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Iff the cat never cleans herself, why does she still get hairballs?

Okay, I posted once before about this, a few months ago, but it was buried in a much longer post.  So, I'm gonna try again; because other than Kate (thanks!), I've heard no other thoughts.

Now, with the notable exception of Amy in rat form, no one on Buffy had a pet.  But, after Chosen, when they are spread to far corners of the world without their friends and family, I picture them getting animals.  I am not taking into account the comics, FYI.  Here are my thoughts in that direction; let me know what you think.

Buffy & Dawn:  They never had pets, but I picture Joyce as one of those moms who fed stray cats, and let you go up to random dogs at the park.  I'd say they're ambivalent.  They'd be happy to play with or take care of an animal if a boyfriend or roommate brought one around, but would not actively acquire their own pet.  Although, Dawn seems more cat person, and Buffy more into dogs.

Xander:  I think without his friends, and after the loss of Anya, Xander wants something to take care of, that needs him.  It might not be a traditionally affectionate pet, like a dog or cat, but I do see him seeking an animal companion.  My thought right now is a snake, or a bird of some kind.  He'd probably get a parrot, because he'd think that was funny.

Willow:  Without her parents and roommates there to say no, Willow would likely have animals.  She liked having Amy around, and Miss Kitty Fantastico.  They might be strays, or her own, but I think Willow will find some type of furry creatures to care for.  And, possibly a lizard.

Giles:  Faced with being the new head of the Watcher's Council, or even a high-ranking member of the surviving Watchers, I don't think Giles would seek out a pet.  Of course, if the 'Council House', or wherever they are now that the old place blew up, had a cat wandering around, I think he would pet it.  And possibly give it milk.

Spike:  You just know he's a closet animal lover. Spike's personality seems so feline to me, that I can't picture him with a cat.  That might not makes sense to anyone but me; but it would almost be like having another him hanging about.  Spike, to me, is a dog guy.  And not a 'toy dog' guy, or a guy who would get a really cute dog like a golden retriever to attract women.  I picture him with a bulldog or mastiff mutt mix.

Angel: Now, here's a cat guy. Short hair, though. He wants a pet, so he'll feel needed, but nothing too pressuring; dogs need to be walked, after all.  A cat would do it's own thing, then curl up in his lap while he read Kierkegaard, or Niche, or whatever.  And he'd never have to admit it was his; he could say he got it for the group.  The cat wouldn't cling.  And, if it caught a mouse, you know he'd be proud.

Faith:  Yeah, I can't picture Faith with a pet.  Maybe a dog?  But, not right now.  She needs to mature more.  I'd put her in the Buffy and Dawn ambivalent category.  If Robin got a dog (you know he's a Labrador guy), she'd probably ignore it.

So, thoughts?

Back at work, after a somewhat hectic weekend of the Great Housing Search, a party, a club outing, and not a whole heck of a lot of writing.  My old stories did get approved for posting on Daughters of Sineya, which is very exciting, even if last time I checked no one had yet read or reviewed them.  I'm just going to avoid the inevitable sense of disappointment which comes from having no one read my stuff, by reminding myself that the bulk of the posters and mods for the site are in a different time zone, and that they'll likely get around to approving of me at some point.

There was one of those wonderfully poetic and primal moments which comes of having a dog and cat in a small apartment together, yesterday afternoon.  I was laying on the couch, roomie and dog were in her room sleeping.  Cheyenne came out and lay down with me, to watch some TV.  Roomie (Kate) went to use the powder room, so dog (Nicky) came to investigate the other rooms, and found us on the couch.  He walked around the coffee table, passing inches from the no-longer-purring cat, with increasing speed and anxiousness.  He did it a few more times.  He stopped in front of the TV and stared.  He circled the coffee table again, pausing to sniff Cheyenne, who was still amazingly calm at this point.  He stood in front of the TV again.  Kate came out at that point.  Nicky came back close to the couch, and barked.  That's about when all hell broke loose.  The cat started hissing and scratching (she's a tough kitty), the dog whined and barked again, we yelled at both of them.  The cat then made a mad dash in the opposite direction of all the noise, while the dog was distracted giving his mom 'what did I do?' face.  When Nicky went to investigate her hiding place, Cheyenne bolted around the other side of the box she'd gone behind, and escaped back into my room.

There are lots of boxes all over the place, right now.  We're both slow packers, and there's lots of stuff all over the apartment, in little storage nooks.  Last book club/reader's circle in the apartment tomorrow night (sniff. sniff.) which means most of the packing is currently confined to non-public areas, although I did manage to re-create the leaning tower of Pisa with plastic storage bins in the dining room.  The most unfortunate thing I can see about the large pile of boxes, is that most of them were pre-packed; not a whole lot of packing up loose things went on, yet there is a massive pile.  They do make an odd art piece, though.

my recent lull in writing fic/posting to LJ in the wake of the completion of Chapter 11 of FAA.  Evidently, my lull was timed perfectly with a lull in the writings of just about everyone else.  Woot.

Lull is a funny word...

Anyway, work is kicking my ass, and I have two open houses tonight, plus I've been sending all kinds of e-mails out to houses.  I'm thinking I'm gonna have to suck up my guilt issues and give my poor twice-abandoned cat to the humane society.  It's just too hard to find a place that takes cats. Poor Cheyenne.

Imagining the conversation with the humane people is pretty funny, though.  "Well, she's a great cat; she loves people, kids...Except, she can't be around other cats or small animals because she tries to kill them.  Oh, and she's very territorial, so give her lots of space.  And, she doesn't like change, so she might throw up all over the place for a while.  It'll pass.  Oh, and she hates dogs, but if you leave her around a dog for a while, she'll get over it.  And she doesn't like to be picked up, you have to let her come to you.  She plays with twist ties, but not string, and she likes those little balls with the bells inside, but only in certain moods.  She likes to sleep right on my chest, so that I wake up in the middle of the night unable to breathe...Now, be sure to find her a good home."