Introducing Big Gray

I mentioned Big Gray in passing last week, but she deserves her own post.

We have fed the neighborhood cats off-and-on since we've lived in Akron. I've always hoped one of them would work out (remember Stacy?). In late spring/early summer, we had two regulars: Elena, a small black momma cat, and Big Gray, a larger, kind of mangy female. Elena was the early favorite, but then she got strangely skittish and then disappeared. I don't like to think about what happened to her, but she was very sweet so there's that naive hope that someone else (maybe where her kittens were?) took her in.

First photo of Big Gray

Big Gray, however, became very punctual. If we slept in or were out of town, we felt guilty. She started hanging out in our yard when we weren't there, after eating, she sought attention -- she was becoming ours.

Eventually we went to a TNR Clinic at One of a Kind Pets and found out that they have a feral cat package where you can bring in a trapped cat, get them fixed and vaccinated and then release them. Because she wasn't really ours and we weren't sure what would happen, we went that route. Two weeks ago, before work, we trapped her and took her in.

I picked her up the next day and set her up in the spare room to heal. She was super-sweet and used the litterbox. She's not living outside ever again! Last week, I took her to my vet for a checkup and bloodwork, and it's all good. (I was really expecting an infection or kidney disease or something, so the call that the bloodwork was good was surprising.)

The only thing is that her teeth are terrible. I have a dental scheduled for early October (wanted to give her time to recovery fully from the spay), and the vet anticipates pulling 5 to 7 teeth. We can tell that her mouth bothers her, and we're hoping that she'll be in a better mood after that.

The vet said it's hard to tell her age because her teeth are so bad, but she's probably around 6 years old (same-ish age as Duncan). She is mostly sleeping with us and ignoring Duncan. Sometimes we have to bribe her downstairs with treats (she LOVES 'em), but then she hangs out with us.

Duncan just loves her, though. Honestly, he's kind of a creeper. He likes to be near her, and he watches her a lot. I don't know if she'll ever really play with him -- he's definitely a rough-houser -- but I think their relationship will improve. When I left for work this morning, he was chasing her. (On the plus side, she's moving very well. Lots more running and jumping than two weeks ago.) I'm trying to let them work out their relationship. She can handle herself.

During the day, it's a lot of this where he's nearby:

 

And I woke up in the middle of the night to find this:

I'm guessing she didn't realize he was there. Look how his butt is kind of hanging off the bed! When she's in our bed, Duncan sleeps in the hallway and just watches the bedroom. Hopefully he'll rejoin us soon.

All in all, I'm super-happy with our new addition. Dunks may still need a kitten, but I think Gray is going to fit in just fine.

Happy Monday! This week is starting off way better than the last two. I'm not sick, and I'm not overly tired -- but I am a little worried about MY NEW KITTY.

A friend of a friend needs to get rid of their cats because the new baby is allergic. There are three, although one might stay. And we might take the one we didn't take, but we have to get the first one acclimated!

Meet Sullivan:

He's around 7 years old, and he had a ROUGH day yesterday. We went to his house, and he was super-nice and sweet with us. So of course we steal him and take him to our house. The good news is that Duncan is FANTASTIC. I am so proud of him. I think he's sad that Sully doesn't want to play. In fact, Sully hasn't done anything yet. He was behind the couch when I left.

Normally I would have him separated, but I don't want to freak him out any more by forcing him to do something. And Duncan isn't going to hurt him, he's mostly ignoring him, although he's meowing a lot more. (And I'm not going to lock up Dunks all day. When I get home tonight, though, I will lock up Duncan and try to lure out Sully with some canned food. He needs to eat!)

Duncan: "I'm sad. I know there's a kitty here."

We'll just hit the weekly recap here since I didn't do much after Sunday's half-marathon and subsequent illness.

Monday - rest
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - 4 miles, 10-minute pace, Saucony Zealots
Thursday - rest
Friday - 1-mile walk, Saucony Triumphs + strength-training
Saturday - 12-mile run, slow, Saucony Zealots
Sunday - rest

See? Not much to talk about. This week will be more normal, but I'll barely hit 100 miles this month. CRAZY. But I'm back at it with renewed purpose (more on that later -- once I really figure out what that means!).

Duncan

Not much to update on Duncan, but I figured I would update a little.

He was normal last night, maybe a little twitchy? But honestly he's always a weird cat, so it's hard to say if we're seeing more weirdness than normal or if we're projecting after yesterday's episode.

I called the vet this morning, and I talked to one of the techs. She said that since his appetite is normal and he's acting normally right now (no diarrhea or vomiting, regular activity levels), I don't need to bring him in. Just keep an eye on him and watch for any changes. I'm keeping a log, so hopefully yesterday's episode is the only one!

Although honestly, I do expect another episode at some point and a vet visit sooner than later, but maybe he'll just be mild and weird his whole life :)

Feline Drama

This week has been all about the kitties.

Valentino: Last Friday, he started sneezing and had watery eyes and generally didn't seem to feel well, although his appetite was fine. We monitored the situation over the weekend, and if he'd deteriorated or lost his appetite, we would have taken him to the emergency vet. However, we figured it was a cold or allergies and nothing to worry too much about. On Monday, he still wasn't better, so I called the vet's office and they wanted me to bring him in.

And... it's allergies! But the vet counted it as his annual exam so it was fine. The doctor examined him and found no sign of infection. They told me to give 2 mg of the active ingredient in Chlor-Trimeton (that's half of a pill) every 12 hours while symptoms present. I also brought up his clicking paws, and he's now on a joint supplement treat (two times a day for four to six weeks, then one a day).

Valentino was easy. Duncan's new issue probably isn't.

Early this morning, Aaron woke me up because Duncan was running around crazy, furiously biting and licking his arms and flank at times. His eyes were dilated; he seemed like he was on drugs. These are all signs of hyperesthesia.

He wasn't aggressive, didn't respond negatively to touch, wasn't vocal, didn't have rippling skin, wasn't twitchy, which are other, very common signs of hyperesthesia. So although he's not showing all of the signs, I think chances are good that he has it. It tends to affect younger cats, between 1 and 5 years of age, and it's unclear how it happens. Petting, especially along the spine, can cause an episode. It's a hypersensitivity thing, and he wasn't sensitive to my touch. I don't know if future episodes will get worse and include those sorts of symptoms.

After a couple of hours, it was kind of like Duncan crashed. He slept, became calmer, although it took quite a while for his eyes to go back to normal. And then he was normal again: Wanted to eat, wanted to play with Tino, etc.

Update to come later, after a vet appointment.

Duncan!

I can't believe that I haven't introduced Duncan!

We don't know his story before we got him, but I'm happy we did. He hasn't warmed up to us completely, although he's friendly and sweet, just not really cuddly yet. But he LOVES Valentino. He's like Tino's little brother. He follows him around, likes to be right next to him ALL THE TIME. 

After Winston died, Valentino was clearly lonely. He and Dubs were besties, and Tino had never been without him. Aaron and I started talking about bringing on a friend. I ended up at Petsmart by myself one day. BIG mistake. Well, not really -- that's how we ended up with Duncan. Valentino was NOT happy with the new cat at first. We learned that he indeed can hiss and growl. Luckily after a week, he was okay with Duncan. Now they play and wrestle, although sometimes I think Tino isn't playing.

Duncan is still jumpy around us (more Aaron than me though), and he doesn't 100% trust us yet. It appears he was a stray/feral and abused in some manner, but he's relaxing. He has Tino so he's happy. He's starting to seek out attention from us more, which is appreciated. (And yes, he clearly eats his feelings.)

There are a couple of odd things about Duncan. One is that his ear was cropped to identify him as neutered. That's common in trap-neuter-release programs, less common for shelters and rescues, but not uncommon. There's also this "bad leg." We're not sure if there's nerve damage or what. When I took him to the vet, the nail was super-long, so that was part of it. He still doesn't seem to have as much control over it. That is getting better, though, so we're just keeping an eye on it for now. It doesn't affect his ability to run, jump and play; he just slides and slips occasionally.

We've had him for just over five weeks now, and we're all settling in. Duncan still doesn't feel like OUR cat yet, but he will! I'm enjoying getting to know him.

RIP, Winston Cat

I don't want to recap training -- it was fine last week -- because something terrible happened early this morning: We had to put Winston Cat to sleep.

Last known picture of Winston, taken late Saturday night

He was seriously the sweetest cat in the world. He was pretty much the only good thing that came from my first job in 1997, and I was so lucky to find him/him to find me.

I don't feel like recapping everything, but heart murmur and heart disease and blood clot in leg -- all very bad for a 17-year-old kitty. I'm glad we were home when it happened. I can't imagine him spending the entire day with his leg paralyzed due to the clot.

I don't feel like I took enough pictures of him, and it seems like most of my pictures of him are with Valentino, who was definitely his bestie. Poor Tino Bug is home alone for the first time.

I can't tell you how many times I came home to variations of these.
They LOVED each other so much.

Dallas even tolerated Winston hanging out with her.

Early to mid-2000s, Phoenix

One of the best things Dubbies did was convince Aaron that cats are awesome.

And then there was one.

RIP, Dallas Cat

September 1995 to July 2013

Yesterday, I had to put my beloved Dallas Cat to sleep. She was my 20th birthday present from my parents and my best girl. I've never been an adult without her. Winston (and Tino, really) haven't lived without her. I miss her, and I hate walking into the house knowing she isn't going to greet me. (And I'm really thankful I have my boys.)

Cat in a box.

Last night was a productive evening! I went to yoga after work (good class, not too tough, but more hip openers would always be good for me!). When Aaron picked me up, we headed to Sand Run for a four-mile run. I didn't use my watch, even though I don't feel like I'm a watch-hawk, but maybe I am. I went by effort. I wanted to keep it easy because my legs were tired from various warrior poses and because I typically run faster during the Wednesday night group runs. (The group, generally, is faster than I, so their easy pace is my tempo pace.) I ran by effort, finished a couple of minutes after Aaron and felt pretty decent.

Then it was off to do a little holiday shopping. Luckily I had chili in the slow-cooker at home so dinner was taken care of. Actually I think the chili overcooked, although Aaron seemed to think it was okay. It was definitely edible. It was a little strange to not season as I cooked. It wasn't spicy enough, but that's what Cholula is for!

After dinner, we cleaned up and then it was time to wrap some gifts. What that really means is that I gather supplies while Aaron wraps.

No, what that really means is... kitty in a box!