Memory Monday: We Were the Brady Bunch of Cat Families

Here’s the story ... of a crazy lady ... who was bringing up two naughty little cats.
Both of them were ... spoiled rotten ... they were on their way to being feline brats.

It’s the story ... of a kindly fellow ... who was raising two furry felines on his own.
They were living ... like wild animals ... to spoil them he was prone.

Then the day came when the lady and the fellow ... met and knew that it was going to be their fate -
That this group must somehow get together ... and they sat down to appoint the fateful date.

The Crazy Bunch, the Crazy Bunch, that's the way we became the Crazy Bunch.


(OK, so that’s only 2+2, not 3+3, and the “revised” lyrics don’t scan so well - neither do the original lyrics. But the story is much the same.)

Episode 1 - In Which We Meet the Brinlee Kids

Fred - the Older Brother - was a charmer and a favorite with all.

He was something of a good-time guy.

Rabbit - the Little Sister - was  the responsible one.

They were the perfect pair

... like bookends

... like yin and yang.

(A college friend’s family found Fred, along with his mother and siblings, in their back yard when the cats were abandoned there. We ran around catching all of the kittens, and I ended up taking Fred. He was with me in my dorm rooms and apartment throughout graduate school.

Near the end of my time in Cambridge, Rabbit was given to me by friends who found they were no longer able to take care of her. She and Fred hissed at each other at first, but then became best buddies.)

Episode 2 - In Which We Meet the Koehl Kids

Eleanor - the Older But Shorter Sister - was a bit of a yenta

and was always telling everyone what to do.

This tiny cat could bend any feline or human to her will 

- or so she thought.

Cinder - the Baby Sister - seemed to be a bit of an airhead, 

but had the sweetest personality.

Her talent was stuffing herself into small spaces.

(Stu took Eleanor with him when he moved out of his college dorm room. His roommate had brought her into the room, but never took care of her and seemed to have forgotten her when it was time to move out. Cinder was given to Stu by a friend who was no longer able to take care of her.  Cinder and Eleanor hissed at each other at first, but then became best buddies.)

Episode 3 - “Together Yet Apart”

Cinder decided to jump into a packing box 

and hope Dad would take the hint.

Eleanor acted out by reverting to old habits 

and rummaging in the garbage for food.

Fred and Rabbit did not know what to do.

They tried to comfort one another.

(When I decided to quit graduate school and get a job in Northern Virginia, Stu and I planned to get married and rent a house in the area. Simple enough for two people with few possessions, but ... there were the cats.

The move from Cambridge to Northern Virginia was interesting.  Stu and friend Dave drove a moving truck which had brake issues, and the cats and I rode with friend Steve in his car. To keep the cats calm, I purchased a sedative from the veterinarian and administered it to the cats right before we left.

Perhaps it would have been better just to deal with two frightened cats. During the entire trip (a long one) they howled and yowled drunkenly: “Aaa-wooooo!” “Yow-rooooo!”

Moving into the house with the cats was no better. For weeks and weeks the cats hissed and spat, chased one another, jumping up on tables, scattering and breaking dishes, and hiding under furniture when they ended up on the losing side. At best they tried to ignore one another, with Fred and Rabbit hunkered down at one end of the house and Cinder and Eleanor cowering at the other end.)

Episode 4 - “Together at Last”

Cinder made the first move.

The kids even started to sleep near one another, 

especially when it was cold.

It was as if they had always been friends.

Finale/Jump the Shark/Teaser for Revamped Show

But there was a new challenge looming 

... even more daunting than the integration of cat families.