Oh, sh-t!

Just as I finished the last post, I thought I heard a hair ball being coughed up.

When I went look, no hair ball, but some funny cat-expelled liquid (pre-hairball?) was in the track of the Turbo-Ball in the library, and someone (perhaps the same cat), had a left bowel movement on the rug.

The latter is very troublesome, because both the Catzilla brothers and the Grey Mouser always use the litter box.

(The Mouser being perfectly litter box trained was one of his endearing qualities. The boys miss the target some times, but that's different issue from not using it.)

For someone to ignore the box may be a stress level problem, and that could be really hard to fix.

Fast Forward

An update on The Gray Mouser

We still haven't put posters up around the neighborhood. That's bad.

I did put an ad on Google a couple of weeks ago, which taught some me some cool stuff about Ad Words (like location restricted ads!), but was probably two weeks too late.

Meanwhile, the Mouser is now free to roam in the house all day, given privacy only for meals.

His personal space has shrunk dramatically, which in practical terms means he's not constantly prepared to defend a bubble 5+ feet around him. He will sound off if a tiger strolls to almost within reach.

Yesterday evening he joined us downstairs to watch the Celtics win their 17th NBA championship, crashed for part of the game on top of the sofa where Katherine or I could pet him while the boys lounged in their usual spots (window and kitchen counter). A week ago, the Mouser was afraid to be downstairs for more than 60 seconds or one noise, which ever came first.

Last night he decided to sleep on Katherine's pillow, until he got booted by the owner. Then he slept between our pillows. The Catzilla brothers were no where to be found, which was odd for Billy but not a worry -- during the summer they aren't nearly (literally) the heat seekers that they are in the winter.

Gray's Anatomy

Yesterday, I took The Gray Mouser (TGM) to the vet. All sorts of small questions are answered:

1. He is a neutered male.
2. He is about two years old
3. He does have not a chip. :-(
4. He has a clean bill of health.
5. He is a very good patient.

No one at the veterinarian recognized him, either. Alas.

He's the most stoic cat I know, and I lived with Her Emilyness for two years. He didn't complain when he was put in the cat carrier, and he only gave one small meow in each direction in the car. At the same time, he wasn't frozen with fear when let out at each end either -- he hopped out, looked around, and didn't complain when I gently kept him on the exam table.

His shots are now updated, and he has been dewormed as a precaution. We're also going to keep him from away from the Catzilla brothers for a week in case he has any respiratory ailments he needs to get over without sharing. That's fine, as it allows him to settle into part of the house without the glare of the boys.

If we don't find his owner and he adjusts to both the boys and living indoors, he'll go back for booster shots and a chip in 3-4 weeks.

The Gray Mouser Goes House

Whitey is not sure what's behind the door. No wonder, because he's never experienced this before -- a new cat in the house.



Behind the door is the lost cat we posted about. He has since acquired the title The Gray Mouser; he's clearly the former, and he's demonstrated the latter.

The Mouser was rescued out of the rain by Katherine at my request. We had already tried this once this morning and failed when he had a vet appointment.

We'll get another appointment for him ASAP. We need three pieces of information:

1. Who is he? (Does he have a chip?)
   
2. How healthy is he? (Can we let him near the boys?)
   
3. What kind of cat is he? (Indoor, outdoor? He? She?)
   

Update: The Gray Mouser sees the vet at 11 am Wednesday (today)

Lost Cat?

We heard a very sad meowing outside during the day today, then again this evening. The source, an adult gray long-hair cat, sounded lonely and lost, and he didn't go away, so we went out to investigate.

After I sat quietly for a while, this guy came up to sniff my hand and eventually eat from a bowl we set out for him. From the condition of his fur, I'd guess he's only been living outside for a little while. He's skittish, but seemed basically comfortable around people.





Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

Update: His name is Nemo. His person contacted us through our vet. He hasn't gone home yet, but we're headed in the right direction.

Another Update: Back to square one. After a few days, the mystery cat came up and said hello to Nemo's person. He's a sweetheart, but he's not Nemo. Is he yours?

(And to clarify, we didn't actually know if this cat is male or female. )

Update: He has a torn ear, healed, as an identifying mark.

Not all prey can escape

Since we never know when we'll need kitty treats, we tend to keep bottles scattered around the house, topping them off from a larger bottle as needed. For obvious reasons, we keep the supplies in kitty-proof locations: Drew's office closet, my office closet, Drew's nightstand drawer.

Except the nightstand drawer is only kitty-proof when closed, a detail that Drew apparently forgot after he filled that bottle. And so, when I went in the bedroom a little while later, I found the bottle open, on the floor, with an inquisitive Billy pushing it around with his paw.

The bottle was half three quarters empty. Uh oh.

The good news is that both boys were present to share in the feast. If it were just Billy, he really would have made himself sick.

Updated by Drew: The bottle was fuller (and emptied) more than she realized. Lucky for us me, no one tossed their snack overnight.

Photo Friday: Kitten Warmer, Improved

Our return of Photo Friday brings us Whitey back on the Silver Kitten Warmer, which is improved for all concerned by having its cover closed. This is possible from a working point of view (not that it matters to Whitey) by putting it next to my new larger monitor.



Unfortunately, with Whitey more active, he may get booted anyway -- all his jumping around can't be good for my portable's hard drive.