Between worlds: observations of a semi-feral boy

Who says I have a bad heart?

My sisfur Pixie and I both saw a heart speshulist doctor vet today. I didn't like it much. He and the tech lady purrson were nice, but they put a muzzle on me and held me tight for a furry long time while they rubbed stinky stuff on me, and attached clippy things to me, and pressed things against my chest and tummy.

I growled and whimpered, but they just kept saying I was a good boy. What? I did NOT want to be a good boy! If that is what a good boy acts like, next time I'll have to scratch 'em!

They said I have something called Hokum, which means Hypertrophic CardioMyopathy, which means I have a thick heart muscle. Apparently this is not a good thing. They gave Mama some beta blocker medicine that I have to take efurry day. The speshulist doctor vet said that if I'm lucky, that will make the heart muscle shrink back to normal thickness and I'll have a nice normal life. Or, it could just stay the way it is, which is a mild to moderate heart condition. Or, it could not help at all, and I'd need more medicine to help me breathe properly. :(

I don't feel bad, so I don't know why they say I have a bad heart. I don't want to have a bad heart! I want to have a nice happy snuggly heart that works just fine and isn't too thick or too thin or too anything.

Pixie has the same exact condition as me, and the same exact meds but a different dose because she's littler than I am. She's also older than I am. So now Mama has to check both of us regularly to make sure we're breathing okay - not too fast, and not too hard.

I hope that both of our hearts go back to normal thickness with the medicine, and that we both keep feeling fine, and that I get to live a good long healthy life. And I hope my good furriend Sam LLoyd, who also has a heart murmur, gets to live a good long healthy life too.

My recovery

First of all - this is very exciting - Mama took me for a walk outside today.

Can you imagine that? Big ol' bad ol' formerly feral ol' me on a harness and lead? I know, I can't either.

Actually this was my second walk. Mama knew I was going bonkers having to stay inside all the time, so she bought me the harness and lead on Sunday, but by the time she got it fitted on me Sunday night I didn't want any parts of it. Monday she was busy and didn't have time to take me out with it, and she promised me a walk on Tuesday. Then she was really really really sick on Tuesday, so she asked Daddy to take me out instead when he got home from work, and he did.

But that was nighttime, and this was daytime, so it was like two completely different walks!

It was very windy out today, so that got me all excited. I sniffed things, and marked some of my spots, then tried to go through the gate next door but Mama wouldn't let me, so instead I sat on my bench with Mama. Then Lady came over to investigate us and stalk some birdies, and that got me all excited too. I finished up by sitting on my pickanick table for awhile. Then Mama brought me inside, and I was all feisty and didn't cooperate much with her taking off the harness and putting the e-collar back on me. I also promptly cornered and terrorized Leo, so Mama put me out on my porch to work off a little steam.

I am proud of the fact that I have worked hard on not always being a good or cooperative patient, as the vet staff seem to think I am. Hey, people - don't you know that if I'm THAT good, I have to be -really- sick?

Item 1) The paper litter the vet wants me to use? Ain't happenin'. Nor do I want anything to do with Exquisicat or other silica-gel litter. I insist on using Cat Attract and other clay litter only, so Mama or Daddy have to escort me to the litterbox regularly and supervise so that I don't get it stuck on me. Hee hee!

Item 2) Since Mama and Daddy won't leave clay litter on my porch for me, I have taken to peeing overnight in a variety of locations, so they can play hunt-down-the-puddle every morning. This drives Daddy pretty bonkers, which is fun. Mama says she'll cope with it until I'm healed - it's better than me not peeing! - and then she'll work on solving this problem behavior. We'll see about that. But for now, she's doing lots of laundry and using lots of Nature's Miracle cat odor remover.

Item 3) I think plain Royal Canin SO or Hills CD prescription canned food is pretty yucky, because that's what Dr. Luetke wants me to eat. What I really want is my dry CD, and he says some of that is okay but he wants me on a mostly-wet diet. So Mama is trying out a variety of things she can mix the SO or CD with to make it more attractive to me. So far I really like it mixed with Friskies Special Diet Salmon. The Friskies Special Diet Beef and Liver is okay straight, but I don't like it mixed with the prescription food. And of course if Mama mixes some cat tuna in with the prescription food that's yummy, but it's not really ideal for my tendency to crystal formation, so she's trying not to do that. She hasn't tried the Trader J0e's regular canned cat food yet, but she said when I'm done with the current can of Friskies she'll try that and see if I like it. She also says tomorrow she's going to Superior Pet and picking up some Wellness or other holistic canned food to see if I might like that, because it will be better for me than the cat tuna or other nonprescription food. I don't know. What I do know is, there are about 35 cans of food in the cupboard, all for me! I say that's a well-provided larder, and just how it should be!
Also in the area of food, I have decided room-temperature food is MUCH better than refrigerated, so whenever she mixes up already-opened food for me she microwaves it for 10 seconds or so and then stirs it up again. I really have her wrapped around my paw!

Item 4) I have of course learned how to remove my e-collar. Mama bought a new one on Sunday because the old one was getting tattered - but the tattiness was also allowing her to tighten it more, and making it more difficult for me to slip. The new one? Piece of cake! So much that she put the old one back on me this morning. She warned me that if I keep slipping it, I might have to go with a hard plastic collar that will not be as comfortable. Hmmm. I still think it's my duty to make her job as my nurse challenging! (And expensive - the Tyvek e-collars cost $22 each.) She called the vet today to ask him if he wanted to make sure my stitches were still okay since I slipped it a few times overnight and she doesn't know to what extent I was grooming, but he said as long as I'm not bleeding and I'm still peeing, I'm okay for now.

Lest you think I am always difficult for Mama, I will point out that I gave her a bit of a break on Tuesday when she was sick. I only slipped the collar once - overnight - and I took care of her by sitting on the couch with her. I wanted to sit on her lap, but for some reason that made her feel worse not better, so I curled up behind her legs instead. I know how to be a good nurse cat too!

So that's been my life. Hangin' out, eating a variety of catered meals, getting all sorts of new stuff bought for me, making sure my displeasure with the inadequacy of my bathroom facilities is known, and hangin' out. I go back to the vet for a recheck on Monday, and maybe he'll say I can use my clay litter again, or I don't have to wear this silly collar anymore. I sure hope so. That's also when I should be finished with that foul banana-flavored antibiotic. Bananas? What do I look like, a baboon?

Also, Mama says the fur on my legs is growing back nicely, so hopefully the fur on my body is only a week or so behind, and I'll have a nice coat again in a little while, instead of having my pink and black skin show through and look all patchy and weird. I'll tell you, it was purrty cold outside today in that wind, with only half a fur coat on! (Mama said she might try to "trim" my coat a little with the haircutting gadget she used to use for the Boy when he was little, just to "even up" my fur a little. AHEM. Mama, I may have on this silly aprony collar, but I am NOT your barbershop client! And you are NOT a barber!)

Home again!

Actually I've been home fur a day now, but Mama's been sick and she's terribly behind on Catster and hasn't even been able to help me with my Thank Mew notes.

I feel purrty good. I'm not allowed outside, which is annoying, and I am being locked out of the basement except when Mama follows me, which is also annoying. But I have chased Leo a couple of times, and I have scratched on my scratchy mats, and I have napped on the cat tree and on the couch on top of Mama, and I have also spent a lot of time looking out my window. I have a ridiculous blue daisy thing around my neck, so I can't see or reach the bottom of me, but Mama gives me scritches so that's not too bad. And I can lick the end of my tail, and my paws, so at least I can stay a little clean.

I wish I could sleep on Mama and Daddy's bed, but they say "Not Yet". Something about needing to keep me in a room with a litterbox that no other cats can use. Phooey.

Anyway, I sure am glad to be home. And I want to STAY HERE now.

surgery update

Mama just talked to the animal hospital, and they said my surgery went well, I came through it with no problems, and I am now awake and sitting up. So that's all good news! Mama can't visit me tonight, but she said she would come in tomorrow to see me. I might go home tomorrow night, but I might have to stay a little longer, depending on how I'm doing and what Dr. Luetke thinks about my recuperation. I don't really mind resting here, to tell you the truth. It's nice and warm, and I have a comfy blanket, and no other cats are yelling at me here! Although I do miss Mama and Daddy, and the nice comfy blankets at home.

I feel sleepy now, so I'm going to ... zzzzzzzzz

surgery today

Well, I had another bad weekend. *cries*

It started out okay ... I was feeling frisky Saturday morning. Mama and Daddy gave me my medicines, and then Mama had to leave to go pick up the Boy at Syracuse for spring break. She told me she'd see me later that night and would give me lots of snuggles then.

When she got home it was really late, and she knew I needed my medicine, so she looked for me. I was in my cozy Igloo on my Porch. But I didn't want to come out to see her. She put her things away, got a drink, and then came out to see me again. This time I was scratching in the litterbox. I knocked a lot of litter onto the floor, but she didn't see any fresh pee. And then I got up on my Papasan and tried to pee there - but I didn't.

She decided to forget about my medicine for the moment, and instead asked Daddy how I'd spent my day and when had he last seen me pee. He said I was out playing in the early evening, between thunderstorms, and then Dougal and I settled on the Porch during the last thunderstorm, and that was when I retreated to my Igloo. He had seen me squatting outside during the day, but no he hadn't actually seen me pee. Which meant the last time she KNEW I'd peed was sometime in the morning, before she left for Syracuse.

By the time she finished talking to Daddy I was back in my Igloo, and she tried to pet me but I didn't respond. She put a catnip mousie in with me, but I wasn't interested in that either. So she picked up the whole igloo, carried it inside, sat down in a chair and put it on her lap with me in it, so she could snuggle me through the quilty walls. Then she called the Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania and told them she needed to bring me in as a veterinary emergency.

We got there a little before one in the morning, and there were just a few other emergency patients - a kitty who had fallen out a window but seemed okay, just scared; a hammie that was bleeding; and a doggie that was breathing funny. They triaged me as needing immediate care, and had me unblocked within 20 minutes or so. That was quite a relief! But then they talked to Mama for awhile longer. They wanted to do lots of tests like an ultrasound and more x-rays, but Mama explained that I'd just had x-rays when I was in the hospital the previous week and no stones had shown up. She asked them to hold off on the ultrasound until she had a chance to talk Dr. Luetke, the vet who had been taking care of me last week. She figured he, or one of the other vets in the practice, would be in at 10 am anyway. The vets at Penn also suggested a perineal urethrostomy (PUS), which she'd already been thinking, because she and Dr. Luetke had discussed it as a plausible scenario if I blocked again. So I was transferred out of Emergency and into the Internal Medicine department at Penn, where I spent the night with an IV and a catheter.

Yesterday morning Mama talked to Dr. Luetke, and he said he'd like to have me transferred over to Springfield that afternoon, and he didn't think the ultrasound was necessary. He said he'd do more x-rays before he performed surgery. In the meantime my new doctor in Internal Medicine at Penn also called, and agreed that an ultrasound probably was not indicated because I'm young and not showing symptoms of anything more complicated than crystals. So Mama arranged to transfer me, and picked me up around 1 pm. I got a really nice report card from Penn! They said I was bright and comfortable and an excellent patient.

So I was checked in at Springfield by 2 pm, and Mama talked to Dr. Luetke again, and he said he could do the surgery today. He explained it in great detail to her, and said he's done quite a few of these surgeries including several this year, and only one involved complications or post-operative infection, and that cat had presented anatomical irregularities during surgery. He said he takes his time with these surgeries so he gets the critical incisions and sutures right, since it's delicate work on a small and intricate system. So Mama feels like I'm in pretty good hands today. But she knows this is major surgery (Dr. Luetke called it "radical") so I'm going to need post-op care for quite awhile. I'll need special paper litter, and an E-collar, and regular supervision. In fact I'll probably be a hotel patron at Springfield next weekend, because she has to take the Boy back to university, and Daddy will be out of town, and she can't leave me alone that long when I'm recuperating.

I know I'm losing some interesting parts of me, but really I'm less worried about that than I am relieved at the prospect of not having to go through these blockages anymore. So right now I'm just hoping the surgery is successful and I wind up with a wide, clear urethra!

I dictated all this to Mama all this before she left me yesterday afternoon, of course. Right now I'm not thinking or hoping much of anything, because I am deep under anesthesia! Mama will call and see how I am later today. She might not be able to visit me tonight, because she has to take Lady to our "regular" vet for shots - and also talk to him about me! - but I know she's purring for me in her human way, and will visit me tomorrow as soon as she can.

Thanks to all of you for your purrs and notes and gifts. I can feel the positive energy all around me! And I know it's going to help me. I love all my kitty and doggie furriends, and I can't wait to feel better so I can play with you again.

I'm home I'm home!

Whew! Four days in the hospital is exhausting!

But now I'm home, with my peoples and my blankets and my furnitures and my other cats. They didn't even seem too upset to see me, although I know I smelled like the hospital. One of the very first things I did was sit down and have a good bath.

Everything's working more or less as it should. I still have to take medicine though, for the next 10 days. And it's not going to be in cat tuna either. Yuck. Instead I have that new food I was given in the hospital to eat. Mama and Daddy said I have to eat only canned food now. I like canned food, but I like crunchies too! And I like tuna, and sometimes I even like a lick or two of Mama's food when I can get it! But it seems I won't be getting that for awhile.

I also appurrently am going to be kept inside and "restricted" for a couple of days so they can monitor how I'm peeing. How repressive!

But still. I'm HOME!

I want to thank everycat who was purring for me or who sent me messages or gifts. I know they helped me get better faster. I hope to thank everycat individually, but for now please know that I sure do appurrciate your thoughtfulness.

I'm very tired now, and I need some Mama-and-Daddy snuggling, so I'm going to say goodnight.

feeling much better

Mama came to visit me in hospital tonight. She snuggled me, and scritched my nose, and told me efurrybody at home missed me. Then she watched while I attended to some grooming details.

I have two tooby things stuck to me - one in my front leg, and one going all the way up my tail. So my tail is all wrapped up, and moreover it's purrty heavy and I can't hold it up like a flag, which is annoying. Even more annoying is the goofy springy thing around my neck that prevents me from seeing or reaching most of my body! The tech lady knows I don't like it, and I gave her a good glare when she fussed with it while Mama was there.

But other than all that, I feel purrty good. Mama says my eyes are bright, and the vet tech said I was eating and drinking and making a lot of pee and being a furry nice patient. Apparently most cats who come in with blockages are furry cranky. I should remember this! And I should get treats for being so pleasant, don't you think?

Dr. Luetke says I have to stay in hospital fur another couple of days, because I am still a sick boy. My bladder is injured and needs to rest and recover, and my pee is still bloody, and he's a little worried about my kidneys whatever they are. He says my BUN level isn't going down enough. I guess I have to start working out my BUN!

Mama said she'd call and see how I am tomorrow, and try to come see me again. So that's something to look furward too.

I am in a little steel room of my own, but there are lots of other dogs and cats near me. I can hear 'em, and smell 'em, and there's a goofy cat in a steel room below me that Mama said was trying to grab my food from where the tech set it aside, so it wouldn't be in the way while Mama was snuggling me. The nerve! I get a brand new kind of food that's supposed to be just for me, and some other urchin's already trying to steal it!

Well, I'm pretty sleepy now, so I'm going to curl up on my towel and say goodnight. Zzzz.

I'm in the hospital again.

Last night was miserable.

I slept in one of the litterboxes, but couldn't pee in it.

I also got sick - both ends - on the basement floor.

Mama tried late last night by herself, and then early this morning with Daddy's help, to give me my Phenoxybenzamine. It's a capsule that can't be opened because the contents are really bitter, so she had to try to use the pill gun, but I wasn't having any of it. I got really mad at them this morning, so Mama said it was okay, they'd just leave me alone for a little while - which was all I really wanted in the first place..

I didn't want to eat the food with the Valium in it this morning, either.

So Mama took me back to the hospital again, and a different vet from the one I saw yesterday said that now I really am blocked. So I'm supposed to stay for a couple of days, and they'll unblock me and do tests and try to make me comfortable.

But even though I was already C-dated with a catheter in me, I heard Mama and that vet talking about Surgery. The last time I had Surgery I got my pockets picked, but this sounds a lot more serious. I don't want Surgery!

I just want to be able to pee when I need to, and not feel like I always have to pee when I really don't. Is that too much for a Cow!Cat to ask?

I'm scared. I don't like being scared.

MORE medicine! :(

Mama noticed last night that I was spending a lot of time trying to use the litterbox, as well as acting like I was going to go in places she doesn't want me to go in, like plants and the floor and on her dresser. So today she called the vet again.

My regular vet is out of town for the week, so I had to go see another vet. The office is further away, and I sang a long song on the drive over to let Mama know I wasn't really happy about the long ride. Dr. Omar was furry nice though. He did some rude things to me, but he said I was a nice boy. He told Mama to feed me wet food not dry, had his techs give me sub-q fluids, and prescribed me Valium and Phenoxybenzamine to try to reduce the frequency/urgency I feel the need to go. The meds made me a little sleepy, so Mama and I napped all afternoon. Mama also put a litterbox in the downstairs bathroom, so that I have one closer than the basement if I feel the sudden need to go. She thinks maybe if I'm feeling urgency, I just look for someplace closer to where I am than the basement.

I sure hope this helps. Mama says I've been her problem child lately, and I don't want to be a problem child! I want to be healthy, and comfy, and not make messes. Please wish me luck with this!

Lesson learned

I learned something furry important this past week. It's something I should have learned earlier, but I guess it's better late than never.

You should never, EVER, bite your Mama. In addition to hurting her hand so she can't do stuff like brush you and pick you up for a few days, it makes you sick!

See, Tuesday night last week I was stalking Leo, and Mama told me NO, and I didn't want to pay attention, and she reached over and scruffed me without her Cow!Cat Taming Gloves(tm) on. I put up with that for a few seconds, then decided I'd had enough and twisted around and bit her hand. Again. *is mortified*

She didn't think it was so bad, so she washed it and patched it up with Neosporin and a big band-aid, and just dealt with having a sore hand through Wednesday. But by Thursday her hand was red and swelling, so she went to see her vet, and he gave her some pills to take and told her that when a cat bites a purrson they should always, ALWAYS go to their vet, because the wound WILL get infected. No "wait and see". No "it doesn't look so bad". Just. Do. It!

But what he didn't tell her was, the cat has to go to its own vet, too, because BITING MAMAS MAKES CATS SICK!

See, that same Thursday my eye started being runny and goopy again, and Daddy started cleaning up my face with tissues and warm water. By Saturday I was feeling pretty punky, just laying around the house most of the day, not interested in eating, and my eye looked all mucusy and sore - Mama says it's the worst she's ever seen it. She also thought I felt too warm, and by Sunday night I was even drooling a little. Mama was very solicitous of me all weekend, making me tuna soup like she does for Thomas to try to get some fluids in me. That was a nice bonus.

Monday she called the vet, and then she took me there, and he did AWFUL things to me against my will, and decided I had to stay because I had a fever and he wanted to do bloodwork and examine my eye more closely to see if there was any "foreign object" in it, or an old injury that hadn't healed, or anything else that might be causing the recurrent goopiness. So it was another couple of days in hospital for the Cow!Cat. I had a bath, and slept a good deal, and ate food, and was told I was a very very well-behaved boy. I also got a basically clean bill of health - no problems with my bloodwork, no infected battle scars or anything like that, just conjunctivitis and "salivation and fever of unspecified origin". Well, ha! I know the origin! It's because I was bad and bit Mama and got infection from her!

Now I'm home with eye drops, which are horrible and I don't like them and I shut my eyes tight against them; and antibiotic drops, which I like a great deal more because, as you know if you've done your back reading, antibiotic drops means TUNA TWICE A DAY. Yum! I also have a muzzle that Mama puts on me, so I don't rip off her or Daddy's arm while he holds me and she tries to get the drops in my eyes.

But I think maybe I've learned my lesson about that. I should never, EVER bite Mama. Obviously it's very unhealthy - for both her and me!

I really, really hope I remember that. I think Mama hopes the same.

(Note from Mama: Cow!Cat's vet bills for the past year are more than the other 4 cats' combined. Sigh.)

A Huge Important Milestone

Today I have been TNRed and vaccinated for one whole calendar year. And to celebrate all the wonderful things that have happened in my life since then, Mama took the ADOPTABLE notice off my page! Yes, I really have officially found my furever home, and it's HERE, with the People I Chose!

I kind of knew this when I started coming inside whenever I wanted, and sleeping on Mama's bed, and also on her pillow and her face, but humans sometimes will take a ridiculously long time to come to the obvious conclusion.

Tomorrow (my annifursary) I get to go see the Vet and get my "boosters". Mama says I am such a different cat from the crazy wild thing that got loose in the office last year - despite being sedated and just out of surgery - and ran all over the place until I was subdued by her AND the Vet AND his assistant AND a squeezy bag thing that they stuck me in to give me my shots! Now I let her pick me up and do pretty much whatever she wants with me, as long as it involves her snuggling me. She can rub my toes, and the inside of my ears, and my belly, and the base of my tail, and I don't get annoyed - I just kind of pass out on her chest, and purr, and drool with pleasure. So she thinks it won't be too hard to handle me through a few shots, although she'll bring her sturdy suede Cow!Cat Taming Gloves(tm) with us, just in case.

I still chase Leo sometimes, just because he deserves it - he won't stop growling at me and puffing his tail and running away. Such a wuss! His fluffy paws slip all over the hardwood floors when he's scrambling, which is kind of funny. And Pixie screams at me a lot, but she screams at effurycat. Inside is wonderful, especially on cold nights - but sometimes it's a madhouse in here with those two yelling at me all the time, and since I'm a mellow and tranquil dude, when they get on my nerves too much I let Mama know I want to spend some quiet time on my Porch. Lady and Thomas often join me out there, and we hang around contemplating stuff and doing yoga poses. It's my Porch/Ashram, really.

Speaking of which, there is yet ANOTHER cat who likes my Porch. He (Mama THINKS He's a He) came around on New Year's Eve and has been a regular visitor ever since. He's all black, and he's scared to death of Mama and Daddy and the Boy, but he comes inside the Porch when it's cold or wet out, and he eats MY food there. (Mama says she puts out enough food and water for all of us, and I can share, but I don't want to share with him! I don't mind sharing with the cats who live here, but HE DOESN'T! He just ... um ... hangs out here! And sleeps here! And eats here!) We've had a few scuffles, and he's scratched me up a bit (nothing serious, and I'm sure I've put a hurtin' on him too), but sometimes Mama peeks out and we're both asleep - one of us on the Papasan, and one of us in or near the Igloo, in front of the toasty warm Heater. Of course, if I see him going out the cat door I BOUND after him and give him a swipe or two. "Yeah, you'd BETTER run! I'll kick your fluffy tail from one end of my turf to the other, you interloping so-and-so!"

Mama is going to try to TNR him too, but since he won't let her near him yet she's trying to think of the best way to accomplish the T part without terrifying him entirely. She thinks she'll just put the trap on the porch, with food in it but the spring not set, and see if he goes for it for a few days, and then one night when there's a clinic the next day she'll set it and see if she gets him.

She's also named him Dougal MacDuff, which she says means Dark Stranger With Dark Forebears. Fits him, I guess. She says she wants him to have a proper name. I think this implies that she thinks Cow!Cat is not a proper name, which ... I object! I think I have a perfectly lovely and suitably descriptive name! And this Dougal character, he's just posing as pseudo-Scottish nobility!

So that's my big news for this New Year. Life just keeps getting better, doesn't it?

A whole night in the house!

I had the most awesome time last night. First I spent a long time snuggling on Mama's lap while she paid attention to the box that shows lots of flickering light and voices come out of it. That was nice, because it was pretty cold on my Porch even with my blankets and igloo and heater, and it's much nicer to be on Mama's lap than alone out there.

Then Mama said that if I was good and didn't try to keep her all to myself or chase the other cats, I could sleep inside the house! So she turned off the Porch heater - something about not wasting 'lectric - and I spent the WHOLE NIGHT inside! I slept upstairs on the big soft warm fluffy surface, curled up next to Mama. Lady climbed up on the bed after a little while, and Mama told me it was fine, and Lady cautiously settled down to sleep a few feet away from me, at Mama's feet. And then this morning I woke up and Thomas was only four inches away from me, curled up in a ball, asleep! We were three kitties and a Mama on a bed, all warm and comfy and feeling safe and trustful! That's the first time I've ever felt so cozy and part of things. Leo and Pixie stayed in the office-room, because Leo's still scared of me and Pixie is AntiSocial as a rule, but that's okay. I was a Good Boy and didn't chase them even though Mama left the doors open, and there were no growling and hissing and shrieking episodes, and we all had a good night's sleep.

It's much better to be hanging out inside where it's toasty-warm and dry, than out on the drafty Porch when it's sleeting and horrible Outside. And it's good to be on civil enough terms with Lady and Thomas to all curl up on the same bed. Maybe someday soon we'll even be furriends!

This morning Daddy came home from his Kamping trip, so now I'm curled up on his lap watching the lighty-voicy box. I really can't think of a better weekend in my whole life so far.

livin' la vida indoor!

I was inside today while Thomas was inside too! It was kind of scary, but kind of exciting.

Mama let Leo and Lady go outside, and shut Pixie into her safe cozy office-room where she's happy, and then invited me inside. And Thomas was sittin' right there lookin' at me!

First I went over and scratched the woodwork, so Mama showed me the scratchy area that smells so good instead. Thomas watched me and walked closer. I looked at Mama, and then I scratched a bit, and then I went over to the Sofa and scratched there, so Mama said "NO Cow!Cat!" and tapped my nose and my paws. I just looked at her. Then she sat down on the Sofa, and I jumped up and paraded across her lap a few times.

But that Thomas wouldn't stop lookin' at me! He came closer and closer, and then he started making growling meows at me. Mama just said "Thomas, it's okay. Cow!Cat, it's okay." And she scritched both our heads.

I tried to believe her that it was okay, so I got off the Sofa and slunk away from Thomas out into the kitchen. But he followed me! So then I decided to go down to the basement and have a little peace.

When I came back upstairs a little while later, he was sitting in the dining room staring at me, so I walked up closer to him. And Mama was all "Cow!Cat, it's all right." Well, it would be a lot MORE all right if he'd stop starin' at me and followin' me! I was just trying to give him a dose of the same medicine.

So we both sat down and had a staring contest, and then Mama got some yummy treats for us. Thomas didn't want to eat any of his, but I ate six! And then I tried to grab the foil packet so I could have even more, but Mama wouldn't let me. So I hopped onto the Rocking Chair and stared at Thomas from there.

So Mama sat down on the Rocking Chair for awhile with me, and petted me, but then that Thomas started coming closer again! He walked behind the rocking chair and looked at me from the other side, and then he walked BACK behind the rocking chair and went into the kitchen for a snack. So I got down off Mama's lap and went into the dining room to stare at him while he was snacking. See how he likes it!

But then Mama opened the porch door, and going out there seemed like a good idea, so I did, and we sat in my Papasan and she petted me and brushed me for awhile. Then I decided -I- wanted a snack and hopped off her lap, so she went inside. And now I think it's time for a nap! I've had a very emotionally challenging day!

Mama wants to be able to let me inside at night when she and Daddy are watching Teevee in the living room, instead of having me sit on the Porch staring at them through the door. But she says before that happens we have to get me and all the other cats used to being in the house together. I think I can do that! I just hope they don't all stare at me, all the time. I don't like that.

So much nooz ...

This has been a crazy busy week fur me!

First of all, as I wrote in Fabulous Ferals on Monday:

"I just got back from spending 2 of the past 3 weeks at what the house cats call the "Spa". Mama and Daddy were in Noo York State, and then Kanada, and THEN an island called Bahahahamas, so I got to go to the Spa with the other cats 'coz of my recent UTI. The Spa is a lot like the Hospital, but without the being sick part, and with more play time. I did finish up all my shots while I was there though.

When Mama and Daddy picked us up, the Spa receptionist told them I was "loving" and "gentle". Mama was so proud of me!

But she really saw what that receptionist meant this morning, because we were in the back yard, and I wanted to be with Mama on the pickanick bench, and Lady was sitting there too. So I went up to Lady just to sniff her and say "Hi!", and she swatted me! Can you imagine?

But what really shocked Mama is I just blinked, backed off a step, and found a nice cozy place to sit on Mama's lap. I didn't even swat back, much less chase that Lady away. I didn't even TRY!

I hope I'm not turning into as big a wuss as Leo!"

Well, what I didn't include in that exciting message, because Mama wasn't sure at the time, was that I was developing ANOTHER UTI. No fun! So I was back at the Hospital on Monday night. I was a good boy there again, except I didn't want to pee because they didn't put any litter in my tray! Isn't that ridiculous? As if I want to get my toes wet! I like the people there, but sometimes I think they're a little dopey.

Well, they finally got a sample from me overnight Tuesday/Wednesday, because I was so full I just had to let it out, wet toes or no wet toes. So now they're trying to grow whatever germs are in it, to see what they are. They gave me another bath on Wednesday, and then I came home with a different antibiotic to take for the next few weeks, which means yummy snacks twice a day - YAY!

Meanwhile, Thomas wrote me a purr request on Olde Furts, and his friend Scootie gave me and Mama some good advice about supplements since this UTI business seems to be a big issue with me lately.

The vet also said that the recurrent blistery sores on my mouth are Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex, so that's ANOTHER thing Mama has to look after. Apparently it's usually a result of flea allergy, so I have to stay very very clean from now on. No bugs on me! But the vet said to be glad I just have the sores and not the mouth ulcers, because they're worse.

It's a lot cooler now, so Mama's spending more time with me on my Porch. I've been sleeping on her lap, which feels furry nice. She sits on the big round chair and I flop right down on her, paws in the air, and purr purr purr until I'm asleep. (She says then I snore snore snore. What? I do NOT!)

But the really big news is, yesterday she let me come IN the House, when Leo and Lady and Thomas were outside! I explored and helped her "fold laundry", which meant I sat on a big soft flat surface upstairs and watched her play with cloths. That was nice. Then I checked out the basement, and sat with her on the rocking chair for awhile.

She let me inside this morning too, and I chased Leo and Pixie a little bit, but she shut them behind doors quickly so I couldn't beat them up. No fun! Then I found a really great-smelling thing on the wall in the Big Downstairs Room, so I scratched it and scratched it and scratched it and had the best time! And then she gave me a sock filled with the same great smell, and I rubbed it all over me!

That great smell made me feel pretty goofy and sleepy, so then I took a nice long nap on my bed on my Porch. But I do like going Inside! Mama says it is clear to her that I was feral by circumstance, but not at all by temperament. She also tells me she loves me.

Life is good right now, even with a UTI!

I am home from the hospital and feeling grrrrrrreat!

I came home yesterday afternoon, and the first thing I did was take a big long nap with Mama on the papasan chair on my Porch! It was MARVELOUS!

The only thing was, I was so groggy from being C-dated that once I was able to pee again, I kept peeing all over myself. So I'm a little bit stinky now. It's a shame too, because I was so nice and clean for a little while, after they gave me a flea baff at the hospital.

The vet people said I was a good boy at the hospital, and I even let them pet me and scritch my ears. I don't really remember that. What I do remember is this long tubey thing that kept followin me around. It was attached to me! So I attacked it and made it let go. Same thing with the white necklace that was around my neck. Nuffin's allowed to be attached to me without my purrmission!

I have to take medicine for the next few weeks. Mama's job is to get it into me twice a day. My job is to resist whatever tempting treat she tries to put it in. Hahaha!

Right now I am helping Daddy play in the dirt in the back yard. That is an excellent thing to do on a mild summer afternoon, don't you think? MUCH better than being stuck in the hospital, unable to pee!

But I sure am glad I have a Daddy and a Mama who know what to do when I need some help. And I'm glad I've learned to trust them enough to allow them to help me!

I'm in the hospital tonight, and it's scary here.

It's dark and weird here. I'm in a cage, and there are other cats in other cages, and there are dogs in another room - I hear 'em and smell 'em - and that's no fun.

The reason I'm here is, I can't pee. Daddy noticed I was acting funny this morning when he was outside with me, and he asked Mama to keep an eye on me. Mama figured it out after I scratched at the dirt and squatted a few times, but nothing came out. I looked at her while I was doing it, too, to be sure she'd catch on. She's not too dumb, that Mama. So she squooshed me into a carrier and brought me here. I wasn't happy about being pushed into the carrier and scruffed while she zipped it shut - but I didn't fight too hard. I asked for her help, after all, and I got it.

She told me I'd be okay and would feel better soon, before she left me here. And the vet people say I'm behaving myself well.

But I don't have any food. Tomorrow morning they're going to sedate me, and then take out some of my urine and figure out what's going on. They're going to give me the rest of my shots too, while I'm out.

I'm scared, but I'm glad I have a Mama and a Daddy who notice when I'm sick. I wonder how other feral kitties - the ones who haven't been socialized at all - cope when they get sick.

Mama says (with a sigh) that yes, she guesses this really does make her my Mama. It's beyond TNR, it's beyond shots and feeding and shelter and snuggling ... it's major medical care.

I like having a Mama and a Daddy, but I don't like needing major medical care! I want to be back on my porch, and playing in my yard - not just squatting in it, trying to pee.

Seven Things About Me!

I was tagged by both my girl Patches and the newly-affiancéed Tigress to do the Seven Random Things About Me Meme. I'm a little late in doing this, and lots of other cats have already been tagged a lot, so I'm not going to tag any other kitties except Lady who is the only kitty from my house that wasn't tagged. But if any other kitty hasn't been tagged and feels like doing it, feel free to decide I tagged you in intention! I'm not trying to leave anyone out.

First, The Rules (because apparently there have to be Rules. I don't like Rules!):

Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Cats who are tagged need to write on their own diary about the seven things and the rules. You need to choose seven cats to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment that they have been tagged and to read your diary.

My Seven Facts
By Cow!Cat

1) I've been living here for almost a whole year now! The People started noticing me hanging around sometime early last summer, and started leaving food out for me.

2) As long as I don't feel threatened, I'm a pretty mellow dude. I don't seem to hunt much. I like to watch the birds and the bunnies, and my Lady just found out today that I have a squirrel friend.

3) I have a cat friend in the house behind my People's. Sometimes I even go in her house. She has 3 dogs too, and I try to avoid them, but I get along well with that cat. Her person says she sees us going for walks around the neighborhood together. (That doesn't mean I'm cheating on you, Patches!)

4) I apparently have at least one litter of kittens in the neighborhood, according to my cat friend's person, who has seen the little ones on her street and says they look just like me. But I won't be having any more!

5) I am an ankle nipper, but it's really just my way of trying to get people's attention. Most of the time with my Lady I don't even bite or scratch, I just swat her leg with a soft paw, playful-like. I also come running WHENEVER I hear my People at either door, or when I hear their cars in the driveway, and I like to "herd" my People and rub my head against their ankles and feet. The Lady says this makes getting inside when she's carrying a full load of shopping quite a project!

6) I like to get real dusty from rolling around on the driveway or under the shrubbery ... and then have my Lady use the Zoom Groom or the nubby wire brush on me!

7) What I want more than anything is to be a real housecat. This Porch thing is okay - it's warm and dry and feels pretty safe, 'possums aside - but I want to be with my people all the time! And having real furniture to scratch would be nice too, MOL.

I went exploring today

It was a busy day. First, I sat outside this afternoon on the pickanick table with my squirrel friend. The Lady didn't even know until today that I have a squirrel friend. But we were sitting together on the table. He was eating something nutty, and I was just watching the world. It was a nice mellow interlude.

Then when the Boy came home from school, he saw that the inside door for my Porch was open, but there were no other cats on it. So he unlatched my cat door so I could come in my Porch and have a snack or take a nap if I wanted to.

Did I ever!

He was upstairs in his room, working on his computer, when he heard that baby wussy Leo yowling. Then Leo came hustling up the stairs. And guess who was trotting right behind Leo?

That's right. ME!!!!

Apparently the Boy didn't lock the Inside Porch door when he opened my cat door, so when I came onto the Porch I bumped against it and it opened. And I decided it would be fun to explore Inside!

The Boy and the Lady locked that squalling brat Leo and Thomas and Lady-the-cat into bedrooms, and just watched me as I checked out the Upstairs of the house. They went to go downstairs, thinking I'd follow them, but I stopped at the landing halfway down and rubbed against their legs. Because there, sitting in the living room watching me, was that Pixie! She just looked at me, and I looked at her, and she looked at me.

So then the Lady went downstairs and tried to pick up Pixie, but she hid under a chair in the dining room, and I explored the bathroom and living room. So many interesting things to sniff at! Finally the Boy put Pixie in the basement and shut the door, and then I checked out the dining room and kitchen. Would you believe there's a food bowl and a water bowl in the kitchen?

Then I realized Pixie was right behind that door, so I sniffed at her and scratched at the door, and she yelled at me, and the Lady said "Cowwwww!Caaaatttt" which kinda means "No", and I got bored with all that negativity so I went back in the living room to check it out some more. Then the Boy went out on the Porch, and I followed him, and he scritched me a bit and then went back Inside.

He locked the door behind him that time. Darn.

So I spent the night peeking at Lady and Thomas and wussy Leo through the glass, as usual.

The Lady said she was really happy that I didn't try to spray anything. She thinks maybe the Feliway diffuser helped me act like a gentleman.

I hope I get to go back Inside again sometime soon.

I'm all healthy! And also, I have a Squillion!

Through trickery most vile, the Vet and the Vet Tech and the Lady conspired to
slip me a mickey yesterday, scoot me into a black tunnel, and have me spend the day at the Spa.

It all started with a plate of tuna fish. Tasted a little funny, but I ate some anyway. Next thing I know, I was feelin' really mellow. I sat on the Lady's lap for a little while, pranced around her on the floor (but my legs felt rubbery) and next thing I know she was PUSHING ME into the black tunnel. Hmph! But I didn't really have the energy to resist. Then she carried the black tunnel with me in it to the car and we went for a very short ride, with me telling what I thought of her all the way. She didn't seem fazed by it though.

I slept at the Spa for a long time, and when I woke up I was all clean. The Vet even cleaned my eyes and my teeth! The Vet Tech said he gave me all of my second round of injections, and also an injection for the sore on my mouth and my runny eye. But the Vet said it's not an infection - it seems to be a skin irritation, perhaps allergic. "Lip-fold dermatitis" he called it, which sounds kind of odd to me. How do you fold your lips, anyway?

So the Lady brought me home and put me on my Porch, and my legs were even more wobbly, so all I really did last night was sleep. Then this morning she gave me more tuna fish. Um, as if I'm going to fall for that? What, do I look like I just fell off the kibble truck? I ate some of it, but it tasted funny - a different funny, but still funny - and finally she took it away.

I spent some time outside today, to make up for yesterday when I was asleep. It was a much nicer day today anyway. I also grabbed at her hand, just to teach her that I don't really appreciate being manipulated like that.

But tonight she gave me a plate of tuna mixed with a sardine! I couldn't help eating that.

If this is going to be like last time I had the mouth sore and runny eye, and I get a plate of fishy goodness every day and night for awhile, that will be a pretty good thing, don't you think? She said something about buying mackerel for me, because sardines are 'spensive. I don't think I've ever had mackerel before. I hope it's good. She also said she'll try to find me some sensitive-skin food formula when I run out of the food I'm eating now, to see if maybe that will keep the runny eye and lip-fold dermatitis from coming back.

Also, we got us a Squillion! She's a Royal Squillion, and she's Porple, and her name is Queen Vi'let the Persnickety Meezer because she's a meezer, and I'm going to be very nice to her. I'll let her on my Porch, and not chase her or beat her up, and maybe even let her share my sardines and mackerel. But the Lady said I have to share my Squillion with Leo and Lady and Thomas, and I don't wanna. I want Vi'let to be all mine.

At least I don't have to share my Vi'let with Pixie, because Pixie doesn't want anything to do with other cats, not even Royal Porple Queen Meezer Squillions. Sometimes I think out of all the cats in this house, it's easiest for me to get along with neurotic little Pixie.

A new and awesome thing

The Lady tried something with me yesterday, and do I ever like it!

It's called BRUSHING, and it feels SO good.

I can't get enough of it. I hope she does it every day.

She says I am turning into a little cuddlebug. Well, maybe not so little.

Once it gets warmer out, she's going to try putting the pads back on the furnitures on my Porch, with some sort of protective covering over them in case I still feel like spraying. She figures that way she'll be able to sit comfortably and read for awhile, and I can snuggle against her and have more time with her. Well. We'll see about that. I'm not sure I'll put up with passive company like that very well - I like the focus to be on ME, exactly where it should be!

I fought the varmints and I won.

This morning two big ol' 'possums invaded my porch. They were stinky, and they were eating my food and drinking my water. The nerve!

In fact, for awhile the Man locked me INTO the porch with them, not realizing in the early-morning twilight that they were there, so he could let Thomas and Lady and Leo out to play in the back yard for a little while before he left for work.

Then, as he was sitting in the living room drinking his coffee, he felt eyes on him, and he looked up expecting to see me peeking through the French door, and there was a beady-eyed ol' 'possum staring back at him! He was all "Whoa!!!"

So he called the other cats inside from the kitchen, and then he put on the Lady's Cow!Cat Taming Gloves(TM) and came out on the porch to try to shoo them away, but when he opened the porch door I decided to go out and sit on the steps to keep any MORE 'possums from getting in. Meanwhile, the 'possums hid from him behind the furnitures, and played 'possum. So he wound up calling animal control, and animal control came and took those 'possums away to a Wildlife Refuge.

The Lady thinks it's ridiculous that they'll take 'possums to a refuge, but feral cats are taken to the SPCA and euthanized. Why can't feral cats have a refuge too?

The Boy told the Lady that I was swatting at the 'possums to keep them away from me, but basically I was pretty calm. THEY, on the other hand, got all scared and stinky, but the porch has aired out now, so it feels like it's mine again. The Lady got me fresh water and straightened out the area they had messed up skittering around and trying to hide from the Animal Control Officer, and I spent the rest of the day alternately guarding it from further invasion, and telling the Lady all about it whenever I saw her.

I hope no other 'possums come on my porch. The Lady figures that was probably what she and I heard scratching at my cat door back on that night in March that I scared her with my territorial behavior.

She's impressed with how I've calmed down since then, though. She says I've almost turned into a pussycat. Albeit a strutting pussycat who can stare down a matched pair o' 'possums.

And raccoons should just stay away from me too.

Tuna twice a day!

The Lady talked to the Vet the other day about my runny eye and the sore on my mouth, and came home with a bottle of Medicine called Clavamox.

The Vet Tech told her to put the Medicine in canned food, instead of squirting it on top of dry. But the Lady wasn't having any of that. She did find some wet food in the house that she had bought awhile ago and the house cats didn't like - but it was one of the brands and flavors that was on the Menu Foods recall list. So even though it was a different expiry date than the "problem" lots, she decided to throw it out rather than give it to me and worry about it in the back of her mind. So I get my medicine in a spoonful of Tunyfish. Yum yum yum! That is so good!

I get to eat it twice a day until the Medicine is gone. I hope the Medicine is magic and stays in the bottle forever!

When the Lady brings me the plate of yumminess, though, I still want to sit with her for awhile first, and purr and snuggle and rub all over her. I have my priorities, you know. But when she has to leave the porch, I go straight to my plate and eat up all that Tunyfish.

I find myself thinking of her as the Lady less and less, and Mama more and more. Hmmm.

I'm also enjoying this nice weather a lot. I sleep on my porch most of the morning, and then go to the back yard and hang out and watch things. The breeze is nice, the sunshine feels good on my fur, and it's been warm enough that the heater on my porch doesn't go on much anymore, even at night. Tuna, and warm dry weather outside, and a Mama-Lady, and a porch full of blankets and flat surfaces to nap on - what more could a Cow!Cat want?

Skin problems

The past week or so, I've been a pretty mellow dude. I just hang out on the porch most of the time, talk to the Lady and the other cats through the porch door window, and chill.

The Lady is surprised that I don't go outside more when it's nice out, but I'm happy on my porch where it's cozy and I have everything I want. Well, everything I want except INSIDE. The Lady says I'm like a reverse prisoner - I can go anywhere in the world I want except INSIDE, but that's what I want most, especially when she's in there, so I sit at the door pining and looking sad. Meanwhile, the house cats sit at the other door or at a window, pining and looking sad because they all want to go OUTSIDE.

This amuses her, and I don't understand why. She has a most un-catlike sense of humor.

A Man came over last night to go to a concert with the Lady, and since he was talking to the lady nicely and she seemed to like him I decided he must be okay, so I rubbed against his legs to mark him as mine. It surprised her that I was so friendly with someone I'd never seen before.

She's worried about me because yesterday she noticed I have a sore in the right corner of my lips. It's pink and shiny and has a little yellow crusting on it. And my eye is running again. She called the vet today and talked to the tech lady there for awhile, tossing around ideas for getting me checked out. She thinks it might be ringworm, or feline herpes, or calicivirus - she's not really sure, but she doesn't want anything to spread into the house or to the other cats, and she'd rather help me get rid of it if she can.

She also took a sample of my fur over there, where I pulled it out in a clump with a little bit of the roots or skin attached. I had been doing that regularly awhile ago, and she thought it was because something had scratched me near my shoulder and a scab was falling away with the fur attached - she could see the torn area sloughing off. But that stopped happening after a couple of weeks, so when this new clump sloughed off today when she was petting me she saved it, since she had noticed the mouth sore yesterday. Maybe the doctor can look at it and figure out what's going on with me.

The tech lady also said maybe the vet could prescribe some sedatives to give me at home, so getting me to the vet's would be easier and I'd be more manageable once I got there. The Lady doesn't really want to take me there when I'm at full power. She asked about the possibility of a home visit from the vet, but although that would solve the problem of having to take me somewhere in the care, I'd still be very hard to handle on the porch.

The tech lady also says maybe I have a bad tooth, and that could cause both the lip sore AND the runny eye. If that's the case, the Lady definitely wants to take care of the problem so I'm not hurting anymore and so an infection doesn't make me really sick.

I can't say I can argue with the idea of her taking care of me. I like being taken care of, especially the way she does it. I just don't want to have to go to that weird-smelling vet's office. I don't want anything strange to scare me. When I'm scared, it's hard to remember that I am being taken care of - it feels like something might hurt me instead, especially when something tries to touch me. And when I get scared, that scares the Lady, so it's not any fun for either of us.

Spring is nicer than winter. I hope it sticks around for- awhile.

Things have been busy around here the past couple of weeks. The weather's still wacky some of the time, but I'm glad to say that mostly it's been warm and sunny, so I'm enjoying myself outside some days. Today, I've been napping under the forsythia bush in the yard all afternoon. It's sheltered, it's sunny, and I can keep a lookout for squirrels and bunnies and birds and other moving things, without them even seeing me. (I think. The Lady has trouble seeing me there anyway, if she's looking out one of the house windows. I look like crumpled-up newspaper when I'm just resting, with my head down.)

The Human Boy says we have bunnies again this year, so I'm looking forward to hunting them. And the Lady says we have cardinals. She doesn't want me to eat them, but we'll see about that. Apparently they've been coming around for several years, so they might be wise to the ways of us cats.

But the big news is, the Lady took a bunch of pictures today. I refuse to pose for her - I'd much rather rub against her ankles or sit on her lap when I'm with her - but those rotten house cats posed ALL OVER MY PORCH! You can see their pics on their catster pages. Lady's sitting in front of MY CAT DOOR in her new primary photo, not to mention eating MY FOOD in another pic, and Thomas and Leo are livin' la vida loca while I'm hangin' out under the forsythia. Only Pixie has the common sense and courtesy to acknowledge that it's my territory. But that's okay, I spent all yesterday on the porch just 'cause I felt like it, and it's always my room at night. There are a couple pics of it, without me in it, on my page for now. The Lady wants to take pics of ME on the porch of course. Maybe I'll calm down a little more and let her do that one of these days.

I had some behavior issues last week that scared the Lady, but she seems okay with me again. Which is good, because I do like snuggling on her lap. She's gonna get a water pistol to use if I get aggressive or possessive with her - Patches' Mama said that might help me figure out that she's really in charge - so I guess maybe I'd better learn some good behavior. I just get really possessive of my porch and my door, because it's where I feel safest and I don't want anyone else (like LEO) to get the idea that they can do what they want there. And I certainly don't want any other critter using my cat door! But apparently the Humans think it's really THEIR porch. Humph.

I don't understand the point of "toys"

The Lady has been trying to find something to entertain me. She gave me a catnip fuzzy ball, but I didn't care. She gave me a crinkled-up paper ball, but I still didn't care. Then she gave me a toy with a jingly bell and feathers, and another one with a ball rolling around inside that I suppose I could bat at with my paw, if I felt like it. But guess what? I DON'T CARE!

Today, she got out a shiny dot thing, and I watched it move around. It was kind of interesting, but she seemed to think I would want to chase it. Why would I do that, when I'm sitting comfortably on her lap? Doesn't she know that having a lap to sit on is much better than pretending to hunt a shiny dot?

In fact, having a lap to sit on is like the best thing ever. I napped on her lap today for a little while. So comfy!

Regarding my socialization and learning not to be aggressive, she says it's a few steps forward, and then a step or two back. I still try to grab at her gloves sometimes, especially if she needs to leave me and I want her to stay. And it looks like I might have gotten in a scrape with something again, because my nose, which was healing nicely from scratches, is scabby again.

The Man might put in a cat-door for me on my porch, so they can shut and lock the big door when they leave the house. They're trying to figure out whether they should get one that has the collar signal on it to open only for the cats it's meant for, or just a basic door that will let any small animal in if it discovers the opening. The problem with the collar-signal one is, they're not sure if I'll wear a collar - and if I manage to pull it off, which even the indoor cats do regularly, then I wouldn't be able to get inside when I wanted to.

what a difference a week makes!

It's been a week and a day since I was TNR'ed, and in that time I have learned so much!

When it got really cold at the end of last weekend, the Lady and the Man were worried about me because I'd just had surgery and they knew it would be harder for me to recuperate if I was outside in sub-freezing temperatures. Since I had been on their porch a couple of times already, the Lady decided that might be a good place for me to take shelter. And she made it such a nice place for me! She gave me an electric space heater, and put my water bowl near it so it wouldn't freeze, and set up some soft blankets and a few surfaces that I could sit on, and even gave me a litter tray. (That's fun to sit in!) Then she opened the outside door a little bit - just wide enough for me to get in - and put a doorstop on each side so I could come in or go out whenever I wanted.

At first I just thought it was kind of interesting to be allowed on the porch and have my food there, as well as water that wasn't icing over every half-hour. I do like drinking fresh water! But then I realized - it's WARM in there! Well, a lot warmer than it is outside anyway. So I started sitting on the blankets when I wasn't eating or drinking. Then I started sleeping there. Now I'm spending a lot of my time hanging out on the porch. And the Lady comes out and spends time with me. And ... it feels good to spend time with her! She sits in a little chair, and lets me get up on her lap, and scritches my ears, and her lap and jacket and arms are so warm and soft and safe-feeling. I have to purr at how good that feels. And the best thing is, even if she has to go away sometimes, the porch and the warm and the blankets and the food and the safe feeling stays! I worried about that at first, and nipped and growled and hissed to tell her I didn't want her to stop cuddling me and leave. But she hissed back at me and told me not to do that, she'd come back later - and she DID. It's so good to know she doesn't disappear forever when she leaves!

There's also a door on the porch that goes INSIDE, just like the door at the back of the house that goes INSIDE. I wish I could follow her in there, but she says I'm not ready yet. I wish I was ready! I wish I knew how to behave inside a house, and share my territory with other cats. But I really think I'm learning fast. I can see the other cats inside sometimes, and I know they go on the porch when I'm not there because I can smell 'em, but it doesn't bother me when I come back in. It's like I'm getting used to knowing they live in the same place. It's very exciting. Maybe someday I'll be able to spend time INSIDE a house when I want, just like the other cats.

The Lady thinks maybe I did live INSIDE at one time, but somehow lost my People and my Home. I don't remember. But the way I'm learning so fast about snuggles and warmth and trust and always having enough food and sharing a porch, she might just be right.

I am a happy Cow!Cat now!

Gettin' fixed wasn't so bad

So I had quite an eventful day the other day. First I was stuck in a wire box all night long. But I was in the room I like to pee in, so it wasn't as windy as I'm used to, and I even had a little heater. And I was covered with blankets, so it wasn't really scary.

In the morning the Lady put me, still in the wire box, in the back of the car and told me I would be okay. Then she disappeared, but the car started moving, so I asked what was going on, and I heard her say it would be okay again. So I knew she hadn't really disappeared. Whenever something felt not quite right, I asked her about it, and she told me we were just going a little faster, or we were turning, or other cars were making big noises.

Then the car stopped, and she took me out. Dang, it was cold out! But soon I was in a room with a whole lot of other cats. I could smell 'em, but I couldn't see 'em, because I was under a blanket in my box. And then I went to sleep for awhile, and woke up in the warm room still under my blanket, and then the Lady came back to see me. She took me out in the cold again for a minute, but then put me back in the car, and I went to sleep again.

I woke up when she took me inside her house, and she put me in a little room with a heater. But then she took me outside AGAIN. This is getting a little ridiculous, don't you think? I went to another building that was warm, and there was a Man In White there who let me out of my box, and the Lady held me. But then the Man In White wanted to touch me, so the Lady loosened her hold on me, and that was when I decided ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE! So I wriggled away and ran around, but there was no place to hide, and I was kind of tired. So when the Lady got hold of me again it seemed like more trouble than it was worth to struggle. She snuggled me and told me I'd be okay, and then the Man In White told her to put me in this funny bag-like thing and hold it shut, and he STUCK me! TWICE!

Then the Lady put me BACK in the car, and took me BACK to the little room with the heater, and gave me a little water to drink and some nibblies. But I was really tired, so I curled up in my box and went to sleep.

Next morning I told the Lady, "You know it's nice and warm in here and all, but I'd like to get out and do my thing now". So she gave me some more water, and some more nibblies, and then she took me outside to where my food is. And I ate a lot more, and then I snuggled her for a bit and talked to her awhile before I went off to do my patrolling. I came back to see the Boy and the Man yesterday, and this morning the Lady spent a lot of time scritching me and petting me while I ate and drank.

And then the Goldilocks Cat Who Steals My Food And Sits In My Shelter came along, so I chased him away, because this is My Yard and My Lady. Oh yeah, and just in case you thought that going for all this travelling and sleeping made me somehow less of a Holy Terror Cat, it's just not true, and I let that Goldilocks Cat know it! In fact, while I was asleep the other day, the people in the room with all the cats obviously noticed that I am a Super!Cool!Cow!Cat, because they gave me a body modification as a souvenir of my travels. Yeah, now I'm sporting a cool ear stylin'. I feel like a real punk now, or maybe a pirate. I'm thinking maybe I should get it pierced too - but I'm not sure a piece of metal in my ear would be a good thing when it's this cold out.

In fact, I kind of wish I could go back in that little warm room in the Lady's house for awhile - but without being in my box. I tried telling them all that this morning, but they must not have understood. They fed me and gave me fresh water and petted me, but they didn't quite get the part where I was trying to nose the door open. I know they try to help me, but just between you and me - I think sometimes they're not the brightest kits in the litter.

Last night I learned that apparently my pal, the awesome Superhero Kitten SPARKMAN! (catster.com/cats/400733), had a similar experience the day after I did - he said he had his "barnacles scuttled". But instead of decorating his ear, the people in the room where he slept gave him a manicure. I kinda think my souvenir is cooler - and it will last and last!

Caught!

Well, I got caught tonight. It didn't take long at all - the Lady put out some tuna and a few dry nibblies around 7:30 pm, and at 9:30 she was doing stuff in the kitchen when she heard the door snap shut. When she came out to see me I mrrrowed at her a little, but I wasn't crazy upset. Then she put me, still in the trap, on the (enclosed) front porch - I've been there before, and I've peed in there so I know it's one of My Places - and she sprayed the blanket she put over the trap with Feliway. And the Man gave me a space heater. (He's a big softy.)

So I'm off to take a Ride in a Car, which I don't think I've ever done before and I'm not really looking forward to it, and then be fixed tomorrow. I hope this all works out well. At least I won't have any bugs all over me or in me any more, and maybe I won't scare Leo and Thomas so much when I'm "neutral". Because I'd kinda like to have some friends around here.

what? ANOTHER cat?

The Lady talked to someone at the feral clinic last night, and they hatched a Plan to trap me and get me fixed, maybe as soon as Thursday. Hmmph. So today the Lady went into the back yard with the trap to put it near my shelter and feeding station, and put some food inside it to try to get me used to it before she sets the Trap part. We'll have to see how I take to that notion. But anyway, there was ANOTHER cat there, eating MY food from MY bowl! The nerve!

The Lady petted it, and it was very friendly, but she's concerned because she doesn't want to trap the wrong cat! She never saw this one before, but she thinks it's awfully cute. It's all white except for a gray patch on top of its head between its ears. And its ears are PINK! It's a male, but she thinks he's either not fully grown, or he's already been neutered, since he looks slim and has a triangular face - no "fight pads" like I have. But he doesn't have any tags, and he seemed pretty hungry, so she doesn't know if he has a home and was just out exploring, or somehow got lost or his people decided they didn't want him anymore. He seems awfully tame in any case - even though he had never met her before, he was letting her pet him and scritch his belly. And he wanted to go in the house.

She called the Vet to see if anyone had reported a missing cat resembling this one, but apparently not. She said if she sees him again, she'll take him in and have the Vet scan him for an ID chip. But the main thing is, she doesn't want to catch him now, when she's trying to catch ME.

There's never a dull moment around here, apparently.

Trapping me? I don't know if I like the sound of that.

The lady just sent an email to a local animal coalition that she found through posts on the Fabulous Ferals group. She hopes maybe they'll help her trap me and get me some medical care, since they advocate TNR and have a program for it. I'm not in a feral "colony" - I'm a loner cat, except for the housecats here and my catster girlfriend Patches - but I don't think they would deny me help just because of that, do you?

Being trapped sounds like no fun at all, but I think the lady might be right that it's for the best. At least, if I'm eartipped as a registered feral, I won't be in so much peril from the Animal Control department. I don't want them to come along with their van and take me away to an "animal shelter", because I'm not a good candidate for adoption by just anyone looking for a housecat. And you know what that means ...

I hope the lady hears back from the animal coalition people. When she tried to contact other programs for strays and ferals earlier, she never heard back from them.

Sometimes I just can't help myself

The Lady saw me when I was sitting on the front steps today. She thinks it looks like I found something that didn't like me. My nose is scratched and my eye is runny.

She wants to try to clean up my face and put some medicine on it, but I knew she was thinking about that, so I slipped away while she was getting the first aid kit.

She thinks I might have a chronic upper respiratory infection because my eye has been runny most of the time she's known me. It seemed to clear up for awhile this fall, but now it's doing it again. I dunno. I'm not sure I can trust her enough to let her handle me the way she'd have to, to give me medicine. I don't want to bite her again, but if I get scared I don't know what I'll do.

She gave me lots of food yesterday and sat with me while I ate it.