The Semi-confident Cat

Yesterday, Xandria and Brazil went to the hospital for vaccinations. I knew Xandria would behave well, despite her tiny protests from the carrier during the journey. She was curious and unafraid; the only problem she presented was not wanting to sit still for her examination.

I was worried about Brazil. His first veterinary visit, in October, 2023, produced such terror in him that he leaped about the examining room and no real examination could be conducted. His second visit, due to his refusal of food, was an all-day affair, for which he was sedated. What a difference this time!

With the examining room’s doors closed, I opened Shimmer’s carrier and pulled him out. He was reluctant, but did not fight. I spoke to him the whole time, and the doctor was able to look him over, listen to his heart and lungs, check his eyes and teeth, and give him his injection. After that, Brazil was put back into his carrier and the matter was concluded. He spent ten minutes under the bed upon his return home - Xan jumped onto the bed and snuggled down, purring - after which he came out and was perfectly normal.

Brazil has certainly changed over the last year. He still hides when people come to visit, but the fact that he allowed a stranger to pull up his gums and stare at his eyes shows how far he’s come. He is still available for adoption - as if, of course Xandria - and I think he will have an easier time adjusting to a new home than he once would have. But for now, Shimmer is pleased to enjoy the amenities of the Cosy Cabin; it was warm, comfortable, and even comes with little sisters.

More Space, More Fun

The Cosy Cabin offers much more opportunity for the cats to play than did the Cosy Apartment. Because Imogen doesn’t care to be too close to Brazil, any proximity between the two distracts Shimmer and shuts down Imo’s drive to play. I had to play with one in the bedroom and the other in the sitting room.

Now, I can use the red dot with both cats simultaneously, while flinging about a string-toy for the kittens. Imogen likes to chase the red dot in the kitchen and down the corridor to the bedrooms, and sometimes into the bathroom. She slides on the linoleum and spins about, which I think she likes. Brazil thumps about the carpeted sitting room, trying to squash the dot. Valkyrie and Xandria pursue the string-toy, the former often jumping high into the air; Xan’s stubby little legs can’t give her much height, but she manages to tackle the toy nonetheless.

I need to involve the others in play, too. Neville has no interest in such fun, preferring to watch disdainfully from his heated cat-bed. This I understand. But Moxy and Indigo should be more active. I wonder if Moxy has ever played, as he seems a bit fearful of toys. Indigo I worry about the most, as she appears interested in little but eating, sleeping and having some petting time with me. This pair will be receiving some special attention in the near future. And of course Sable is a ways from any kind of interaction, though I did try to interest her in the red dot. It drew no response.

But to see Brazil rush about the sitting room - whereas previously he would lie on a cat-tree and wait for a toy to come to him - and Miss Silky run and twirl in quest of the red dot, is both gratifying and entertaining to me. I think it is the same to them.

Living Together

I don’t think many people actually want to take care of eight cats all at once. These things happen, especially when one is involved in rescuing. I do have the room now for eight cats, and a tolerant landlady who also loves cats - though I don’t really want to push my population any further, for a number of reasons.

That written, I must admit that the situation in the new Cosy Cabin is much better than it could be. There is still growling and hissing. Neither Imogen nor Indigo like other cats near them. (I won’t be giving any more cats names beginning with the letter I…) Indie will swat at any feline who comes too near (ie. within reach.) Yet they now tolerate others - even each other - on the bed at night.

As for the rest, Neville is probably the most reluctant, but he will put up with much before expressing disapproval. The kittens are very good friends; Moxy enjoys grooming Xandria, while Brazil is slowly being accepted as a playmate by Valkyrie. All we need is for Sable to become sociable - but that may come in time.

Except for Sabe, all the cats seem to like me, too. I am surprised at how friendly Indigo is with me: she will leave a comfortable spot to lie on my lap, or flop down next to me on the bed at night. (With her on one side, Moxy on the other, and Imo at my feet, it’s a good thing I sleep largely immobile.) I find that most cats want some form of interaction with humans; they want to be able to trust and even like a person. After all, being on one’s guard all the time is exhausting.

I therefore consider myself very lucky in the random allotment of cats life has strewn before me.

Weekend Update: Hairballs and Play-time

I hope soon to be publishing my blog from my home-computer. I have a new-to-me machine, and intend this week to install the programmes necessary to do what I want to do. Until then, I can at least access the internet and receive and send emails.

The weekend was a good one, though not without its problems. Neville threw up once but appears to be tolerating the Methimazole well. He is eating decently, and his biggest complaint is probably having periodically to share the heated cat-bed with Brazil.

Sable threw up a hairball. I was watching a movie Saturday evening in the cat-room; Sable was in her enclosed cat-bed. I heard the unmistakeable sounds of the preparation for feline vomiting and watched her tunnel-like cat-bed move back and forth until it culminated in a puke. I was afraid that it was something serious, as I would be able to do nothing for this guest who is still semi-feral. I was able to check the results later, though, when Sabe had moved temporarily to the carrier, and found that it was indeed a hairball, which can be a great bother but usually not a danger. I was relieved.

Yesterday morning, however, I found that the previous night’s puke was just a prologue. Sable had released the contents of her stomach all over the cat-room. Somewhere in it all was a small clump of hairball. I hope that is all she has to offer and, while she has remained hidden in her cat-bed, Sable appears to be on the mend, having eaten soft-food several times Sunday.

If a hairball, and one cat getting on another’s nerves, are the extent of the difficulties in an eight-cat household, then things are running almost smoothly, and I am thankful for that. Another thing for which I am thankful is kittens at play. The books have almost all been placed in their cases in the library, leaving about two dozen empty boxes lying about the floor. These have become a glorious playground for Valkyrie and Xandria, as they jump in and out of boxes, knock them down, chase each other through the labyrinth and generally enjoy themselves. They will think the finished library terribly boring.

The Best-laid Plans of Cats and Men...

Yesterday was less than successful. Neville went to the hospital to have a check-up on his hyperthyroidism, and how the medicine he is receiving for it is working. That part brought good news. His thyroid reading is now within acceptable limits, though just barely. His dosage of Methimazole will remain the same. It may be causing him to throw up, which is a concern, as he continues it through the day unless given Cerenia. I have that drug and can easily administer it to Nev, but his condition would be better without either the vomiting or its remedy. He may grow more accustomed to the Methimazole’s effects.

He also had a blood-glucose sensor applied to him. He has had these attached previously - twice, in fact - and has not worried about them, unlike another cat of my acquaintance who shall remain nameless (Indigo). I felt that two weeks of glucose readings would give me a good understanding of how the hyperthyroidism and its treatment is affecting his diabetes.

Unfortunately, the sensor ceased working immediately. The first reading told me to come back in ten minutes; ten minutes later, it reported that the sensor was finished and that I should attach a new one. Sigh.

The cost of the sensor, the vet visit and, most of all, the inconvenience and stress for Neville: all for nothing.

Later that night, my cellular telephone froze. This would not be such a bother if I had internet with which to communicate with others but that, as you may recall, is also inoperative at the Cosy Cabin. I hurried down to the telephone shop before it closed, and was shown how to release the freezing, which I will remember for next time.

Also, one of the brakes on my bicycle does not work.

However, the Nevsky is feeling good this morning; he ate a decent breakfast and was comfortable in his heated bed when I left for work. My telephone is operable again and I don’t really need brakes on my bicycle. That’s an old wives’ tale. I am in the process of negotiating a new computer (the negotiations are in my head: I’m trying to decide what to buy) so I should be able to perform the rudiments of computer work from my home again soon. Until then, please bear in mind that, as my blog is moderated, any comments made over the weekend will have to wait until Monday to go on the blog; a similar delay will relate to emails.

Life is still good, it’s just annoying as heck sometimes.

Now, I Am Old

Now, I am old.

I walk slowly, and don’t really care to walk at all. I can’t remember the last time I ran. My joints ache and my muscles hurt, and my bones are brittle and weak.

Now, I am old. I don’t have the appetite I once did, and food tastes bland and dull. I shiver too much and the air is too cold. I sleep most of the time, and my dreams are filled with what used to be.

Now, I am old. I watch the youngsters play, and remember making my friends laugh, and strangers smile. I now climb slowly, where I used to leap. I am excited by nothing and enthused by less.

Now, I am old. Some day, relatively soon, I will die. But I will not cease to exist. For I will have loved and will have been loved; I will have experienced joy and contentment, and given joy and contentment to others; I will have touched the world, and been touched in turn. And all those I will have touched, and all those they will touch, will carry a piece of me with them. When they smile, I will smile; when they love, I will love. And when youth yet unborn runs and jumps and feels the sun upon its face, I too will run and jump and feel warmed by the glow of a new day. I will exist in a million lives because I will have lived one, and I will be a part of eternity.

Even though now, I am old.

The K-tel Catty-stacker

Maybe some day I’ll be able to stack all eight of them…

In a related topic, I am having computer issues at home. It may be a matter of power. In any case, I will be able to access the internet and its ramifications only from work, so my responses to blogs or to emails may be delayed. As the recorded messages say - usually while someone in the office is relaxing with a cup of coffee - our staff is working hard to get back to you.

Sable's Progress

Some readers may be wondering how Sable is doing. She is still very shy and wary. However, she has taken to spending more time than previous in the carrier that has been left in her room.

I take this as progress because she had been spending all of her time so far in an enclosed cat-bed which pretty much hid her from sight, and hid the rest of the world from her sight. Now, she can see much more of the room, and see much more of me when I come in. Nor does she dart from the carrier to the enclosed cat-bed when I enter to the cat-room. In other words, I think the carrier provides a less protected feeling for her, and that she is satisfied with it represents a step forward.

Even so, Sabe has many steps still to take. But at least she can take them in safety and comfort, and at her own pace.

Free to Play

I always enjoy seeing the progress cats make in their relations with one another. I have been watching the evolving interaction between Brazil and Valkyrie. Shimmer has always tried to lessen the distance but Valk, being the new and younger feline, has been hesitant, her hisses coming frequently. Now, though, they are rarer. While she still is wary of the larger cat’s presence – Brazil’s relative size is probably a bit intimidating – there is clearly a desire to play, on the kitten’s part.

It’s amusing to see that while both beasts seem to want to have fun with each other, the introduction to play-time – Brazil’s tail – causes its owner a bit of annoyance that he likely did not anticipate. Valkyrie watches the other’s tail, which switches back and forth the more attention it receives, thus intensifying that attention. Nonetheless, there was more enjoyment than warning in the session recorded here, though, as with most early stages of play, the two emotions were combined without paradox.

As a seemingly irrelevant aside – an aside which is, in a way, a part of every blog-entry, I would like to mention Remembrance Day. Today is the day given to recalling and commemorating the sacrifices made by those who fought and fight for our country. Without those sacrifices, my ability to do something so innocuous as to describe the antics of my cats might be severely restricted. The freedom of such communications as what you are reading right now depends on what people in the previous century did. I thank them for it.