Long and Lean and Healthy

The last cat to be described in the current review of the beasts’ status is Brazil. So far as I can tell, this long and lean cat’s health is excellent. He is certainly an active fellow. I know he would love a playmate, someone to run with and chase, perhaps someone to cuddle with, though that is probably secondary to playing. However, he does pretty well on his own, rushing about, pouncing on toys and climbing cat-trees. (He doesn’t scale a tree leaping from platform to platform, but rather climbs using the outside edge of each platform, similar to one of those people who ascend cliffs by finding narrow hand- and foot-holds.) He and I play, too, but he doesn’t derive as much pleasure out of that as he does from a game with a feline friend.

He is also a people-cat, so long as he is given time to know and trust his people. He likes to rub up against me, then lie down at my feet, asking for some attention; long strokes along his back, over the top of his head and, to a lesser extent, chest-rubs, are what he likes. He has reached the stage at which he is now rather a lap-cat. He hasn’t jumped up on my lap of his own accord, but if I place him there, he remains for some time, enjoying the benefits of face-rubs.

Shimmer has come a long way, and will go further with someone who makes no demands of him, and lets him be himself.

Silky Freedom

I think Imogen feels the household has improved with the removal of Aurora. The latter had an unnerving effect on Imo; the younger cat stalked the older too often. Whenever Imogen would jump down from a height, or move from a room, Aurora would notice and follow. There was never any dangerous confrontation; I don’t believe that was ever Auro’s intent. It was something akin to a game to her. To Imogen, however, being followed everywhere by a cat who crouched low and hurried toward her, all the time seemingly ready to spring, must have had a tediously wearing effect.

Now, Miss Silky is less guarded. She moves about more and feels she has more freedom. She of course always was able to go where she wished but, like a man afraid of an omnipresent bully, she did not always wish to go anywhere, because of Aurora.

There is still Brazil. Brazil’s behaviour toward Imogen is similar in some ways to Aurora’s, but distinct in others. Unlike Auro, Shimmer will rush at Imo to make contact with her, and that contact is not always pleasant. Also unlike Auro, he will follow Imogen rarely. He may watch her from a distance; the hazard of contact comes only when the two are already near each other. Much of the time, Brazil will pass by Imogen without incident; neither will go unnoticed by the other – and there may be hissing and/or growling from the girlcat – but, contrary to Aurora, Brazil seems to have other things to do.

Aside from her relations with the other beasts, Imogen is doing well. She plays well and hard sometimes. When she is not distracted by her wariness over Brazil – I take her in the bedroom, close the door and bring out the string-toys – she will run and leap and roll in enjoyment. Other times, she will get it into her head, as cats do, to rocket about the apartment, rarely going into the sitting room, where Brazil is likely to be, but nonetheless exercising her youthful vigour.

Miss Silky is eating well and is diligent in her litter-box habits. And I was even able to cut some of her claws. How all this will be affected by the next addition to the household when it comes, will remain to be seen. That is the future. Today, Imogen is good.

Renn the Oldster

Chapter two in the continuing updates on the health of the Cosy Apartment’s remaining cats features Renn. My big boy, now also officially my oldster, is doing well.

The problem with his urination is being managed. The veterinary originally prescribed three units daily of an anti-inflammatory medicine. It worked well, apparently reducing the mass in Renn’s bladder and, correspondingly, decreasing the desire to wet frequently; the latter was caused by the mass filling the bladder’s interior and making it feel full of urine. Renn would make repeated trips to the litter-box and leave very little or nothing. Leaving nothing was troubling to him because he would then simply sit in the box waiting for urine, that wasn’t there, to flow.

As per the doctor’s instructions, I tried lowering the amount of medicine Renn received daily, or keeping the amount and reducing its frequency (ie. giving it every other day). These attempts were not successful. They led to more trips to the boxes, more tiny lumps left in the litter; never as much as when he received no medicine, but still bothersome for the big boy.

Currently, he is being given three units a day again. The difficulty with this is that it will hurt his kidneys over time, but a shorter, comfortable life is, I think, preferable to a longer uncomfortable life, at least for a cat. I have gone over this argument previously, and so won’t waste space doing so here. Each reader has gone through something similar, so each understands.

The question I have is whether the mass in the bladder reasserts itself effectively each time I reduce the amount or frequency of the anti-inflammatory medicine. It seems unlikely – and cannot be determined without daily or even hourly ultra-sound examinations – so it may be that the mass is caused by, causes, or in some way is related to, cystitis. Previously, Renn’s urine and blood were analysed and found to be surprisingly healthy. Therefore, it is probable that idiopathic (veterinarian for ‘I dunno’) cystitis – connected in some way to the former mass in the bladder – is at fault here. The most that seems practicable is what is being done now – application of the anti-inflammatory – so I have not talked to the veterinary again about this. But I will need to renew Renn’s supply of medicine soon and, though the doctor has considerately left an indefinite prescription for it, I will likely take the opportunity to go over Renn’s situation with her.

For now, however, I am please with my oldster’s health. I can tell that he is not suffering pain from anything; when he had the feeling of needing to urinate, he was restless, clearly in some discomfort. I wish he would eat more but those familiar with Renn’s past know that he has never eaten much; he is simply consuming now an amount commensurate with an older Renn. His gait is a little more uncertain, especially on narrow paths, and he is slower. But these are the signs of age, I’m afraid, an illness for which there is as yet no cure. If my big boy suffers that ailment in reasonable comfort and contentment, all is well.

A Little Inactivity

With Aurora in her new home, it’s time to look at the other residents of the Cosy Apartment, specifically Neville.

The Nevsky is still sporting a small swelling on his lower lip. The injectable anti-biotic did not have an effect on it. Unlike the previous anti-biotic, it did not remove his appetite or give him diarrhea, though it caused him to throw up after a couple of days. I administered some Cerenia, and that calmed Nev’s stomach. It could not, however, force the anti-biotic to do what it would not. The swelling is the result of something that is resistant to anti-biotics, or which is not caused by bacteria.

I wonder if there is a connection between the swelling on Nevill’s lip and the flattish lump on his flank. The veterinary offered to perform a biopsy on the swelling, but if it is cancerous, then there is a danger similar to conducting a biopsy on the lump: that the procedure would spread cancerous cells.

I will consult further with the doctor next week, but for now, there is nothing to be done for my grey lion but to let things be. The swelling is not hurting Neville. He doesn’t paw or scratch at it, shake his head or roll on it. If it is indicative of a tumour, there would be little to be done anyway for a diabetic cat (for whom insulin is ineffective) now in what I think is his fifteenth year.

As long as he is enjoying his life - well, it’s Neville, so… As long as he is not disliking his life too much, I will let things go unchallenged for now, while continuing to observe and discuss the situation. Nev seems content with my decision.

Another Farewell

Aurora went to her new home this afternoon. The first report is encouraging. She was scared, of course, but nonetheless came out of her carrier readily, and was not very shy about meeting her new person. I am not worried about her eventual adaptation to her novel surroundings, though being an only cat will likely take some getting used to. Nonetheless, I think that, with an attentive person, she will not miss other felines much.

Even so, the worst part of fostering remains the dispatch of a cat to her new home and family, no matter how nice they may be. It is the fact that the change cannot be explained. From their point of view, the adopted cats have been abandoned by the people they had come to know so well. Aurora was sleeping peacefully minutes before she was placed in her carrier.

It must be this way. She will have a loving home and another cat will have the chance to be taken into foster-care. In this particular case, Auro will no longer contribute to Imogen’s stress, and that will be appreciated by all here in the Cosy Apartment. But Aurora will be another cat whose unique personality will be remembered, even as her memories of her erstwhile home disappear.

And Away She'll Go

The news today is that Aurora will be going to a prospective new home on Friday. The rescue-group certainly has not had a lack of interest in this little beast, but many of those inquiring after her were not in a position that would be considered promising for a pet-adoption: they were often very young, in university, with no permanent home yet (except their parents’) and no job or clear idea of their futures. This prospect, however, is quite different, so Auro will be travelling to meet him at the end of the week.

Aurora is another instance of a cat I would be happy to keep but for her relationship with one of the perma-cats. Like Hector and Renn, Auro feels compelled to annoy Imogen whenever possible, and that is causing stress for Miss Silky. Even so, the right adopter had to present himself before Aurora left for her own home. We think that home has been found.

Five Together

It was a quiet weekend in the Cosy Apartment; so quiet, in fact, that I was able to take this picture: all five of the beasts in one room. Though I have been able to capture more than this in the bedroom – in the final days of last year, six out of the seven I had at the time were together – and just a few days ago, I published a photograph of Miss Silky with her two bêtes noir (ironic, since she’s the black one) near by, this latest picture includes everyone. I was most pleased at this minor triumph and, maybe, if they had given it thought, the cats would have been, too.