A bit of everything

This post brings good and bad news.  We will start with the good.  Last weekend I got to go out with E and a friend and I had so much fun.  It had been far too long since I'd interacted with people my own age just for fun.  We went out for a while and then came back and played the wii for a while (even ending in Just Dance...yes, I got a few videos of the dudes looking pretty silly dancing a duet).

I also was encouraged when a fellow caregiver suggested we hang out some time.  We have plans for a girls night in a couple of weeks! That is so exciting!

Even more exciting is the fact that my mom booked tickets for my family to come visit me in JULY!!! They will be here on June 30th! 2.5 months!! And as of this morning a friend from college booked a ticket out here for a few days IN TWO AND A HALF WEEKS!!! You guys! So excited!  Plus, my first regatta out here is in 2 weeks!...looks like I should really go get that special liscense since I don't have a passport and the regatta is in Canada...

Now for the bad/sad news.  We have been having a really hard time with Katniss lately.  A few months ago she got a UTI.  We assume it was because the dog was always chasing her/eating out of the cat box and disturbing the peace in there.  We got the UTI cleared up, but a little while later we noticed that she still occasionally marked our clothes, towels, and blankets if they were left in the bathroom, doorways, or bedroom.  We have been trying very hard not to leave anything cloth on the floor and have been keeping all bedroom doors shut and have been working extra hard to train Harper to leave the cat (and her box) alone.  It just doesn't seem to be working.  After doing quite a bit of research we think it's stress related.  She isn't getting the kind of attention she needs, and when Harper isn't locked up she's always on guard and has to sneak by fast wherever she goes so the dog won't see her.  She really only marks E's clothes (could possibly be because I'm better at not leaving them on the floor) and occasionally blankets. We have been tolerating this for months and trying to work with it.  We don't want her to be put down because she is such a sweet kitty and we love her so much, but we can't keep a cat who is ruining our belongings.  We have recently decided that it would be best for everyone (including Katniss) if she were in a more relaxing environment.  As much as we love her, we want her to get the love and attention that she needs.  This has been a really hard decision because we don't want to be irresponsible pet owners, and like I've said several times, we really do love her so much.

I suppose a big part of why I feel terrible about giving her away is the fact that we had her before we got Harper.  So I feel like I betrayed her when we got the dog, and now I'm choosing the dog over the cat...I don't want to get rid of either of them.  Harper gets me outside and active which is a big reason why we are keeping her.  Also, I see several more moves in our near future with E's new job and I want Katniss to have a stable home.  She has done so much moving...I'm sure there are a lot of people reading this thinking "I told you so" right now because we were discouraged from getting both our pets.  But I don't regret either of them.  Katniss has brought us so much love and comfort.  She is the best at cuddling, which is what I'll miss most...even as I type this I don't know if I can go through with it.

If anybody has any helpful suggestions we are more than open to trying more things so that we don't have to get rid of her.

That is it for now...sorry to leave you with a bummer.