A private squirrel performance

By Johnny Cat

I do enough squirrel watching to know that today was pretty special. A squirrel ran back and forth on MY window sill! I was inches away. The closest I've ever been to a squirrel.



He even stopped a couple times to get a better look at me! My heart was pounding with excitement and my nose was in overtime, hoping for a sniff. I ran back and forth and back and forth and jumped up for a better view and ...



then my sister jumped up and ruined my fun. The squirrel jumped again from the porch to the window sill, or so I'm told. I was busy growling at Katie for stealing MY squirrel.

Feeling Good

Can you tell she's feeling pretty good? :)

She's finished with her pain medication, but has another week of both the ear drops and the antibiotics. They are mainly to prevent infection in her mouth, but will also take care of (or not) the urinary tract infection that she did or didn't have.

She's been enjoying her bed being in a new spot. It's now on the table in the Red Room right under her favorite bird/animal/people/neighborhood watching window. Today, Johnny took advantage of the view while Katie slept. Yes, she was really sleeping like this!



When a top bunk was created, Johnny promptly took advantage of that too. :)

She's awake!

... and not a happy camper (understandably so). But, the surgery went as planned. They had a little difficulty getting the tooth out, so a drill was involved. :( She has stitches, but it's a precarious area to stitch and there's a chance that there will always be a hole where the tooth was. Likely not noticeable to anyone but Katie, and she'd just get used to it. However, the other side healed fine, so I hope she does just as well this time around. She'll go back for a follow up visit next week.

The vet is definitely smart, but lacks a bit of warmth in her communication. She called and launched into all the technical aspects of the surgery, which I wanted to know, but didn't address what I wanted to know most of all until I asked "How is Katie doing?" She said Katie was doing okay, and definitely does not seem to like being there. Ya think? At least she's a great vet/surgeon!

Brian will pick up Katie as soon as possible, hopefully around 2:30 or 3. She'll have some pain medication and care instructions. I'll try to post a photo of the sweet little patient tonight.

Positive thoughts needed for Kiki

Katie Cat visited the vet this weekend for what we thought was a urinary tract infection. She'd had one once before, and was exhibiting the same symptoms again. I won't say any more about that out of respect for Katie and her right to privacy. That's her information to share on her own blog, if she chooses. They weren't able to get a urine sample, so we are still unsure as to her status as far as that's concerned.

However, the poor girl was found to have TWO ear infections AND a crack in her tooth that went all the way up into her gums, which were showing signs of infection. !!!! To explain the tooth a bit, when we found her three years ago, she was missing her right eye tooth. It had been professionally removed. Sometimes, the lower tooth pokes her lip and gives her a cute little Elvis look. The left eye tooth was chipped, but the vet said it didn't seem to be causing her any pain and it would hopefully stay that way. Obviously, it didn't.

So, positive thoughts are appreciated by all (I *love* to make references to the legions of readers I have, ha!) this morning as Kiki has this tooth removed, her teeth polished and her gums scaled (pretty invasive cleaning of the gums that I have unfortunately experienced for myself). I hate to think of her under anesthesia and being scared. Please hope that they don't find any "surprises" (other teeth/mouth issues) that need to be addressed. They are also going to try to get a sample to see about the urinary tract infection. Her symptoms seem better, but we just want to be sure.

Brian took her in to the vet this morning. Apparently, before they took her, he said "Go get 'em, Kiki." Not exactly what I would have said, but I like the sentiment.

I'll update once I hear anything.

What did the jellyfish say to the beach goer?

Last week, I went to Fort Lauderdale with my friend Dina. While I didn't *find* any animals there, I did meet one. I can't say it was a pleasure, but I know it didn't intend to meet me. This is a photo of my souvenir taken a week after we met.

At least I didn't have to find its owner!

Local Family Wins the Feline Lottery

Four-and-a-half long hours later, the would-be owner replied: “Can I come over tonight?” And 45 minutes later, she arrived! I whisked her back to the bathroom (as I do all guests). She loved Tommy (no surprise there).

His neutering surgery was the following day. I’d been feeling guilty about scheduling this since we hadn’t even found a home for yet. But it seemed like things were finally falling into place. The would-be owner and I agreed that it would be best for him to have a few days of rest post-surgery, but tentatively talked about them taking him to his new home on Saturday. (!!!)

When she left, I felt like the weight off a Hummer had been lifted off of me—and I danced around like a crazy person.

Tommy came through the surgery with flying colors. It was sad to see the note on his carrier said “store room.” I realize he had to be kept separate, but it’s sad to think of the poor guy recovering from surgery in a store room. Despite his day, he seemed to be feeling good about things. He was 2+ pounds heavier than two weeks earlier and his fur was getting thicker and softer. And he had good reason to be feeling so good...

This past Saturday, Tommy went to his new home! He has a great family, including at least three pre-teen/teen kids doting on him. They came to pick him up with the father and the kids were SO excited to meet him and get him home. And he has a cat-loving dog brother. It was bittersweet to say goodbye, but so wonderful to know that he was going to be cared for by this great family (who also reimbursed us for most of our expenses, which was very generous and unexpected).

Last report was that “Tyler” was settling in fine and enjoying sitting on the back of the sofa, looking out of his Lincoln Park picture window. I hope he enjoys the view for many years to come.

And has he been spraying?

Are you kidding me? You actually think I would bring that up?! ;) Let’s just say that they promised to get in touch if things weren’t working out. So, while I hope to get another update...for now, no news is great news. Tommy has a home and a great new family. In the words of Sheri: Yahooooooooo!!!!! My thoughts exactly.

Thank you to all who helped us along the way!

My response to "the" question

So, I had to answer "the" question. And honestly. There was much care...and physical and emotional (yes, it's possible) sweat...in composing my response. Thanks, Em, for the final thumbs up. I might still be tweaking. ;)

My response:

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I will answer your question honestly, but hope that you will consider my full response in regards to the situation.

Tommy did spray a couple times in our bathtub last week. We decided it was likely he was doing this in response to his litterbox which, although we scooped first, still contained litter with the scents of other cats. Last week, we put the litterbox through the dishwasher and added all fresh litter. There have been some drops in the bathtub since, but the amount is dramatically reduced.

Male cats who are not neutered spray. That's a fact. Tommy will be neutered tomorrow. This will eliminate the testosterone that makes him feel the need to mark his territory or attract mates. It's my understanding after discussing with our vet that, in most cases, neutering stops spraying. If a cat continues to spray after the surgery, the spray does not contain the same chemical makeup as pre-neuter spray. This would be considered a behavioral issue that can be addressed. It is also likely that the scents of the cats living beyond the bathroom door have contributed to his desire to spray, even just a small amount, while being isolated in our bathroom.

[name], please consider what I've said above in your decision. Please also consider that you are likely our last chance for finding him a home. It's maybe not fair to you to let you know this, but I'm the only advocate Tommy has and he deserves to have that be known. Your email came at a time when the "adopttommy" inbox had received no activity for days and the hope for finding him a home was at an all-time low. His testing positive greatly narrowed the field for him in terms of being adopted in a world of many homeless non-special needs cats. It's a terrible catch-22 that the no-kill shelters that would normally be his last hope cannot take him because of this positive status.

I realize there are many variables at play here, but there are no known answers unless we give the situation a try—give Tommy a chance to try.

Please let me know if you are still willing to move forward...and we can maybe go forward with a meeting tonight.
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Yes, I realize I reused some of the language I used below, but come on!? Aren't you as ready as I am to get to the ending?