lilo. I hope all will go well. You may consider packing up your original art and send it to relatives that live in a safe area. That's what my Norwegian relatives did during WW11, they sent it to relatives in Sweden. Included was an oil painting my uncle had painted of me when I was a year old.It made it back to Norway after the war, then years later it came here to our house in Silicon Valley. After 73 years, it is safely at our house. It can never be replaced so I'm so happy to have it.

I love you too. When we lived in Ohio we named our property "Woof and Purr Acres". Maybe that name had something to do with it, but we always had a lot of stray cats find their way to our house, some very wild. The humane society helped me with catch them alive traps, got them neutered/spayed, then returned them to me and helped with the food. I raised the kittens those cats had prior to spaying (we kept 5 of them...all males) then the other 12 after I had them tamed and very loving, we took to the humane society lady. However, one didn't want to stay with her...kept coming back out of the cage to us. Hubby gave in and back home with us it came. LOL Had we stayed in Ohio the lady wanted me to take in all little kittens that needed tamed. She said she never saw such well adjusted, loving kittens. I would have loved doing that, but wanted out of Ohio to Georgia more. We brought 9 cats with us when we moved and are now down to 3. Sadly I think one won't be with us much longer. Like us they are getting old. Every cat and dog we have ever had, we've always had spayed or neutered. I am a firm believer in that.

Judy lives in Calera, AL. She has had a lot of health problems. Judy and Gregs daughter Ashley has two children. Travis and a new little girl Kalie. Her husband Jason is not in the service. He works locally and Ashley is a dog groomer. Judy is one of the most caring, giving people ever. She does not have a computer now or she would be here!

Just a suggestion for your cat; try an actual wood log with the bark left on it. Several of my cats have preferred it over anything, including catnipped cardboard whatever. I found out by the cats choosing this on their own by pulling the firewood off the hearth. I finally just laid a few down on a boot tray wedged together so they wouldn't roll and the cats LOVED it. Even my old girl who has since died couldn't resist. Sprinkle some real catnip weeds over it and I bet your old guy will love it too. When we moved to this little farmhouse we did not have a wood burning anything so the cats found my antique wood ammo box that I used as a magazine catcher. Now those old cats have died and the two new babies, 8mo, have found the ammo box and it is their scratcher. No furniture scratched up by the new guys. I think they like things their claws will actually catch in. They are leaving scent that way and marking their place. At least try this before you get new furniture.