On the Loose

Kind thoughts would be appreciated for the residents of the Cosy Apartment. No one is sick right now (a red-letter day indeed!) and we are well-stocked with food and litter. Something much more concerning is occurring, even as I write. Auric is loose in the apartment, and unsupervised.

It had to happen sooner or later. Every morning, the Golden Boy has been locked in the bedroom with all the necessities. I believed that I was not able to trust him with the others, that he and Hector fought, and that he even bullied his older foster-brother. That is not true, and I see that he and Hec have a good time playing, even if Auric does get carried away now and then.

The youngest resident annoys the two oldsters (Minuet remains safely adjusting to her new life, locked in the library for now) but not greatly - except in one aspect. Auric will stand in front of the litter-box while they are using it. He stands about six inches away. He doesn’t try to keep them in the box or even block their exit. But his position can be intimidating. He doesn’t do this all the time, and there is no effective way of preventing it when I am not present.

It is, I think, something the cats will have to figure out. Auric will likely eventually stop doing it. It happens rarely, too rarely for it to be a reason to keep an active kittenish cat locked in one room away from stimuli all day. And so my request for your kind thoughts.

May they not be needed, after all!

Is It Just Me?

Am I the only one who is reminded of Mad Magazine’s Spy vs Spy?

Auric continues to try to involve Hector in chases and wrestling matches. I watched them last night, and decided not to intervene so often. I have been breaking them up whenever Hector starts to protest, thinking that it was becoming too much for the dark knight. In some cases, it is.

In other instances, however, Hector will run away from Auric, only to start something again, or put himself in a vulnerable position, a minute later. As well, when the two of them grapple, there is no hissing or growling. Even at the worst of times, Hector’s ears are never back; he’s never in a fighting stance. When Hec is chased up a cat-tree by his foster-brother, he doesn’t stay there, as Neville will if he’s tired of Hector’s attentions. Instead, Hector jumps down again, setting himself up to be attacked by Auric once more.

Other times, the two of them sit near each other, perform normal activities - such as eating - without interference. I realised that while the Golden Boy may come on too strongly for his slightly older roommate, no one is being hurt, no one feels fearful; there is no avoidance or hiding. I will let them play - or fight, as the case may be. If Auric gets carried away, I will step in. But I may have been spoiling their fun more than I’ve been preventing bullying.

And when it comes to boycats and their tussles, spoiling their fun will never do.

Madame's Changed World

I realised earlier today that I haven’t reported on Minuet in five days, and that the last time I did, she was feeling poorly. I’m pleased to write that she has improved.

Her diarrhea, which was very bad, was, I believe, connected to stress; it had happened to her before in stressful moments. There can’t be a much more stressful event for a cat than losing everything you have had for sixteen years. But I made extensive use of Feliway spray, which was efficacious for her in the past, and it seems to have worked. She once again has control over her bowels - which emptied pretty much anywhere during her troubles - and her stools are once more formed. She is wetting and pooping her in her litter-boxes again (I have two for her in the library, as she may have an animus against too much debris in a box.)

My newest cat is making gains in other directions, as well. She still spends time behind the library couch, where she obviously feels as safe as she can under the circumstances, but she has also come on to the couch itself. One half is plain cushion, while the other is covered with a blanket, under which is a heating pad. She has been on the blanket and so knows there is extra warmth available for her, if she wants it.

She has also explored a little bit. When the boys are snoozing and there is little chance of them invading Minuet’s sanctuary, I leave the library door open, for her to come out, if she wishes. On Sunday, she looked into the storeroom, the bedroom and the sitting room, but hurried back to the library soon after.

Her blood-glucose numbers continue to be very un-diabetic. They vary quite a bit - as may be expected with a cat under stress - but only within a restricted range, and within the range that is considered normal for diabetic numbers (four to eight). I have tested her blood four times since the first day of February, and the results have been 6.8, 6.8, 8.3 and 4.4. She has not been given insulin since January.

Her eating is still very limited, however. I believe it will return of its own accord, but in the meantime, I worry about her nutrition. I am syringe-feeding her Recovery-and-water; I am not worried about fatty-liver issues, but she needs to eat more on her own. As well, her rear end may be sore and infected. These two problems are prompting me to take her to the doctor. A veterinary visit is not necessary, I think, but it would not go amiss, either.

Slowly, ever so slowly, but, I believe, surely, Madame is reconciling herself to her new life in exile.

I Think I Was Set Up

Last week, I saw on the internet this image. The implication of course is that we shouldn’t become upset over the messes (or bother, in general) that our pets cause because, aside from the animals not causing it through malice, we will regret the absence of those messes when our pets are gone.

That very day, I came home to find that Hector had knocked down a roll of toilet paper from a shelf in the bathroom and torn great swathes from it. He had also pulled the bathmat from where it was draped over the rim of the tub and gouged pieces from its foamy underside.

What could I do? I picked Hector up, rubbed his head, cleaned up his debris and prepared the cats’ dinner. But I can’t help feeling that somehow – I don’t know how – I was set up…

Old Cat, New Trick

Renn has been with me for going on twelve years now. He will be fifteen this year and is set in his ways. Now and then, however, even he changes.

Because of his recent stomach upsets - none in more than a week (knock on wood) - he was put on special food by his doctor. The tinned food left him cold. But for some reason, he has taken to the gastro-intestinal diet hard-food. It must be coated in something tasty (and therefore likely unhealthy) because most of the cats like it. But Renn asks for it.

This is new. I was working at my computer in the bedroom recently and my big boy sat on the bed looking at me. Then he gave a curious, drawn, verbal complaint. When I saw how he was sitting, I knew he wanted food; it was his usual, expectant position, ready for a food-bowl. But the vocalisation was unheard of, so to speak. I brought him his hard-food and he had quite a good meal from it.

He now does this two thirds of the time when he wants to eat. He knows that I will feed him, unlike the others, when he demands it, since he has lost weight over the last year or so. He’s generally a quiet fellow is Renn, but I don’t mind his new means of ordering me about; if he likes his food, all the better. We both are pleased with this old cat’s new trick.

A Fascinating World

Auric finds everything fascinating. He’s a kitten and then some, despite being almost a year old. One of his favourite diversions, other than chasing Hector, is to watch what’s happening on the screen of my computer. He will sit on the lip of the desk, between me and the screen, following movements in the pixels. I tell him it’s bad for his eyes, and terrible for my typing, as I can’t see the screen, but he pays no attention.

I’d obtain one of those programmes that gives a cat something to chase on the screen - a mouse or a fish - but Auric does more than observe. He will bat at the screen, and with some force, too. He will look behind it, trying to find the object of his interest there, and he will stand on his hind legs and nearly tip the monitor over.

Eventually, after chasing his foster-brother, battling his sea-turtle, fighting with my hand, investigating movement on the computer-screen, sticking his face in other cats’ food, annoying Renn with his proximity, trying to get into the library to see Minuet, and finding out what I am doing with a broom and dustpan, Auric will settle down for a snooze. Until then, however, the world is fascinating for my Golden Boy. Hopefully it will be, for a long time.

Minuet Under the Weather

Minuet is feeling very poorly. She is suffering from severe diarrhea, over which she seems to have little control. Fortunately, much of the library’s floor is covered in the vinyl that was put down for Portia’s troubles; it is paying dividends now by making Min’s problems easier to clean up.

Cleaning is, of course, the minor issue; the major is Minuet’s health itself. The good news - relatively - is that this is a recognised result of stress. From her veterinary records and communicating with her previous owner, I know that this has occurred in the past. She will not have priorly suffered such an anxiety-inducing event as a change of home, so this time, the effects are quite bad.

However, with the confirmed problem come possible solutions. Catnip and Feliway spray have helped her in the past. I will have some of both by the time I go home this afternoon and will put them to work. She is also receiving sub-cutaneous fluids, to fight dehydration, and high-nutrient food by syringe, as she has no interest in eating on her own. Until there is a positive change, though, Minuet feels more secure in a  little spot behind the library’s couch. At least there, it is warm - inches away from the hot-water pipe - and secure from prying feline busybodies.

Better news is that Minuet may not be diabetic. Her diagnosis as such relied upon a single test of her blood, which resulted in a number of 12.5. No further tests were conducted. I would have tested her over several days, possibly a week, twice or thrice a day, in the comfort and relaxed atmosphere of her home, rather than the stressful situation of a veterinary hospital. On the basis of the one test, she was prescribed a twice-daily dose of one unit of insulin.

For me, even 12.5, though higher than the best numbers (between four and eight, inclusive), is not a particularly high number for blood glucose. Other factors, such as water intake, urination, activity and mobility, must be considered. Tucker, in his later years, rarely had blood-sugar lower than 14, but the doctor felt satisfied that, as long as the roly poly was otherwise well and hardy, the numbers alone need not dictate treatment.

I tested Minuet’s blood yesterday and today, and both times, it registered 6.8, an excellent number. I will continue to test her randomly. It may indeed be that she is diabetic, that condition being quite unpredictable; in any case, she need not receive insulin for such a good number. I am annoyed that a veterinary would not suggest that the owner test Min repeatedly to determine the viability of such treatment; the owner was not even shown how to conduct a curve.

Minuet still faces some tough and uncomfortable days. But there is a plan in place and I am hopeful that she will recover and feel good soon.