A Joyful Noise

This is the sound Neville makes whenever he sees his food-bowl approaching. I think he likes the idea of food, more than the substance of it.

Right now, though, my old lion isn’t eating much. He is throwing up more than he has in a long time, and his crap is more often than not liquidy. I theorised that the latter was due to getting into some new hard-food that I am trying to make available to the others, but now I wonder about that. While he is still able to get in and out of litter-boxes, and even jump up onto the couch in the sitting room - he doesn’t always use the stairs - his rear end sometimes sags and his legs splay, as if he doesn’t have the strength there that he once did. Weakness in the back is a symptom of unmanaged diabetes, which Nev unfortunately has, so these may be problems related to that.

I am not sure if the veterinary can do anything about this, and I don’t know if it is anything but age, so I will observe the Nevsky more before taking him to the hospital, as he finds that a very stressful event. For the time being, I will supplement his Recovery with other foods which he enjoys, but has more difficulty eating, and watch my old man closely.

Door-stop: the Sequel

One of the cats was wrestling with something jammed between the cushions of the couch in the library. I eventually dug it out and found a toy from a couple of weeks ago.

Who was the cat in question? Need anyone ask?

Enemy Identified

It seems that Valkyrie is allergic to chicken. I have at last brought her to the point where she is not eating any of it - or of turkey, just to be safe - and her poop has firmed up once more. It is a difficult spot for her, though, because she is not consistent in what she will eat now, though she most often likes Fussie Cat fish meals, and will consume other brands (eg. Ziwi mackerel) now and then. She not infrequently refuses to eat at dinner-time or snack-time, though she will eat later. It may be a matter of offering her food at irregular intervals, whenever she is hungry. For hard-food, she will accept a duck-and-green-pea variety, though her favourite remains Neville’s veterinary fare - which contains chicken. When she has gotten into something with chicken, the reversion to soft crap is swift. (And I cannot leave the duck-and-pea out at all times because Nev’s reaction is even more liquidy.)

Nonetheless, this is a step forward. We are aware of the problem (at least to my satisfaction at this time) and Valk will eat other, non-poultry food. If she is ever adopted, this knowledge will keep her healthy and hygienic.

That Looks Like Fun!

While Millie is recovering very well from her dental surgery - her main complaint is that she can’t eat hard-food yet (oh, and I have three more days of pain medicine to give her, which she also dislikes) - the other beasts continue with their adventures.

During play-time, Imogen will often run and hide behind the bathroom door. I will then swing the string-toy or streamer under the door for her to grapple with. Moxy watched this happen numerous times, and it must have looked like fun. When Imo was elsewhere, he hurried behind the door and waited for the toys to come to him. He enjoyed himself.

This is an example of why I always advise people to adopt two cats. They learn from each other. Sometimes what they learn isn’t even destructive.

Into Recovery

Millie came through her dental procedure well. She had three teeth removed, which I think isn’t bad for a cat who has had no attention given to her mouth over the last ten years. She was wobbly on her feet when she returned, but was hungry. She ate small portions through the evening, and it all stayed down. I think she is constipated, which sometimes happens after surgery with anaesthesia. If she hasn’t pooped by the time I see her again, I will add small amounts of Restoralax to her food.

Mills was happy to be home.

Millie at the Dentist

Millie is at the hospital right now, having a dental procedure. When she was returned to the rescue-group, it was learned that she had not been to the doctor for any reason in almost ten years, so she went for a check-up. She is in good shape, except for her mouth which, though not looking too bad, needed help, particularly the gums and teeth. We don’t know if she will require any extractions, but I don’t think there will be many if she does.

The worst part of the preparation was, of course, refusing her food last night and in the morning. Millie likes her soft-food now - after a decade of not being given any - and keeps some of it in her bowl to finish over night. There was none for her last night, nor this morning. She hurried to greet me (ie. her breakfast) when I opened the cat-room door this morning, but I could give her nothing. She searched the spot where the food is normally placed, but found only water. She couldn’t understand it.

Mills will be back with me later today, and will be able to rest in comfort, and at last have some food to fill that little, but empty, tummy.

Today's Mystery

Sometimes, I don’t know what happens. Something happens, and I may have an idea, but I’ll never know for certain. While this may seem to be an accurate description of my life in general, it is, in fact, referring to my life with cats.

At some point last evening, I was in the kitchen and heard some strange scrabbling, thumping noise from the bedroom. I walked into the corridor in time to be met by ‘the gang’ (Valkyrie, Moxy and Brazil) charging out of the bedroom in line. After dodging their blurs, I continued into the bedroom, where I found Indigo curious but not alarmed. Nothing seemed out of place. I can’t imagine there had been a fight, as there was no fur about, nothing had been disarranged and the principal complainant at the gang’s presence, Indie, was unbothered.

When I sat down at my bedroom’s desk hours later, however, I noticed several scratches on its surface. Probably made by cats’ claws, I can’t imagine what led to their application, only that they may have been made in a feline’s hurried departure from the room. Why there was a hurried departure, I can but conjecture.

Once again, I am left with a small mystery, its tangible results disfiguring my furniture, and its primary ingredients snoozing comfortably on warm and soft cushions and beds.