A Healthy Challenge

It all started with Theo's first visit to the vet. The only issue we needed to discuss was one regarding the phenomenal odor coming out of the litter box. World class. It turned out to be much more complicated. Theo, we found out had colitus. From there, a few weeks later when he wasn't feeling well at all, a blood test revealed the poor guy was diabetic. But, the vet suspected that all of this may actually be caused by pancreatitus. A few weeks later after a most expensive test that's what we found.

Now we've found we're juggling a whole lot of variables: a tricky diet where helping the colitus might be in conflict with the proper diet for a diabetic cat. Insulin doses and blood sugar readings that are hard to pin down. And, then the chronic problem of monitoring the pancreatitus which can strongly effect the diabetes, even make it go away for periods of time.

Like I said. It's a challenge.

Adventures in catsitting a high maintenance cat

This wasn’t going to be the usual slam dunk catsitting gig of just feeding and lots of petting. Oh no, this time syringes and drugs were involved. After an orientation from Theo’s “mom” of how to administer antibiotics and insulin, and the all important demonstration of how not to hurt myself with the syringe, I was up for the challenge. My main concern was that I was going to hurt Theo, afterall I’ve never given anyone, let alone a cat, an injection. Actually, giving a cat a shot was easier than I expected. While Theo was eating, I gently pulled up the scruff of his neck with one hand and then with the other hand poked a needle in the back of his neck. In the subsequent days, the insulin shots were a breeze and Theo lapped up the antibiotic-laced milk. The hard part was gauging Theo’s mood… one day he was friendly, the next day he was skittish and anti-social, then the next day he was friendly again. I thought maybe the drugs were making him bi-polar, but when he pooped outside his litter box, it did cross my mind that he was sending me a “high maintenance” message.

The Unbearable Lightness of Lenny

I'm used to cats ignoring requests (even though you know they know what you're asking them to do). Lenny (a.k.a. "Zippy the Pinhead") has put a new twist on this by interpreting my request to mean its exact opposite. Case in point: I strolled into the kitchen to find Lenny on the counter near the stove. In a stern tone, I said "down!" He immediately leapt UP, to the top of the refrigerator and from there to the top of the cupboards near the ceiling.

I'm resigned to the fact that when the dust motes sparkling inside his head collide, it's even money as to what will happen. I shall now cry "cabbage!" or "pentameter!" instead of "down!" because my attempts at modifying his behavior are obviously for entertainment purposes only; I may as well practice my vocabulary.

Anti-Gravity and Burning Hair

This is Lenny. He's a little over 1 year old and will, I fear, be stalled in adolescence his entire life. The other night as I was reading on the sofa, I heard something rattle and looked over to see Lenny high atop a bookcase. Not wanting to startle him into knocking items around, I calmly walked over, plucked him from the bookcase and returned him to the floor. Later when Lenny was on my lap, I noticed that while exploring, he had apparently met a lit candle, and the candle counted coup on his eyebrow. Sadly, the odds are not in favor of his learning from this experience. Trust me.

Vet vexations...

Do you see your vet far more then you see your own doctor and dentist? We sure do. Our cat has become a major category in Quicken. Does your cat enjoy visiting the doc? Tell us your best vet tales.

It's all about personality...

Tell us your stories about kitty cohabitation. Personality quirks most welcome...

Meet Theo P. Jones

This is our handsome red Abyssinian cat, Theo P. Jones, formerly known as Spiffy. We adopted him last September from a local breeder. He's a 5 year old, grand champion, now a retired sex worker (he fathered many cute kittens). We freed him from the sex trade and planned to give him a good retirement in caring home. We're still working on it; he's been a challenge. He's a sweet, sensitive, very gentle cat but the transition to the wide open spaces of a house was a big change from his mostly caged confined past. (Being a breeding male, he was kept mostly in a large cage away from the free-range house cats. He's was fixed before we adopted him.) In future posts we'll be sharing some of our experiences with Mr. Theo P. Jones.