The More the Sleepier

I always enjoy having the company of cats at bedtime, or during a nap. First thing Friday morning brought this sight when I turned on the light: Sable is often on the bed these days, even when I am in it, but Valkyrie being there is new. Despite the fact that she will be eternally a kitten, she is maturing in some ways. She now comes to bed some nights, just like the grown-ups.

Then, after yesterday’s nap, I found these five on the bed. Indigo doesn’t care for the other cats, but the bed is a neutral zone, usually, and I was able to have the maximum of the cats who will actually come to bed. I think I may attract them at that time, since when I sleep during the day, I am probably considered by the beasts to be almost feline.

Moxy's Camouflage Training Continues

Moxy believes he’s taunting me by hiding everywhere I go. I can almost hear him snickering to himself.

Steady As He Goes

Neville is doing well on his Mirtazapine. He is eating more than he had been. I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and advice about him. I spoke with the Nevsky’s doctor, and though she is not against a B12 injection, she doesn’t think it is necessary, as the old lion is not losing B12 through diarrhea, inflammatory bowl disease or another condition that diminishes his absorption of nutrients. Nev’s problem is failure to consume food, rather than not using it.

I’ve decided that for the time being, we will continue with the appetite-stimulant alone. That of course is not a permanent solution, and even with that incentive, Neville may not take in enough food for his requirements. A B12 injection, or on-going injections, is still a possibility, a strong one, and if I ask for it, I know that the veterinary will not refuse it. As well, I have been reading about the delivery of B12, and learned that it is a sub-cutaneous injection, much like insulin, so I should be able to give it myself.

It is beneficial to have the help and advice of so many cat-people in the Blogosphere, people whose felines have been through much in the way of health issues, and greatly varied issues, too. I am appreciative of the comments and concerns. I am also sure that Neville would thank you all, but he’s sleeping now, so that will have to wait.

Less Of Neville

Neville went to the hospital yesterday. We needed to find out if the mass in his liver had grown. It hadn’t, but he had lost weight. In seven weeks, he has dropped from 5.9 kilograms (13 pounds) to 5.1 kilograms (11.24 pounds), due to his lessening appetite. That is our big enemy now: Nev’s reluctance to eat. It has become worse. He was prescribed Mirtazapine to stimulate his appetite, but I don’t think it will have much of an effect. I won’t force-feed him at this point, as it is a good tool only if it will get a cat over a rough spot, a temporary problem. With the mass in Nev’s liver affecting him constantly, I don’t believe his situation will change. Trying to put food into him by syringe will only give him stress, and won’t provide enough nutrition or bulk to keep him going indefinitely.

Some kind thoughts about the old lion would be appreciated.

Obvious, in More Ways Than One

This evening, Moxy demonstrated his survival skills - and why it’s best that he’s an insider-cat.

Ad Astra per Millie

I haven’t reported on Millie in a while, and I am pleased to write that she is doing well (even though writing or saying something like that usually leads to a tremendous upset or regression in health and behaviour.)

She has experienced three steps forward. One, is that she spends more time beside me and, sometimes, on my lap, while I am sitting in the cat-room. We spent another evening watching a movie together, and Mills was next to or on me for about half an hour. It may take some time for her to reach this stage when she is adopted, but it will happen. In fact, I have noted that because such things occur in foster-homes, they usually occur sooner in subsequent permanent homes. It’s as if the tests of any new behaviour have already been performed, and may later be skipped.

Two, it has been a long time since Millie has wet outside the litter-box. I tentatively attribute this blessing to a couple of factors: clay litter (specifically, Dr Elsey’s Cat-attract) and fewer visits by the other beasts. I can’t determine for certain that Millie is using the litter-box because of the litter in it, but she has a pair of boxes to use in the cat-room; the organic corn-based litter is almost always ignored. Is it clay in general or the brand in particular that is working for her? When she is adopted, I will strongly recommend a continuance of the same brand I am using. Why spoil success?

As well, though some of the other cats penetrate the cat-room, I chase them out. I know they should be allowed in, but when they were, Millie continued or reverted to wetting outside the box. Too many strangers in what she considers her safe-space may have given her stress beyond endurance. They have the whole house to roam in; excluding them from one room won’t destroy their sense of adventure.

Three, Millie herself is coming out of the cat-room more often. When I can - usually when the cats are snoozing on a weekend afternoon - I open the cat-room door and Mills will frequently hurry out and explore. Sometimes she doesn’t go far, but the fact that she comes out at all is significant. Equally so is the fact that she will come out when she knows other cats are loose. In such an instance, she returns to the cat-room almost at once. But again, there is significance in her action.

Hopefully, these steps continue. Will they lead to more? Possibly, though she may have come to a natural limit in what she feels can be accomplished in the Cosy Cabin. Time will tell; time and her own resolution. Those two factors are all that Millie needs.

Second-rate Food

It is sometimes a chore to figure out what the beasts will eat at meal times. Most are consistent in what they enjoy, but inconsistent in enjoying it every day. I try to vary it within the range of what they like, but some food just doesn’t appeal to them, either immediately or eventually.

Then there is the second-rate food. This is the food that the cats - or some of them - will eat, but not for dinner. This nutrition is the equivalent of a bookshop’s remnant table, a bargain basement’s contents, or the merchandise at a garage sale. Someone will eat this food, but only after consideration, and in order to fill the small hole that the preferred fare didn’t quite satisfy.

To serve it as a main course will result in upturned noses, and a determination to starve rather than to consume. Therefore, it is left out with a side-order of time. Weeknights will frequently see a bowl of something that was bought more in hope than conviction, and the long period between breakfast and dinner on weekends will produce the little brother to the favourite dish.

The advantage of having eight cats is that few items purchased will go to waste; someone will sooner or later eat it. It may take a while; it may require numerous offers, but it does go. It is the sad but inevitable fate of being second-rate.