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Goings on at the New Castle Argghhh!

By The Armorer on July 23, 2007 | | Comments (16)

The "Mark" hovers above the new Castle. The barn, at least.

A starvling cat, with 9 ticks on her (who were *not* starving), appeared at the Barn of Argghhh! yesterday.

You must remember, we a are half-mile off the main road, at the end of a dead-end road, and no lost kitties are known at the three closest abodes-of-two-legs.

Ergo, the sign of Saint Francis of Assissi must float in the air above the New Castle, drawing the needy.

Tentative name is S'mudge. She has very indistinct markings. That, or she's a white cat and *very* dirty. She's talkative, too. No worries, the barn needs an Interior Guard anyway.

Sergeant Kiki and Permanent Private Houdini of the Exterior Guard went exploring. Kiki came back, with a bum foot. She plays the whiny, woe-is-me puppy *very* well. Depending on how much time I have to round up S'mudge, there might be two trips to the vet this week. Permanent Private Houdini apparently got tired and just flopped for the night at a neighbor's house, about a mile away. We policed him up yesterday afternoon. Dolt.

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16 Comments

By BloodSpite on July 23, 2007 7:56 AM
One of the drawbacks of living in the boonies is how many people ...uhm...tactically deploy unwanted furry family members on ones porch. Not saying that sthe case, but it happens in my neck of the woods quite frequently. I would let Huckleberry The Wonder Dog (tm), also known as Huck, Run free on our expanse but I'm afraid my trigger happy neighbors might shoot first and ask questions later of a 120 lb Rottweiler whom is galloping full speed at them in a request to have his bum scratched. Of course the drool, large teeth and slightly glazed look in his eyes might be whats confusing them...... Until such time he is limited to walking with his slightly overweight owner, which works out for the best all around as he can drag me back to the house when I collapse of heart failure from exertion ;)
 
By JimC on July 23, 2007 8:42 AM
I have another friend, yes I have friends, who lives in the county and his cat count is always going up. Feral cats seem to show up in barns and at the doors of country folk as well as the dumped cats and dogs. They seem to know where they will be met with sympathy, food and liquid.
 
By Barb on July 23, 2007 8:44 AM
Well, I'd be willing to bet that the Mark follows above the Master and Mistress of Argghhh at all times. After all, look at how many wayward kitties have wandered in to the Castle over the years! *grin*
 
By JimC on July 23, 2007 8:44 AM
Oh -- I forgot. The sign over your door applies to all strays based on a much older post about a run away boy who must have seen the sign over the door.
 
By Tim on July 23, 2007 9:41 AM
So Private Houdini got tired, waited for a ride, and you obliged? Sounds pretty smart to me. They know us a lot better than we think they do.
 
By John of Argghhh! on July 23, 2007 9:45 AM
There's a reason his rank is "Permanent" Private, Tim.
 
By Murray on July 23, 2007 5:01 PM
I had a permanent private like that. He went out of the platoon position one night for a piss. We found him the next afternoon two ridgelines over. He was unable to answer as to why he thought crossing a river would be on the way back in when it wasn't on the way out. Then there was the bayonet practice. "Do NOT stamp on the target. It is wet and slippery, run up to the target, STOP, then bayonet the target. Under NO circumstances will you pin your own foot to the ground!" I thought I was clear in my instructions. Private Kyle Harbour pins his foot to the ground, right through his big toe. He thought he was going to get sympathy till I started listing the potential charges. Disobeying a lawful command, destruction of government property (one boots gp), making his platoon sgt look like a dick in public (capital offence) etc etc. Last I heard of him he'd taken over my slot. I suspect his incredibly hot sister may have been a factor. God help the country.
 
By Justthisguy on July 23, 2007 5:50 PM
Sir, it's obviously written on yer forehead in Invisible Cat, Dog, and Messed-Up Human Kid language, "Come here, all you lonesome critters, and I'll try to help, and would you like to eat some of this, and lemmee scratch behind yer ears, and...." .
 
By Justthisguy on July 23, 2007 6:02 PM
Dang, Murray, I take it that that particular P. P. didn't have a clue why he wasn't doing well, and didn't say something like, "Sergeant, I don't seem to be very good at this. Could you help me understand what I'm doing wrong, and maybe teach me how to do it right?" You did give him the opportunity to say something like that, right? Or was he the kind of guy who was just totally hopelessly incapable of understanding why the Sergeant was angry?
 
By J.M. Heinrichs on July 23, 2007 7:10 PM
JTG Option #2, always .... (memories of Trooper F). Cheers
 
By Jack on July 23, 2007 8:12 PM
A couple of lifetimes ago I had a cat named Smudge. He was a good guy.
 
By Cricket on July 23, 2007 10:43 PM
We have had the ranks swell with a couple more felines. Two are going in this Thursday to be spayed and neutered as we can't run the risk of another litter. I have two more females to spay and then we should be all hunky dory except I want a dog. I need a dog. I tolerate cats because they are marvels of creation. Miniature predators who permit their humans to pet them, but who also help to pay the rent by keeping down the vermin.
 
By Trias on July 24, 2007 5:49 AM
Maybe there is a fine line between genius and idiocy. After all, Houdini got the service. PP Kyle is a little different tho, that is self inflicted pain. No Mensa invitations for him. Does this mean dogs are smarter than humans? Maybe not but some dogs must be. Well i know in the country here it can be traditional to dump cats on the neighbours. Not to mention city folk who think it's a brilliant idea absolving them of both sin and responsibility.
 
By Murray on July 24, 2007 5:44 PM
Jezze man this is Royal New Zealand God Damn Infantry Regiment, not girl guides. I didn't wipe pink little bottom when he went potty either. Sure we get the frontal lobe removed when they issue us the green hat but I don't think "don't stab yourself in the foot" is too challenging a concept. EDP was fully utilized, I explained, I demonstrated, I had them practice in slow time. Short of time travel and getting to his mother before his dad did there's not much more I could have done. My grandfather brought home a kitten from the rail yards once(he was always bringing home strays - this is not an invitation to say things about my grandmother though). He was going to call it Smudge because it was grey. After washing it though it turned out to be a fluffy white persian.
 
By Justthisguy on July 25, 2007 2:06 AM
Ah, I think I understand now, Murray. I may be a bit slow, and getting more so with age, but think I'm still capable of learning. It's the politics of it which really chap you, ain't it!
 
By Murray on July 25, 2007 5:01 PM
Its the fact that ten years later they gave him my old slot that cures my constipation.