The Cosy Apartment Feline Sanitarium

Welcome to the Cosy Apartment Feline Sanitarium! I am John Bellen, the director, and I would like to thank you for wanting to learn about our facility.

We are located in the green and pleasant valley of the Imagination, just near the edge of a Claude Lorrain landscape, and specialise in the emotional and physical care of cats. Our clientele here at Cosy Apartment is small but select. Before I take you on the tour, allow me to present my assistant, Renfrew Foster. Renn, as we call him, is an orderly here, fit and healthy, as you can see.

Our current residents are varied in both background and health. Miss Josefina von Chubs, for instance, required some weight-loss. Now that she is diminishing in poundage, she has stayed on, having recently had a dental cleaning which has left her in a very good physical condition, for a lady-cat of that certain age.

Mr Tucker R Poly has had the most issues with which to deal, and I must say that he has maintained his purring nature throughout his ordeals. From urinary infections and blockages to gingivitis and now, diabetes, he has remained cheerful and young at heart.

Princess Camarouska Albigensia, who has permitted us to call her Cammie, often has nutritional challenges, and is currently a concern because of the onset of kidney failure. However, our dietician, in conjunction with our expert medical advisers, has designed a menu which should control the problem admirably - if Her Serene Highness will condescend to eat it.

Our latest client is a rather mysterious feline known only as Parker. He is here to be treated for his diabetes. He is responding positively to our plans. Due to his newness, he has a private room, though he enjoys mixing with the other residents. His weight is slowly being reduced and the dosage of insulin is also being adjusted, under the supervision of our doctors, of course. 

Here at Cosy Apartment Sanitarium, we try to accommodate the many needs of our clients, because good health isn’t just physical. Naturally, the latter aspect is always a concern, and for it, we have the exercise room, with climbing apparatus, nylon tunnel and toys, including Kick-a-roos, Tackle-fish and the ever popular fuzzy mice. Due to their complex nature, string-toys and laser-pointers are operated by staff only. We will be installing a track-ball course soon; it was used to a great extent by past clients, and we feel that it may be welcomed again.

After activity necessarily comes rest, for which we have numerous beds and chairs. A favoured feature is the heated bed, of which we have two, for the convenience of our residents.

We even present a weekly movie in the on-site cinema, a new feature shown every Saturday night, though this seems to be enjoyed more by the staff. This week’s film will be the 1953 thriller, Inferno, starring Robert Ryan.

Meals are provided, of course. Due to the ever-changing tastes of our residents, our menu is nearly exhaustive. We cater to specific needs and whims, and our clerk of the kitchen is noted for his contacts abroad, able to bring in the most obscure of ingredients for the delectation of the diners. (Please note that Mr Poly does not have a wooden leg; it’s just where he is standing.)

Yes, we try to provide for every need at Cosy Apartment Sanitarium. But we are not alone in our efforts to help cats. There are many thousands, even millions of similar sanitaria across the country, safeguarding the well-being of millions of cats. As well, canine, equine, lapine and even aviarian facilities abound. Some are small institutions, such as our own, catering to one or two, or a handful of cats; others are large, with a sizeable clientele. Many are under-funded; in many, the staff is over-worked. But each strives to give its best for the sake of its residents.

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Cosy Apartment Feline Sanitarium, and I look forward to your future visits. And remember, as we like to think here, a Cosy cat is a happy cat.

Medical News Good and Bad

The results of Renn and Cammie’s physical examinations have come in. There is some good news and some bad news, though not very bad news.

Firstly, Renn is in as good health, as I had suspected. My big boy with the tiny appetite manages somehow to keep himself fit, inside and out. There was a trace of protein in his urine, but that is nothing to worry about. I don’t know how he accomplishes it, but Renn is doing well, and there isn’t much more to write about that, except that I am relieved.

There is less cause to be enthusiastic about Cammie’s health. She is at the beginning of kidney failure. The laboratory to which the tests were sent noted that the princess (though they didn’t refer to her as such) is not yet in that condition, but her veterinary re-phrased that. Cammie is “in the early stages of kidney failure.” Cammie’s creatinine levels are at the very high end of the normal range, and her specific gravity is on the edge of the lowest at which a healthy cat should be.

The treatment for this is, at this point, purely dietary. Cammie needs to eat food specifically created for this condition, and I will be collecting some this week. Those who are familiar with my princess through this blog will know that her appetite is not catholic. She likes a very small variety, and will not even sample anything else. The food she needs to eat comes in a wider range of flavours and textures than it once did, but the very fact that it is medicated food may put her off. I’m hoping that, like Mikey and Life brand cereal, she - despite hating everything - will eat it. I won’t tell her it’s good for her.

This also means that I will be reserving Cammie’s dental cleaning for an earlier time than I had expected. The procedure will be a relatively simple one. The longer I leave it, the more will need to be done, and, possibly, the greater the complications offered by her renal situation. Surgery and new food: not something to which Cammie would look forward with relish.

The results of the tests were clearly not the success for which I had hoped, despite Renn’s health (and, as he enters middle age, let it not be thought that I am ungrateful for his report.) Someone with Tucker’s enjoyment of most foods would have been a better candidate for needing special nutrition, but my roly poly has his own worries. So Cammie and I will deal with her troubles; her doctor attended a seminar not long ago which featured a speaker who had three renally-challenged cats, and all three were faring very well on diet alone. I am encouraged by this. I will be even more encouraged if Cammie likes her new food.

So Far, So Good

Renn and Cammie visited their doctor yesterday afternoon. They didn’t like it, but things went well.

The results of the blood and urine tests will not be known until tomorrow, or Monday, at the latest. The technicians were able to draw enough of each fluid from each cat for the tests, which was a relief. In terms of what could be seen and heard in the examination room, the only problems the cats have are minor inflammations of the gums due to gingivitis. The doctor was not overly concerned about this, as the cases are not severe, and I will schedule dental procedures for both cats in the spring.

The beasts were removed in turn from the examination room to the back of the hospital where the fluids were taken. Cammie was gone so long, I was beginning to fear they had lost her. But then I heard her sharp and angry “Reh’!” (note the glottal stop; it’s the best written imitation I can make of her displeasure) repeated as she was carried back to the exam room. She evidently debated physically with the staff regarding the loss of her blood though, true to her character, she didn’t try to hurt anyone. Renn, on the other hand, shook with fright, the poor fellow, and was no trouble at all.

The findings of the immediate examination were not worrisome - the cats’ dental conditions notwithstanding - and will be dealt with relatively soon. I will publish the results of the detailed tests when they become available. I don’t expect any bad news to come of them, but then, the point of this adventure was to forestall such bad news, and, if Cammie and Renn are facing difficulties, we will catch them early.

Cammie's Staff of Life

The veterinary appointment for Renn and Cammie was postponed until later today, due to the doctor not being able to return from a conference in time. The delay allowed a foot of snow to fall in the meantime, which may affect my travel to and from the hospital. The cats, were they to know of their schedule, may applaud the snow, but I will get them to the doctor one way or another.

However, an immediate result of the postponement is that I will write about Cammie and the bread today, rather than later in the week.

I bake bread once every couple of weeks. I don’t mix the dough or set it to rise or put it in the oven. I have neither the skill nor the time for that. But I have a bread-maker I received as a gift years ago and I continue to use it. I enjoy what it produces, both in terms of edible result and of smells. The aroma of baking bread is a joy of civilisation. But until Sunday, no cat had thought similarly.

Though she has never taken an interest previously, Cammie caught a whiff of the baking dough and became mildly obsessed with it. It was at the beasts’ dinner-time, and this distraction threw off any desire the princess may have had for cat-food. She wandered about the apartment, her head raised, her nose twitching, ignoring all offers of proper nutrition. She wanted bread - or at least to know the source of the fragrance she was smelling.

Cammie at last found the bread-maker and inhaled to her heart’s delight. I can’t determine if she became disappointed or merely bored, but eventually she retreated. She sat on a chair at the dining table, something that further disrupted the routine - at least Tucker’s, who likes to relax there and wash his face following a meal.

But even afterward, Cammie wasn’t interested in her own food, not until snack-time hours later. At that moment, it was bread she wanted, and nothing but. The silly carnivore.

Cammie and Renn Visit the Doctor

This afternoon, two of my perma-cats go to the doctor for check-ups. There is nothing wrong with them of which I am aware, but these two haven’t been to the veterinary in a while, so I think it’s time.

Cammie is eleven years old now. (She wouldn’t pose for me last night.) She has had problems in the past, particularly with eating - or, rather, not eating - that have been solved relatively simply. She also has recurring sores on the sides of her head. I believe these to be an allergic reaction but, despite experiments, I have not been able to find the cause. Other than these, she seems to me to be healthy. She certainly can become spontaneously active, and is in good shape for her middle age.

Renn, seen here with his shy little boy look, gives me the least trouble, medically speaking. He eats very little: almost no soft food - there are days when I offer him four or five varieties, different brands, different flavours, and he refuses even to acknowledge them - and not much hard food. How he maintains a muscular body which he periodically throws into playful action, I don’t know. But he is nine now, and entering the phase when things can start deteriorating, so I want to stay on top of his situation.

The pair will go together and receive blood tests and urinalyses, as well as the usual examinations. I don’t expect to be told that anything is amiss, but I am taking them to the doctor now so that I won’t be told that later on.

The Sun in the Afternoon

The sun’s light is shining more and more into the cosy apartment. While it has been on this trend since just before Christmas, it seems more noticeable now that it is March. Perhaps it is simply that I and the cats are impatient for it to shine directly through the windows, now that the month of the vernal equinox has arrived.

In any case, it is nice to see the natural light illumine the beasts as they lie in their favourite spots and feel the warmth on their fur. We still have a ways to go until spring arrives, both chronologically and meteorologically, however. These pictures were taken on Saturday. Sunday it snowed, and the temperature will be cold all this week.

But the cats know a change is coming.

Walking Around the World

Sometimes, I notice a sudden change in my cats’ behaviour. I realise that something has altered, and I know just when it happens.

Last Sunday was such a time. Parker, the new foster-cat, was out and about, released from the library. It has been the habit of the perma-cats to find spots, usually on furniture - human or feline - where they will stay for the duration of Parker’s release. Any ventures toward food or even the litter-boxes have waited until Parker went back into the library at certain times of the day.

Sunday, however, both Renn and Tucker left their defensive positions and wandered over to where the food bowl usually is found. (When Parker is loose, it is made unavailable.) Parker wandered between the two boys, and they didn’t flinch. It was so uncharacteristic of the situation since our guest’s arrival that I knew there had been a change.

A couple of nights ago, Cammie descended from her place at the top of the highest cat-tree to use the litter-box, knowing that Parker was free. The orange boy remained snoozing on the bed while Cammie went about her business - I made sure that he did not interrupt her - and the process may have been quite different had the princess met Parker on her way. But the fact that she used the litter-boxes, aware of Parker’s presence, when previously she had waited, was another change.

Last evening, Tucker cautiously ambled (if one can cautiously amble) to a water-bowl for a drink, pausing every few feet for signs of Parker’s approach. Parker was, once again, loose but, once again, snoozing on my bed. The roly poly satisfied his thirst, then went back to the hammock from which he had come.

Each of these occurrences were small events, and none of the perma-cats is oblivious to Parker. There are still hisses and growls (especially from Josie), and the road all must travel to acceptance is a long one. But, though these steps are tiny, they are steps, and in the right direction. If one wants to walk around the world, that is how one starts.