The Black is vindicated!

Remember when I said the Black was just doing what cats do? and he was probably grouchy because his ears were abcessed? Well, QED! Today I went out to feed 'em and he was standing right next to Big John, shoulder to shoulder. I petted Big John and let my hand slide over onto the Black's back, and he leaned right into it and purred! I worked my way up to his ears and there's a bit of crust behind 'em but he let me fool with 'em, so they've obviouslyburst and aren't sore any more. He headbumped me like we were old pals, so I gave him a good scritching and told him I'd bring some Revolution for him Sunday; I want to keep those ears clear till they're all healed up. I'll see if I can sneak a finger into those ears and see if they're dirty; thank goodness they're not crumpled like Big John's. Got some better pictures of him too:

Hah! Told 'em so. "Mean cat" indeed; I got your mean cat right here, lady!

Dramatis Purrsonae: Thing 1 and Thing 2

Thing one is the tabby and Thing two is the tortie. These little dolls are the ones I assumed were Billie Jean's kids, but I always saw them hanging around with Flame on her side of the property. In fact, Flame did her level best to keep me from trapping them! When Thing One approached a tastily-baited trap, Flame called out to her to get her attention. One looked back and saw Flame slowly turn her back and walk away, so she backed out of the trap and trotted after her. Can't fault her for doing a mom's job, but it frustrated me a bit. A few minutes later, One sneaked back and went for the bait again, and this time I got her (take a lesson here, rebellious teens; listen to your Mom!). Thing Two waited till the following day, and thought she was waiting me out; I had to start the car and drive farther down the road before she'd come out, but having done so she walked right into the trap. They were about 7 weeks when I caught 'em in late June 09; too small to spay but definitely small enough to tame and adopt out! They were taken in by Adopt-A-Cat (see http://www.adoptacattexas.org/) and Thing One is already available for adoption! Two is still a bit too skittery for public appearances, but they're working with her.