Cat scratch...ow & news

So, I had a minor accident on Sunday evening.

It was almost 7pm and I just got back from a walk. All of our screen doors and windows are open because we’re painting. (I’ll show you the colors tomorrow!) I sat in front of the door leading out to the back porch and slid open the screen door so I could pet the outside cat who comes to visit. And eat. And get her fix of cat nip.

I’m petting her and she’s purring and being sweet. She’s also intrigued because the door’s open and that NEVER happens. She’s not allowed inside, since she’s not my cat and I’m not sure if she’s been in a house before. I’m guessing she’s an indoor/outdoor cat, but I really don’t know.

Okay, so I’m petting her and then in a flash, she rocks back on her haunches and leaps over my shoulder into the house. Remember how I said we’re painting? Yeah, all we need is for the cat to get into the paint and get sick. I’d feel awful! In the split second that I see her launching over my shoulder, I stick out my hand to grab her and I get just under the back of her stomach and somehow she manages to use my left hand as a launch pad. I feel a searing pain in my hand but quickly forget because there’s a strange cat in the house and she’s suddenly become super-freaked.

I manage to calmly herd her outside before she touches any paint. Whew. I go over to the kitchen sink and realize, “Oh. Blood. My hand’s bleeding.” I’ve had a LOT of cat scratches. You don’t work in a Humane Society for two years trapping feral cats and working with moody strays and not get scratched. But these scratches were pretty bad. The worst I've had. The adrenaline wears off and I take a peek at my hand as I start to wash it. And then IT happens. Yep, I faint. In the kitchen. My mom saves me from smacking my head on the ceramic floor and I come to with her fanning me with a towel. Lovely.

That’s my cat adventure for the week. :)

The hand, luckily, is my left one so it’s not the hand I wear my brace for carpal. Whew. I took a picture of it, but won't post it. It's just not pretty.

Edit:

Just wanted to share with you guys that my latest video was picked up by the Southern California Writer's Conference Blog. Thank you, Michael Steven Gregory! :)

http://scwc.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/diary-of-a-debut-author-video/