Mollie Hunt's Blog, page 84

LUX – FIRST DAYS

Lux was in the house! Big cat; huge personality.

From that moment on, Jim’s and my world revolved around him. We both worked, but the moment we were back, it was all about Luxie: How was he feeling? What was he going to do next? Neither of us considered him dangerous or even feisty. I see more difficult cats at the shelter every day.

Lux was like a child, inexperienced in catly ways. Watching him learn about play, about food, about his new digs was heartwarming and fascinating. Every day he seemed to come out of that shell a bit more, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to that first day:

Adapted from my Lux Journal:

Day 1: Jim and I got up for work. Lux was sleeping by his water. He enjoyed being petted but then went back under the blanket. I let him roam the room. He was curious but still crouching and nervous. He hadn’t eaten anything overnight.

When I got home from work, we moved Lux to a bigger room. Lux was friendly and curious about the new surroundings. Explored, used litter box, checked out cat tree and window. Then he went back to his litter box and vomited a small amount of liquid. After that, he retreated under the coffee table, where he hissed at me for the first time. His hiss was nonthreatening; at first I thought it was a yawn. I petted him, and he enjoyed it, but when I stopped, he hissed again. Since he still hadn’t eaten and had vomited, he probably wasn’t feeling too good.

Day 2: Over the next night, Lux ate some tuna, which seemed to break the ice for eating. By evening, he was gobbling all food in sight, wet and dry. He became more outgoing, sitting by the window and on his cat tree.

Lux’s people said that Lux didn’t play. Jackson wanted to get him to play, since it’s so much a part of being a cat. Play also reduces stress. I tried a ribbon toy. He was very tentative, though he did follow it around the room a little. He was also interested in some shredded paper I was working with. All the world is a cat toy…

Later that night, Lux became a little hissy, but still accepted pets and loving.

 

…………………continued.

8: LUX – COMING HOME, PART 2

A nose, a whisker, a big round eyeball was my first glimpse of the Cat from Hell. I peered inside the huge carrier, past the blue baby blanket under which he was hiding, and called his name. A little part of me feared he would charge, claws bared, fangs dripping blood, but the frightened figure just hunched farther into his concealment.

Lux is a cat. A housecat. Felis catus.

Not wild; not even feral.

Merely troubled.

Merely complex.

We arrived home from OHS at about 9:45pm. Lux traveled well, very quiet. We installed him in his room to let him rest and get used to being safe in a new place. He seemed, if anything, melancholy, and we hoped a quiet night will restore his spirits. I began writing the journal I would keep throughout his stay:

Note: Lux is cautious. He moves slowly and low to the ground. Eyes are big. He likes being under the blanket.

……………..love.

 

LUX – COMING HOME, PART 2

A nose, a whisker, a big round eyeball was my first glimpse of the Cat from Hell. I peered inside the huge carrier, past the blue baby blanket under which he was hiding, and called his name. A little part of me feared he would charge, claws bared, fangs dripping blood, but the frightened figure just hunched farther into his concealment.

Lux is a cat. A housecat. Felis catus.

Not wild; not even feral.

Merely troubled.

Merely complex.

We arrived home from OHS at about 9:45pm. Lux traveled well, very quiet. We installed him in his room to let him rest and get used to being safe in a new place. He seemed, if anything, melancholy, and we hoped a quiet night will restore his spirits. I began writing the journal I would keep throughout his stay:

Note: Lux is cautious. He moves slowly and low to the ground. Eyes are big. He likes being under the blanket.

……………..love.

 

CATS’ EYES, a Crazy Cat Lady Mystery by Mollie Hunt NOW IN PRINT

What happens when a retired cat-lady discovers a stolen sixty-eight carat chunk of trouble in her back yard pond?

I’m thrilled to announce that my cozy cat mystery, Cats’ Eyes, is now available in print. Yup, it’s a real book now. You can get it on my Amazon page, or if you’re in Portland, stop by the Oregon Writers Colony STUMPTOWN LIT Festival on October 19 at the Forestry Center and buy one there. There’s nothing like the feel of a book in your hand.

Thanks for supporting independent and local writers.

 

Lynley Cannon is the crazy cat lady, but she’s not quite crazy yet, even though a bizarre connection to a bumbled heist and two murders has got her wondering.

The fifty eight-year-old retiree lives peacefully in her old Portland home, but when her elderly cat drags in a dusky brown beach agate, things change fast. Threatened by theft, kidnapping, and murder, she is determined to maintain her serenity, even if it means catching the crooks herself. Friends, family, and a hunky humane society investigator aid Lynley in her quest to outsmart the pros.

The cops think Lynley’s the killer.

The real killer is targeting Lynley.

Will Lynley live to clean the litter box another day?

Stumptown Lit: A Festival for Readers and Writers

Event Details

Start: 9:00 am October 19, 2014

End: 8:00 pm October 19, 2014

Venue: World Forestry Center

Categories: Conferences, OWC Events

Tags: Mary Rosenblum, Stumptown Lit

http://oregonwriterscolony.org/events/event/stumptown-lit-10-19-2014/

 

 

7: LUX – COMING HOME

The first night I took Lux into my home, after getting him settled in his kennel where he could safely adjust to his new digs, I wrote in my journal, “Lux – Ghost cat into my heart.” I’m not sure, even now, what caused me to think of him that way. The lost, almost haunted look in his eyes? The poignant way his cat mind touched mine? But there was something spirit-like in him, a strong, smart spirit who was trying to make its way to freedom.

 

That face, the black side and the white side, like Bele from the original Star Trek’s “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (with a few extra spots thrown in.) I still see it as clearly as if he were on the table before me, trying to walk on my keys and brush his fur across my monitor touch-screen, driving the image all sorts of crazy. His chin, fur as soft and fine as a kitten’s, and his mouth a smile of pink. But he didn’t smile, at least not at first. The slow cat-blink that cat aficionados know to mean love went nowhere with Lux. He just stared back, looking haunted as ever. I have another cat, Big Red, who was severely traumatized before he came to me. Only now, after four years of total safety under my roof, has he begun to blink back. Does Lux have some form of PTSD? Is that part of his problem? Maybe they will find a kitty psychic to ask him, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

When I first met Lux, I had little doubt that whatever his problem, I could help. I am an experienced foster mom; have had all sorts of special cat training; have Level 3 cattery clearance at OHS, which means I’m qualified to handle the “difficult” cats. I felt confident in my ability to unlock Lux’s secrets and help him on his way to becoming whole again. But confidence can be an illusion.

………………….still unfolding.

*Note to those impatient for the resolution: To this day, there is none. These stories are as much for me as for others. I want to examine every corner, every move that was made. I want to know if something might have been done differently. I want to see if I missed something. I also want to roll out an event that has greatly impacted me. Life isn’t like a TV show. Sometimes things happen and you are never the same again. Lux was like that for me.

LUX – COMING HOME

The first night I took Lux into my home, after getting him settled in his kennel where he could safely adjust to his new digs, I wrote in my journal, “Lux – Ghost cat into my heart.” I’m not sure, even now, what caused me to think of him that way. The lost, almost haunted look in his eyes? The poignant way his cat mind touched mine? But there was something spirit-like in him, a strong, smart spirit who was trying to make its way to freedom.

 

That face, the black side and the white side, like Bele from the original Star Trek’s “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (with a few extra spots thrown in.) I still see it as clearly as if he were on the table before me, trying to walk on my keys and brush his fur across my monitor touch-screen, driving the image all sorts of crazy. His chin, fur as soft and fine as a kitten’s, and his mouth a smile of pink. But he didn’t smile, at least not at first. The slow cat-blink that cat aficionados know to mean love went nowhere with Lux. He just stared back, looking haunted as ever. I have another cat, Big Red, who was severely traumatized before he came to me. Only now, after four years of total safety under my roof, has he begun to blink back. Does Lux have some form of PTSD? Is that part of his problem? Maybe they will find a kitty psychic to ask him, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

When I first met Lux, I had little doubt that whatever his problem, I could help. I am an experienced foster mom; have had all sorts of special cat training; have Level 3 cattery clearance at OHS, which means I’m qualified to handle the “difficult” cats. I felt confident in my ability to unlock Lux’s secrets and help him on his way to becoming whole again. But confidence can be an illusion.

………………….still unfolding.

*Note to those impatient for the resolution: To this day, there is none. These stories are as much for me as for others. I want to examine every corner, every move that was made. I want to know if something might have been done differently. I want to see if I missed something. I also want to roll out an event that has greatly impacted me. Life isn’t like a TV show. Sometimes things happen and you are never the same again. Lux was like that for me.

“CAT WINTER”, New Science-Fantasy Fiction by Mollie Hunt

CAT WINTER

In the dark matter of space, a powerful anomaly has come into being, its single purpose: to devour the universe. Little does Claire know that the outcome balances on the small, black shoulders of her cat, Slayter.

Wish me luck! I just submitted my sci-fantasy fiction manuscript, Cat Winter, to New Rivers Press ebook contest. Cat Winter is part of a tetralogy I’ve been working on for several years, a complete departure from my cozy mystery style and very dear to my heart.

I actually had to learn things to write these books which was very cool! So glad they have a “Physics for Dummies” book, because what real scientists do is nothing short of amazing.

 

INSIGHTS FROM THE 5TH INCREMENT: MEDITATING FOR THE FOCUS-IMPAIRED

Every 15 years, I seem to be transported into a new stage of being: 

1st Increment, 1 to 15: I’m a kid.
2nd Increment, 15 to 30: I’m a kid who thinks she’s an adult.
3rd Increment, 30 to 45: I’m an adult who wishes she were a kid.
4th Increment, 45 to 60: Learning to embrace my age.
5th Increment, 60 to 75: The body fails & the mind wanders, but I finally love who I am.
6th Increment, 75 to 90: ?

In Insights From the 5th Increment, I’ll share some of the amazing things I’ve discovered along the way.

MEDITATING FOR THE FOCUS-IMPAIRED

Everyone, from my therapist to my 12-step group to People magazine, agrees meditation is good for the mind and body, but for me, that state of mindfulness is next to impossible to attain. For instance, they say to start by concentrating on something peaceful, like a river. Okay, I see the river. Beautiful. Running in front of my house. Then I see my house. Not so beautiful. Needs a paint job. Then I think of how much the paint job will cost and how much overtime I’ll have to put in to cover it. Suddenly I am thinking about work, money problems, and chores that need to be done. Not at all healing to my over-stressed soul.

Someone came up with a solution that I think is worth sharing. It is the meditation mandala, and you can print one off from your computer. Just google meditation mandala and you’ll find a plethora of lovely designs that range from simple to labyrinthine. Once you print it, find yourself a quiet place, some colored pencils or pens and begin. Concentrating on coloring the lines of the mandala’s powerful symbolism are a form of active meditation. So easy, and who knew?

 

 

 

LUX – ENCOUNTER THE TIGER

We met for the shoot at the Oregon Humane Society after it was closed. I knew some of the people, staff from the shelter, and that made me feel a little more at ease. A little…

My memory of those hours is bathed in flood lights and laughter. Jackson Galaxy entered with the aura of a rockstar buddha, emanating love for everything feline and for Lux in particular. He joked with the crew and welcomed my husband and me into the group. We chatted before cameras rolled, letting Lux settle from his ride. Jackson asked how many cats I’d fostered, and I said it’s around 45. I felt a little uncomfortable because there are foster parents who had done so much more. Still, I’d been chosen to represent them all, and I did the best I could.

The producer, an enthusiastic young woman in levis and a gauzy scarf, read us through the script, which was not so much lines as an plan of how the scene would go. I nodded and smiled, as I would continue to do long into the night. My husband, Jim, backed me up like a trouper. Lux hunkered in his carrier. They had got the jumbo size so he wouldn’t feel confined. It could have fit a greyhound, but all I saw on my first glance was a kitty bump under a soft blue blanket.

 It began just as you see it on the show, “911 My Cat’s Holding Me Hostage,” which would air so many months and plot-twists later: Jackson comes in the foster office with Luxie in the carrier; he greets us, then gets down to business- literally, as all but the sound man got down on the floor to say hello to the star performer. We ended up removing the top of the carrier since Lux was determined to stay put. Once the lid was off, he poked his head up, lovely cat. His ears were perky, his eyes wide but not dilated, no fear. He looked at each of us and gave Jackson a love blink. Jackson blinked back, a quiet moment between them.

 

Carefully we petted Lux’s luxurious fur. He was soft as a Siamese. He didn’t respond to the petting but he didn’t cringe from it either. It was as if he were in a world of his own. I would soon learn more about that world, and the monsters that lurked therein.

……………………………Continuing

 

I AM ROBIN WILLIAMS

There is a place in the human psyche that is so dark, so despairing that to live for even a few seconds becomes intolerable. I have been there, and the only thing that anchored me to this world was my cat. Who would take care of my cat when I was ended? For him, I had to draw myself back from the edge. Over time, the storms lifted, and with the help of love and a good medical team, I regained the sun.

What makes us go to those places of inner hell? Is it the devil or a chemical imbalance in the brain? My demon is called GAD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I’ve had it for as long as I can remember and it will be with me forever. I’m okay today, but what about next time I fall in that misery pit? Shrouded in mundanity, it lurks around every corner. I cannot predict its coming; I only know it will come, in a year, a decade. A day? Unsuspecting, I’ll fall again, and I can only hope I have a good cat on hand to help me up.

Rest finally in peace, Robin Williams. I am not you after all.

~ Harry ~