Thursday, December 8, 2011

Untitled 191


Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".

There's an ineffable quality, a mood, about this little painting...that I was unable to capture in the photograph.
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A great deal still remains to be sorted out in terms of the divorce...but if nothing changes, then I will probably be giving Miss Lemon and Lynx to The Husband, and trying to find a new home for beautiful Cleo (who is rarely featured in the blog, because she's rarely around and because she's hard to photograph since she's all black). I would keep cats Gadjo, Rumi, Fennec, and dog Mojito.


The beautiful black Cleo Bean.

If anyone knows anyone who could consider giving Cleo a loving new home, it would be wonderful. Cleo is beautiful, super smart, young (4? I can find out exactly if I dig up her original Humane Society records), perfectly healthy, and up to date on all vaccinations. She is not feral at all--she's friendly to people, and forms an amazing bond with her special person. [I feel horribly guilty about even considering giving her up. I know how much she loves and trusts me. :(] 

But our girl Cleo is a mostly-outdoors cat. She needs her freedom and independence, and a relatively traffic-free territory to patrol. She comes inside only to eat, to sleep on the coldest nights, and just to hang out, nap, or say hi every now and then. She loves to hang out in my studio while I paint, and is the only one of our cats who is allowed to do so, since she usually just curls up somewhere and doesn't mess with the painting supplies too much. One of her favorite activities is to help and supervise if you are gardening outdoors.

Cleo has always been fine with our dogs, but she doesn't like other cats. Hence the problem (and hence the reason you don't see her in photos like the ones below). When I move, whenever that is and to wherever that may be (so far, no luck in finding future places to live with the animolecules or to paint), I am not going to be able to keep her indoors in a small place with all the other cats for a long enough time that I would feel secure that she knew she now lived in a new house and new neighborhood. Her new home, ideally with no other cats, would have to be able to keep her indoors for a few weeks, and build trust and bond with her, before starting to let her out. She does use the litter box perfectly when indoors, and uses the great outdoors as a litter box as well. She puts on an amazingly thick, plush winter coat, and in summer she sheds that and is just a little sleek thing.

She's a wonderful girl, and she deserves a wonderful situation. Please ask around amongst the people you know and trust. Thank you.


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In Bihar, India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

6 comments:

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Jala, thanks for coming by to visit me and commenting on Scooter ;)
This post makes me sad and I'm too far away to offer any help .
Hang in there girl. Hugs to you all..
Glad you are still painting your beautiful works.

Sonya Johnson said...

I'm sorry that you are having to split up your fur unit family...that just sucks.

Best of luck in finding homes for both you and Cleo.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

It just shouldn't be. But it is. And that's the pits. All the best in the decisions ahead!! You will land in your new place with grace. I'm sure of it!

David Larson Evans said...

love your blog

Jala Pfaff said...

Thanks, you guys. It means a lot that you are still here reading and commenting.

Anonymous said...

Jala, I have not had much time lately to catch up on my blog list reading, so am not up to speed with what is going in with you and hubby. Jala, I almost cried when I read this post.....the poor little dears...what have they done (except to give unconditional love) to deserve being split up....my heart goes out to them. Knowing you through your blog posts, I know this must be breaking your heart too. Why does life suck like this sometimes? If I lived close by, I would help all I could. I do hope this all works out for you. Is there really no way you guys can work this out? One last shot at turning a bad situation around? As always, a big cyber hug from me......