Thursday, February 28, 2019

Casa de Gato updates - Eli



Eli, littermate to Muffin, was a foster back in 2002 so he is also sixteen and a half years old. He had a major issue with URI as a kitten so he has scared tear ducts so his face is always a mess. As he has gotten older it has gotten better. I am not sure if it is because his body has compensated or he gets someone to clean his face regularly.

Because of the URI and the months of medication, he has always had a very healthy suspicion of us. For the first ten years of his life, he ran away from us every time he saw us. With some Rescue Remedy, we broke him of the association of fear so he would stop running. A while after that he realized how much he loves static and would come to us for attention in the winter months. And then, he voluntarily touched me. It was an incredible day for me.. (much like when Darcy climbed up on me the other day) Since then I have given him some CBD and it has helped his paranoia and fear quite a bit.  We have had company and workmen in the house multiple times since I started and he has been out for all of them.  Was it because of the CBD or because he mellowed in his old age? I'm going with the CBD, because he's still pretty high strung.

Eli also started losing weight recently. He dropped half a pound in less than two weeks and I started flipping out. I realized it when I went to give him a kiss and realized he had a sickly smell to him - something I recognized from fostering kittens. It wasn't strong, but it was there. I was about to run him to the vet but he was willing to eat so I decided to give it a couple of days to see exactly what was going on.  I even started giving him.. dry food


I also decided to deworm him, because why not.. and he is doing well, regaining the weight, and demanding dry food on a regular basis - which I am unwilling to do because of his 16.5-year-old kidneys.  He is incredibly spry and still regularly runs around the house like his tail is on fire - often because Twee is harassing him. He still demands attention when we have gone to bed where he gets in between us and I get to rub his belly. He still has several lipomas on his body, but like Muff's cyst, I am unwilling to put him through a surgery to remove them.


Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Casa de Gato updates - Muffin



Muffin was originally a foster at the end of 2002, which makes her about sixteen and a half years old. She has been incredibly healthy most of her life - save for an inflamed eye as a kitten


A few years ago her kidney values started to rise, so at this point, we are giving her fluids two or three times a week. She has also been losing weight, which was really freaking me out. The vet was pleased she was a "more normal" weight, but having spent a good deal of her life at 14 lbs, anything under 12 to me was just really concerning.  I've been running blood work on her and nothing really showed up and then I remembered what a vet told me when I brought Emmy in for a second opinion when she was dealing with cancer. She told me that roundworm eggs can embed in the muscle and hatch years later during times of stress or weight loss. Since everyone stopped eating after we lost Jack, she lost a little weight and then lost more. She was interested in food, but when I would give her a can of food she would barely eat half of it.  I thought "what the heck" and got some dewormer and she started eating better and started gaining weight again. *phew* Not to say things are perfect, but right now I'm feeling a bit more comfortable. Unfortunately, she isn't eating the raw food consistently, so we are "slipping" her canned food in the master bathroom, which we affectionately call "bathroom food"

She's also got an incredibly large cyst behind one of her ears. I hate it and want it removed in the worst way but I've been told they often come back and at her age, I don't want to put her through a surgery simply because I have issues.


She has some arthritis that prevents her from jumping up on the bed, so we have brought out the set of stairs we made for Emmy all those years ago and that Ollie used when he was dealing with vaccine-associated sarcoma.  I am giving her cosequin and CBD and some days she feels good enough to climb up on to windowsills or the cat tree. It always makes me smile when she does.


But she is still my girl, my major source of cuddles. She is generally the first thing I see in the morning and more often than not the last thing I see before I go to sleep.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The winner for the longest and most improve foster kitty goes to Darcy




Two-year-old Darcy arrived at Casa de Gato on October 8th, 2018 pregnant and scared and with absolutely no use for human beings what so ever.


She gave birth and raised three beautiful babies and then when the kittens got too big to be contained in the bathroom I was fostering them in she took Onyx's kittens under her wing as well. In time, Onyx came to accept other kitties and Darcy showed just how much she loved other cats. She has excellent manners and is very respectful of cats who aren't used to her.  People were still intimidating.  Despite the obvious fact that she was fearful of us, she never lashed out. She had a slight incident when we tried to vaccinate her, but that only resulted in our having to clean up some urine and poop.

Then we brought Butters in and Darcy wanted to be friends with her in the worst way. Butters was not interested though. I don't know if it was because she was intact or she wasn't used to other kitties but Darcy was still very respectful and kind with Butters and kept trying to win her over.

Now that Butter has also moved on, Darcy is in the kitten room all by herself and she is starting to come around to getting attention from those weird humans. As long as we go and sit on the couch she comes right over and asks for attention. She loves to lay down next to me and have her ears scratched and her belly rubbed and is content to hang out with me for quite some time. Most recently she has started doing this..


Yes, that is Darcy on my chest. yes, she climbed up there all on her own.

Darcy also LOVES to play. I have a fishing pole toy that I am going to send along with her to her new people because she loves it so much. It is always a favorite with kittens, but I will feel better knowing her new people will be able to engage her in something she loves. Other than running and hiding when people come into the room she is almost a completely normal house cat now. Even to the point of deciding she wanted to investigate the rest of the basement just now.

So, if you know anyone in the market for a kitty that likes other kitties and won't get underfoot and trip them and has a quiet house could you please share her with them? She is the kind of kitty who likes to snuggle up with you as you watch tv, who will play with you, and who is very neat and tidy and who hasn't shown a moment of being destructive.

If you are interested you can fill out an application here

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Butters has a new Valentine



Last weekend Butters went back to the shelter to be neutered.  With some pretty heavy networking on my end, I was able to connect to a woman who took one look at Butters and was smitten.

I'm not exactly sure when Butters is going to her new home, but she has one and I am sure it is going to be great.

Best wishes little girl. While I'm personally sad you didn't have kittens with me, I'm glad that I got to know you and you are going to have a wonderful life.  Thank you Kelly for adopting her!

Monday, February 4, 2019

An Ultimate Cat Scratching Post for the kitten room #artofpaws



I was on FaceBook the other day when I saw an ad for Art of Paws offering their new scratcher for a steep discount so they could get some reviews on their Amazon account and I immediately signed up. If you have been around this blog for a while you know I have their heated pet bed and my cats love it

As you can see, Fleurp was none too happy that this wasn't for her. I might have to buy another one to make her happy..

I put the scratcher together this weekend. I was dealing with a pretty severe case of bronchitis and I was moving pretty slowly so I was a bit daunted by all of the pieces initially


But, despite my infirmity, I was able to put it together in slightly over five minutes. The most difficult part was getting the two bottom pieces together and screwing the post on at the same time. A third hand would have been nice, but it wasn't necessary.

It was an immediate hit with both kitties.


It is nice and sturdy and as you can see the cats can hang off it no problem. Actually, at one point both cats were hanging off of it, but that didn't last long, as they aren't really friends.

And look, it comes with a really cool box.


If you are looking for a nice sturdy scratcher, you should check out the Ultimate Cat Scratching Post by Art of Paws
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