Sunshineboy, that is an adorable picture! 4 adult cats napping so close together like that is quite the sight. WG, that is very exciting. I don't have much advice to add, and I hope your cats adjust well to their new home (once they get there). Three outdoor males - those voles aren't going to stand a chance! :) I am a cat lover and owner for 20-odd years, and have 2 spayed, vaccinated females, both rescued as kittens. One is strictly indoors, the other has limited outdoor privileges. SHe usually goes outside for a few hours a day in nice weather, but is a "fair-weather" cat so she rarely goes out in the winter. She is a good huntress and eats most of what she catches, so I worm her every fall when her hunting activities wind down. Not sure if I should be doing it more frequently?? Somewhere I read that male cats wander in much larger territories than female cats, which tend to stay closer to home. This would hold true in my experience. My little female rarely wanders beyond the boundaries of the property, but I had a male for 19 years who was obsessed with prowling the neighborhood, even on the coldest winter nights (and managed to beat the odds and live a long life despite his outdoor activities). I must confess I worried SICK about that cat for over 18 years, but he died of old age on the kitchen floor. Cars and dogs/coyotes are amongst their greatest outdoor hazards. Hopefully your cats will have some street smarts! Are your new cats going to live in the barn? They will probably need an adjustment period in the barn to get used to their new home. How will they get in and out of the barn? My sister has 3 large Coon brothers who are indoor/outdoor and she has a cat door in her garage and they go in and out of the house at their choosing.

Gina, My heart goes out to you. I hope you find some comfort in knowing that I have been in the exact same place as you before and it will not last forever. You'll have moments where you feel the world will go on turning and you'll stop and realize that you were just laughing and enjoying life. What everyone else has written is right, you should try to reach out to people around you but I do understand that that may be hard to do with other 17 year olds. You have already started by reaching out on this blog and I hope you feel listened to and supported by me. I lost my dad when I was 10 and I just recently lost my mom. I know that it aches and it hurts and it feels there is no way to fill the hole in your chest. But just cry, write, talk, and feel it. I promise it will start to get easier, it will just take time. Try to find a good outlet for your feelings, this may be one of them (running has helped me a lot, drinking or numbing out in other ways does not). My thoughts are with you. I'm lending you strength from afar. Post again if you'd like to keep a conversation going. ((((((((hugs)))))))))

Wow! That is a lot at one time. I'm sure they are all ver thankful that you are able to help. Maybe you need a hug for hanging in there so well. (((Suzie)))

Oh, this all brings back the memories when ex and I were stationed in San Jose - USMC. It was our first Thanksgiving away from home and family. I had told him if he knew of any "orphans" on the base that would enjoy a place to spend Thanksgiving, please invite them. He ended up inviting 20 Marines to my little, teeny apartment! What a riot that dinner was. "Who knows how to peel potatoes?" "Bugs, will you be the stirrer of the gravy?" "Chopper, help me get this bird out of the oven to baste......move over, Bugs." "Who wants to chop celery?" "Frenchie, you and your celery need to move off to the patio table on the deck. Please, stop playing with the dog until you're done." "Buggar, just put the freakin' sweet potatoes in the dish, smush the butter and maple sugar on it - marshmallows will go later if you don't eat them all." "MEDIIIIIIICCCC" Man, I was cooking with my oven, my micro wave, the BBQ and the oven in the motorhome. (Mental note to anyone who cares - Never turn your motorhome oven over to 2 Marines and a six pack of beer) It was the bestest dinner ever! Well,......not counting the pumpkin pie and, Tex, who fell off our second story balcony into the bushes below.