Matters of Weight

I weighed the beasts this past weekend. An immediate concern was Josie, whom I accused of losing some tonnage. She has, but not much since she was last weighed, which was as long ago as October. I borrow my rescue-group’s scales for the purpose, so I am unable to do it regularly, though enough to keep an eye on things.

As you may observe, my Chubs has diminished since October, though that month’s weight was more than September’s. This has eased my mind over the possibility of the Great White growing too thin too fast. Everyone else has gained some poundage.

I approve of Cammie’s increase. She went through an illness when she would not eat, and I believed that would adversely affect her for some time. I don’t know that I want my princess to gain any more, but what she has put on is, I think, satisfactory.

The others are another story. My big boy continues to get bigger. I am not concerned too much about Renn. He is a large-framed cat and lean, really. He is my most active pet and I would be hard-pressed to cut back on his food, as he eats very little. His desire for soft-food is low, though he is periodically and unpredictably enthusiastic for this flavour or that, and he consumes little hard-food. He is made for a hefty weight.

As for Tucker, my roly poly is becoming rolier and polier. Now that Parker is living with us, the food situation is being revised, and this will, I hope, lead to some diminution in Tucker’s presence.

As an addendum, Parker’s weight is between the boys’.

So, while the scales brought relief in regard to the girls’ physiognomy, it was the opposite case with the boys. They will need to lose weight, especially Tucker. In short, I need to see less of him.

17th September, 2016

Josie: 6.21 kg (13.69 lbs)

Renn: 8.70 kg (19.18 lbs)

Tucker: 8.08 kg (17.81 lbs)

Cammie: 4.48 kg (9.88 lbs)

9th October, 2016

Josie: 6.36 kg (14 lbs)

Renn: 8.88 kg (19.58 lbs)

Tucker: 8.03 kg (17.7 lbs)

Cammie: 4.61 kg (10.16 lbs)

21st January, 2017

Josie: 6.24 kg (13.76 lbs)

Renn: 9.15 kg (20.17 lbs)

Tucker: 8.27 kg (18.23 lbs)

Cammie: 4.78 kg (10.54 lbs)

Parker: 8.49 kg (18.72 lbs)

Perceptions of Orange

Perception is a strange thing. An image may remind you of something which, in fact, it barely resembles.

Parker is settling in nicely. He has a bit of an issue with the other cats going into ‘his’ library when he is out, and he shows too much interest when his roommates visit the litter-boxes. I am working on changing his thoughts on those occasions. He is very friendly and, in almost all things, easy-going.

I was in an armchair in the sitting room over the weekend and I saw a form approaching. It was orange, with a white, lacy bib on its chest. For the briefest of instances, I thought it was Tungsten walking toward me. It was, of course, Parker.

His resemblance to Tungsten is slight. In shape and size, gait and attitude, they are contrasts. Even his shade of orange is deeper, redder. But, caught at a certain angle, or performing a certain activity, and I am reminded of the tiny terror.

Each cat is different, as different as each human. I would never object to taking care of an orange cat, even a thin, little female, just because of a superficial comparison to Tungsten. Personalities quickly impose a new character on what may appear to be an old form. I will never worry about mistaking a strange cat for the orange one.

But perception is a strange thing, and now and then, for an immeasurably short span of time, Tungsten walks toward me across the room.

Our Armies Advance on Two Fronts

Situations improved over the weekend. Firstly, Josie’s appetite returned. She started eating just a select flavour of soft-food, then went back to her favourites; she began eating hard-food again, then wanted second helpings of soft-food. Now, I would say my Chubs is back to normal.

I don’t know what may have caused her problem. Among other bloggers, Pilch92 was worried about dental problems, but Josie had a full dental not so long ago, which came with blood and urine tests. Kari thought it may have been excess stomach acid, Kim at Fuzzy Tales mentioned kidney problems and the Tabbies of Trout Towne wondered if a cold prevented Josie from smelling her food. I am gratified that so many people and cats worried about the Great White, and I was ready to ask all of these questions of the doctor if I had to take Josie in to the hospital. Her weight is good; I was able to weigh the beasts on Saturday. This will be discussed another day but suffice it to say that, though Josie is about an eighth of a kilogram lighter than she was in October, she is almost exactly the same weight as she was two months before that.

For now, my Chubs will not need to go to the doctor. I told her, however, that I reserve the right to whisk her to the hospital at the slightest provocation.

Also from the Department of Good News, Parker’s integration is proceeding well. The big orange boy is not liked by my beasts, but that is expected. How would you feel opening a door in your home one day to find a stranger has taken up residence? But their reactions have been restrained, even Cammie’s; the princess hisses a great deal at Parker, but allows him to walk about without much opposition. She even remains undisturbed in a cat-bed on the floor, not always preferring the advantage of height, when Parker is loose. (Though she throws a fit when he starts to climb the cat-tree on which she is lying.)

Josie and Renn have the least problems with the newcomer, while Tucker hesitates to pass within a few feet of him, and hisses like a customer at a diner who sneezes with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. But even he often just observes Parker walk by.

For his part, Parker shows some curiosity in regard to his roommates, but not much. He had been quite offended when they explored the smells in the library while he was elsewhere, but that is not so much a problem now. I can do things about the apartment without having to keep an eye constantly on him. He has not stalked anyone and appears to want to stay close to me, if to anyone. I don’t mind that.

Parker is a very human-friendly cat. I try to give him half an hour before bed-time, just the two of us. He lies half-way on my lap and purrs loudly while I pet him. In his insulin delivery, I am growing more practised. He requires a very large amount, but it’s hoped that that can be decreased. His diabetes is not weakening him physically: He’s leaped up on to my kitchen counters twice - once to see what smelled so good (it was movie-night, so it was the popcorn) and once to look out the window.

This integration is going well and, though it may be a very long time before Parker is permitted out with the others in my absence, I am pleased with the progress so far.

Mild Worry

Josie has been a little out of sorts lately. Very soon after I wrote about her being the cat who finished everyone else’s left-overs, my Chubs started refusing food. I think this was on the same principle by which cats will stop eating whatever food of which their people buy the most; but this was more serious.

Josie lost interest in her soft-food, and then in her hard-food, which was even less usual. She did not seem especially put off by it; she would amble to the bowl and consider the food. She appeared not to lack an appetite; she would simply choose not to eat, and walk away as though she had decided that she was not interested. It didn’t matter what food I offered; adding FortiFlora had no effect.

In the last couple of days, the Great White has been eating more. Last evening, she was sitting on the bed, almost eager for her soft-food dinner, which was a good sign. And this morning, she ate from the hard-food bowl, as well. But she is not consuming as much as she should. I think she is still losing weight, though not by an alarming rate. I hope to borrow weigh-scales this weekend, and weigh everyone. If Josie has lost an appreciable amount, or if she reverts to refusing food, I will take her to the doctor.

Concern for these animals is constant and, unfortunately, they seem to provide one reason after another to worry about them. Hopefully, worrying about Josie in this instance will turn out to be without good cause.

A Guest Appearance

Tucker makes his acting debut today, over at The Tabbies of Trout Towne (http://da-tabbies-o-trout-towne.blogspot.ca). The trout-talkin’ tabbies there asked if he could make a guest appearance in the Codd Mother’s latest blockbuster. I thought the roly poly could use a fun outing, so off he went. Take a moment to visit the tabbies and see what their thespian skills have wrought.

Just One of the Crowd

Parker has been out among the other cats for more than half an hour each of the past three nights. He doesn’t show much desire to interact with them, though he sniffed noses with Josie, and then backed away, emitting a low wail. For the most part, however, when he comes out of the library, he is curious but not intrusive.

Cammie is the most affected by the new boy’s release from quarantine. She doesn’t even care for him being in the library. While the others may try to smell Parker under the closed door, Cammie will hiss at the unseen guest. I try not to have all of my beasts out at once when the new fellow is walking about, but sometimes it’s impossible to arrange things that way. I want each to get used to Parker, but I also want my regulars to enjoy their normal lives.

I will allow our visitor out on the weekend for longer periods. The trouble is that I have to make time for this, as I can’t concentrate on doing anything during these periods, wanting to guard against any hostility that may result from cat meeting cat. It’s been more than a year since I’ve had a foster-cat, and I have to grow accustomed to the new situation as much as the cats.

Introducing Parker

My house-guest arrived yesterday afternoon. Parker is a big, friendly, orange fellow, about ten years old. Initially, I locked my beasts away in the bedroom - except for Cammie, who was high up on the tallest cat-tree - and let Parker roam about. Then, he went into the library that had been prepared for him. He has a special diet, and a schedule for eating, so, when I do integrate him with mine, there will be some adjustment in the availability of food, though it won’t be something to which no one can grow accustomed.

The injection of Parker’s insulin will take a little refinement on my part. He receives his medicine by syringe, rather than pen. The needles are long, and Parker’s skin does not pinch readily, as does Tucker’s. I may be receiving syringes with shorter needles. Trying to make sure that the needle doesn’t go through the skin and out the other side, or penetrate into muscle (or into my finger), making certain a cat is not hurt, while trying to inject medicine, all in a half-second or so, is quite the operation. Shorter needles would facilitate this.

My first attempt at injection was not a success. I had to call Parker’s foster-guardian for help but, as life goes sometimes, I tried again and successfully gave him his shot literally as the foster-guardian was ringing my doorbell. And this morning, though Parker felt the prick of the needle, the injection was completed successfully. It will take some time before he and I are both used to each other, but I am satisfied we will make a good team against his diabetes.

Aside from this, Parker is an easy-going guest. He sheds at a mere touch, and has a few mats in his fur; he doesn’t care for combing or brushing, but I will try to get him accustomed to it. He purrs a great deal. I spent half an hour with him before bed-time; he lie at my feet, purring and flexing his paws the whole time. I think he is one of those cats who simply enjoys human company. He misses his foster-guardian, but I will try to make up for her absence as much as I can.

Then there are my cats. I will slowly integrate Parker with them, but I don’t believe giving him time by himself would be a bad thing. He has always lived with several cats, and I think he may like being alone (or at least alone with a person). But I will see how things proceed. He may surprise me and become great friends with one of mine. (Actually, Parker being friendly enough for that would not surprise me; mine being friendly enough for that would.)

And, finally, an aside about Tucker. I was preparing the syringe for Parker, siphoning insulin from its vial. Tucker, lying on a chair at the dining table, saw me do this. He dropped to the floor, went into the sitting room and lie down. He had likened the shape of the syringe to that of his insulin pen, and thought it was time again for his own shot. What a good little patient.