Twice spayed, kitten worries over

I was more humiliated than I'd been in a long time Tuesday.

I learned the veterinarian's office left a message about my cat that was to be spayed.

The vet cut the poor cat open to find she had no uterus. The cat had apparently already been spayed.

Well, how was I supposed to know that? She is more kitten than cat and Vicky picked her up as a stray in Morganfield, Ky., at the urging of the staff of the restaurant where the cat had been hanging out.

Tom cats have been chasing her around. I expected a litter of kittens any day. But my worry was for nothing, because the cat didn't even have the reproductive organs necessary for producing kittens, even if she wanted to.

I wonder if we can get a discount. After all, the vet didn't remove anything; they just cut her open, poked around in there, shrugged, and sewed her back up.

It looks like we'll be paying over $60 for a black cat with a weird shaved belly.

Who would have gone through the trouble to have had the cat spayed only to dump her in Morganfield, Ky., where Vicky found and adopted her? Who, indeed?

Sadly, I think I know the answer to that question. She is a cat with a nervous bladder that relishes relieving herself anywhere and everywhere. Granted, she mostly uses the litter box and scratches and plays in the litter with due diligence. Unfortunately, mail left on the floor is fair game. She seems to enjoy the mail and if she enjoys mail then she is head over heels for the living room sofa.

So, yes, I could see someone being initially charmed by the small, patient-natured, friendly cat only to turn on her once she exhibited her more disgusting bathroom habits.

There is a good possibility the cat is stricken with urinary disfunction, an ailment treated with medicine and a restrictive diet for life. And while the little cat is fun to play with -- she chases balls across the backyard and leaps around after my laser pointer -- I'm not eager to put myself out providing her a no-doubt expensive special diet.

While disturbed by news of the crazed cat, problems were out of my mind Saturday as I led 13 bold hikers over the Eagle Mountains.

The dogwoods were in full bloom, purple spider warts were out and the shooting stars were shooting.

May apples had white flowers with yellow centers growing from underneath their umbrella-like leaves.

The countyside seemed to stretch into eternity below the mountain bluffs.

On a hike to Buzzard's Roost on Sunday our crew ran into a couple of backpackers on the River to River Trail. They began their trek at Camp Cadiz, following advice the trail east to the Ohio River was severely impeded by trees damaged in the January ice storm. One man, Adam, was from southern Michigan and the other, whose name I can't recall was from northern Indiana.

The two were on their second day out and said their 40-some pound packs were straining their backs climbing the hills. They worried about rain in the forecast and they surely got it with the Monday night downpour.

I feel sorry for them knowing the experience of walking under the weight of a heavy pack on sloppy trails. They no doubt fell a few times and their boots probably weighed double due to the mud caked around them. The Lusk Creek Bowed Tree crossing may have caused them trouble.

I wish them the best on their journey. If they are still on the trail the two are backpacking during the most challenging trail conditions, conditions of the sort that caused me to abandoned my through hike twice. After falling on my face six times on a 1/2 mile stretch of trail, breaking my hiking stick in half during one of the falls, I threw in the towel and called my folks at the pay phone at High Knob.

-- DeNeal is a staff writer for the Daily Register in Harrisburg and Daily Journal in Eldorado. He receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.