chance.** I shut him down HARD when he does it with me, but my brother can't get him to stop. He'll tell Dad "I need you to not talk about Mom like that," and Dad will just talk right over him and keep on shit-talking.

I told him that the next time Dad does it, there are 3 easy steps: (1) say "Dad, I need you to not talk about Mom like that"; (2) if Dad keeps doing it, say, "Dad, I asked you to not talk about Mom like that; if you keep doing it, I'm hanging up"; and (3) if he still keeps doing it, hang the fuck up with no preamble.

Dad is allowed to shit-talk Mom all he wants, but he can't do it to us.

**(He seriously needs to grow the fuck up, because in 33 years, Mom has NEVER shit-talked him. It took her until I was 25 to tell me that he used to hit her when they were married, because she wanted my brother and me to have a good relationship with Dad separate from whatever was between them. I mean, DAMN. And so part of me wants to fight dirty and tell Dad that Mom has NEVER shit-talked him, but I 100% refuse to even engage with Dad on the subject of my mother, and by telling him that Mom never shit-talks him, that would be engaging him on the subject, so I won't do it.)