Thankful Thursday

This post might make you wonder why I put it under "Thankful Thursday".

This is Furrydance Sunny, and you might remember when he was returned to me back in May 2009, I posted about him on my cattery blog.

Keyser Soze (his previous name, which had too sinister a image, so I renamed him Sunny, for what I hoped would be a sunny outlook for his future happiness)had a bit of a rough life. After living with his first family for two years, the other cats in the house started picking on him and he began urinating outside the box and escaping outside! He almost died due to an infection in his chest called Pyothorax, due to scratch from another cat. A specialist veterinarian pulled him thorough and he has the battle scars on his right side to show how brave he was. Then about the time Mike died, his owners gave him away to some friends of theirs without notifying me first and I was quite angry. But I was able to get in touch with his new owners and then they knew how to contact me to keep me updated on Soze's life.

Well, two years past without much contact. I wasn't very happy about that, but kept in touch, so they knew I still cared. Then one day, out of the blue, I get a phone call telling me that he has been urinating all over the house and fighting with their cats and they were moving and wanted to bring him back to me immediately. Of course, I said yes, and started making a safe and quiet place for him to come back to. When I do "rehab" on a kitty with behavior issues, I follow a strict protocol. I never know whether they will get better under my care or not, but I always want to give them a chance.

So, on May 7, 2009 he arrived back at his birthhome here and his rehab began...2 weeks in a 4'x4'x2' cage, with heated bed, litterbox and food/water and no other cats around to cause him anxiety. The first two days he was hissing and growling but that slowly gave way to needing affection and he began to let me hold him and brush him. He was well behaved in the cage-no urinating outside the box or spraying so he got to move up a step into the guest bathroom, with all the same comforts but with more room.

He was affectionate and happy, and I thought he would be able to find the right home. He so far had not shown any bad behaviors here and the next step for him was to move into the guest bedroom and eventually be introduced to another cat he will feel comfortable with. If all goes according to plan, then after about 3 months, I will start seeking a home for him. It may be as an only cat, or maybe with one of the upcoming kittens, or with a family that already has a cat from Furrydance who I know will give him a good forever home.

Sunny had been 100% perfect in his behavior here, no urinating outside the litterbox at all! So he got to move into the library room, then the guest bedroom on June 1st and he was so happy to have a comfy bed (where I would nap with him sometimes) and windows to look out on the backyard and the lake and the wildlife.

A week after he settled in to the bedroom, I had houseguests and they had to share the guestbedroom with Sunny. That was fine with them, as they already have one Furrydance cat and were here to meet one of Coco's kittens they had picked out to adopt. But as fate would have it, they fell in love with Sunny. That was not unexpected, as he is super affectionate and loved their attention. My only reservation was that if they adopted him, he would be going back into a multi-pet household and previously that was not a good experience for him.

So I told them I would like to keep him with me for a couple of months longer, to introduce him to the other cats, thinking I would start with Zephyr, as I needed to see if she was going to be ok with other cats, too. He had already had a couple of altercations with two of the resident cats, but he was not the aggressor in those instances.

But sometimes, once a cat becomes comfortable with it's surroundings, the tables can turn and it can become the aggressor if it learns it can intimidate certain cats. I had gotten conflicting stories about his behavior in his previous homes, so did not know what to expect with time.

After two weeks in the guestroom, it was time to introduce him to Zephyr, another kitty returned to me about the same time for what her owner termed OCD. I did that initially by exchanging their bedding, then when Zephyr was not hissing anymore, I brought her into his room and she was afraid of him, lots of hissing and he ran under the bed and hid.

But each day, with a little more time together, the hissing lessened and I let them spend more time together. They were now "roommates" and shared their meals and shared the bed (though not right next to each other yet) and neither cat was acting out with any inappropriate behaviors. So, I was happy with their progress and was willing to try Sunny with the family that fell in love with him on their visit. If, sometime in the next 6 weeks, he shows that he isn't happy with multi-cats, as I will start letting him meet the other cats again, then this family can adopt the little kitten they had their eyes on initially. And as always, if it doesn't work out, I will take Sunny back with open arms.

But about 2 weeks after that, Sunny started spraying, on the bed, by the door and I wasn't sure if he just wanted to be an "only cat" and not have a roommate, or if he was lonely for human companionship after the visitors. So I moved him back into the library room but he continued to spray, so I started him on anxiety medication but it didn't resolve his spraying. I had another family now interested in him, in spite of his continued inappropriate urinating, and they had no other cats, so I thought it would be the next best step for him, but unfortunately the husband got pneumonia which turned in to asthma and their doctor advised against them getting a cat right now.

Then a few weeks ago, a family here who recently had to put their Furrydance Cornish Rex to sleep because of a mediastinal neoplasia (a tumor in the chest) was willing to give him a try. They had no other cats and loved the breed and missed their kitty deeply. Unfortunately within a few days, Sunny was spraying and not using the box again, even though they followed my "introducing a new cat" instructions to the letter, so I took him back in.

I had so hoped he would be happy in his new home (his third--forth, including me) with no other cats around, but it wasn't to be. I did not want him to spend the rest of his life in a room by himself--that is not living but existing. He was fearful with other cats and I already have issues with two of my cats spraying (Disco and Coco), so having him have run of the house here wasn't an option for me either. All the medical tests proved it not to be a medical issue but a behavioral one and he had been on two different anxiety medications and still was spraying.

I made the difficult decision to euthanize him, not wanting him to go from home to home, feeling anxiety with each. He is at rest now, and I think it was the right decision, but still very hard for me to let go of.

But the thankful part of this post is that

1) I got him back each time, so he did not end up dumped in a shelter and put in a home that abused him for his behavior.

and

2) He knew love and affection during the 7 months he was back with me, and that I am grateful for, because I did truly love him and only wanted the best for him.

Fly free, sweet Sunny...

What we've been up to, too...

(this isn't one of us, but a kitty at a plantation mewmie visited)

How have 49 days passed since mewmie posted a "Goings On" post?? Last time she went a month without posting an update, people were calling and emailing to make sure she hadn't died. Now, we guess they just assume she

1) Can't get on the computer because we're on it
2) Buried in cat litter
3) Trapped in bed under us cats

Since mid-July, four kittens have grown up and journeyed off to their new homes. That is pleasing to mewmie and she's happy that they are happy, too. Toby has settled in to his new home in Iowa, with no spraying behavior there! And Sunny has been spoken for, but as mewmie just changed his and Disco's anxiety medication, she would like to wait a couple of weeks to see if it's helping so he can go off to his new home with a prescription to ease his transition. We are getting frequent updates on them and photos, too...here's a couple of Henry Oliver, Jasper & Clover, and Toby:





Mewmie had a mini-vacation thanks to one of the kittens. She flew down to Charleston SC to deliver Buttercup to a couple who have one Furrydance cat already and they have become such good friends, we feel so fortunate to have them in our life. The weather gods smiled on them and it wasn't terribly hot or humid and mewmie was grateful for that. They did a carriage tour of Middleton Place, a plantation, which was both interesting and peaceful. Middleton Place The grounds were lovely and she took lots of photos. Here's a couple of her favorites:


just to give you perspective, the mansion you are seeing is just what is remaining of the place--the main house and left flanking wing were destroyed by fire and then an earthquake!

Saturday, they did their own little walking tour of Charleston, ending up getting thoroughly soaked by a downpour, but it was warm and they dried off before long (thank goodness for gauze shirts and tencel pants). Mewmie did have squishy sandals for a day or so afterwards, though. They went by a new rescue & adoption shelter and were very impressed with the facility and how warm and welcoming it felt. Mewmie didn't take any photos there, but here's a link to them PetHelpers.org and here's some of the photos she took around Charlestown (that lovely street with the pastel painted houses is called Rainbow Road and as a side note, the shelter had their cat cages made to look just like them!)





The bipeds ate at a wonderful "Low Country" restaurant and mewmie had to have Yellow Grits and Shrimp and it was divine! We think the Shrimps sound divine! Kristynn and Tommy told Teri she had to have Boiled Peanuts, too Goobers and we are not sure what a boiled peanut would taste like...but Teri said it was like any other legume that had been boiled--mushy and bland. We like batting peanuts around on the hardwood floors, though.


That being said, after the third peanut they sort of grew on Teri and as they drove along back to the house, all of them were digging into the paper sack on the console of the truck! Tommy goes to The Citadel College and they drove around the campus and managed to be there right as the afternoon parade began, and then the downpour began and mewmie got the funniest video of the cadets marching in the rain, didn't slow them down one step, as they had to end the review and head back inside--heads up, pace pretty even, uniforms soaked!



They rented movies, ordered Chinese take out, BBq'd steaks one night (and Teri found a new favorite liqueur--a Sweet Tea infused Vodka called Firefly, which made a nice Southern version of a Long Island Iced Tea), had a big breakfast one morning of Tommy's great french toast (remember the video of Disco sampling Tommy's French Toast when they came to visit us?) and Teri got to sleep in and not have the worries of home/work/life in general. We're glad she got away and got to enjoy the company of friends and see new places, and knowing us cats were in the care of our wonderful catsitter, made getting away possible.

Mewmie was disappointed that she didn't get to meet a friend of theirs they have been telling her about for months...a laid back, birkie wearin' Doctor who lost his wife to cancer about the time that we lost our catdad, Mike. They'd corresponded a little and even if they didn't "make each other purr", she was looking forward to seeing if he was as warm and friendly as Kristynn said he was. But after initially saying he'd love to come over for a BBQ, he begged off at the last minute due to... a flea infestation (that's a new one--we say we gotta scoop the litterbox) and then said he was shy around women and could they meet up for coffee (and then never responded to Kristynn's page)...sigh. Must not have had time to read Miss Manners...some purrsonality!

Henry Oliver, the kitten our friends were adopting, settled in amazingly fast, even getting used to their dog and sharing the couch with her after only 4 days. Mewmie thinks he will be quite a different personality than their first kitty from our place and that will be fun for them--he is clingy and a purrbox, where Teddy is more of a restless teenager. Here's a couple of photos of Henry and Teddy:



Work at the Cat Hospital has been frustrating for our mewmie due to ongoing new computer software issues, and she always comes home late, but she says they are making headway and in a couple of weeks, three of them are flying to St. Louis for a 3 day training seminar. She hopes she comes away with lots of shortcuts and new ideas...and can then relay them to those who couldn't attend (that's the hope anyway, that nothing's lost in translation...). We are sure we could help!

And as this is Labor Day weekend, Mewmie also gets an extra day off (she'll need it since she's been on the computer most of the day) and she's invited to a BBQ out in the country and with the weather being fantastic right now--cooler and almost like fall--she says she's going to relax, eat and drink and she's taking along her sleeping bag just in case she has to "sleep over", sharing floor space with Silly, a Furrydance kitty, and Tango in their little abode...

Kitten Mews, Rehab Recap, and other activities...

My, Teri has been busy! Today she is downstairs blogging, so we are having to entertain ourselves and you'll see, things have been purrty busy round the Furrydance house!

Kittens are growing up...they are now eating kitten food and using the litterbox (well, most of the time...they are still learning that one has to stop playing before one gets the urge that they gotta go, NOW!)




Mama Coco and the 4 flowerchildren spent 10 days in the care of our petsitters cuz Teri went to the Ocean to a Hot Rod car show with a friend. She let us stay there for a few extra days cuz we got lots of attention, listened to soothing classical music, and changing from chubby little kittens into svelte and racy CRex...that was the biggest change Teri saw when she picked them up on Saturday! (Oh, she stayed for a while and visited, munched on Guacamole, Salsa, chips and S'Mores along with a few Mojitos with mint fresh from their garden!).




Once back at home, she settled Coco and her kids into the master bathroom as they have outgrown the kitten tent for sure and this is the next step, while they are purrfecting their litterbox skills. They are eating canned food eagerly, playing like kittens do--crabwalking, racing hither and yon, and learning what the "bitey" is all about!



Disco continues to "Behave" and while he did spray once (right next to Teri while she was sitting on the couch, talkin' on the phone) otherwise he is much improved over his previous behavior. He is on anxiety medication, Buspirone, and he seems quite content. Well, not really...cuz he had to start his diet (so that means just cuz he's tubby, we all have to suffer!!).

When he was a showcat, he weighed about 11# and being confined due to his spraying, he ballooned up to over 13#. Teri got him down to 12# feeding him only canned food (The Catkins Diet) but hoped that once he had free run of the house again and 3 levels to exercise in, that he could go back to eating dry food free choice again. Nope! He is very carb-intolerant and got up to 14#, so now he gets canned food twice a day and a few kibbles of dry a couple of times a day.


And in a week he has lost 8 ounces so the diet's working!


Sonny, the cat formerly known as Keyser Soze, is being the purrfect Rehab cat, and has moved out of the Rehab cage to the guest bathroom and is consistently using the litterbox, not yowling, digging, scratching or otherwise acting out, so in another week, he will be able to move into the guest bedroom.


That is the routine at the Rehab clinic here at Furrydance and Teri is happy with his progress so far, based on how bad he was at his previous home especially! The other cats will be a bit upset they won't be able to lay in the sun on the bed in the guestroom--it's the sunniest room in the house and the cats love it...but one has to make adjustments when it comes to the well-being of a kitty with a problem.



And Zephyr, the newest "client" at the Furrydance Rehab Clinic, has only been here 4 days, but seems to be resting and not showing any of the anxiety issues that were reported in her previous home. Those issues included eating holes in clothes, vocalizing, frequent vomiting, and separation anxiety.



She is a very sweet girl, 4 years old with very lovely furs and a lithe body, only weighing 5#. As you can see in this photo, she is in the cage that Sonny was in a couple of weeks ago (of course, all disinfected and deodorized with her own personal bedding and fresh litterbox). She is relaxed, friendly, not vomiting-vocalizing-or eating her cat bed, so Teri is very pleased that she seems so at ease now.

When Sonny moves into the guest room, Zeffie will move into the bathroom and Teri is hoping that after a couple of weeks, she will start introducing Zeffie to Sonny and maybe they will become friends and keep each other company...that's the best case scenario while Teri is evaluating them and then seeking the purrfect home for them...maybe even together like Nacho and Peachie did! That would make Teri very happy!

Teri has had a busy weekend, updating blogs, making photo albums for expectant parents, playing with the kittens, Sonny and Zeffie, with time for a picnic (good thing it was yesterday since it's raining today!) with a smidgen of housework and getting ready for the week at work--gotta iron those uniforms still! In between, thoughts of Spot keep coming to mind but she is glad he isn't hurting anymore and that gives her peace. She ordered a special remembrance bracelet and it arrived on Thursday.

It's sterling silver and has birthstone gems on it, capping the ends of the bracelets hollow space for ashes. so she decided to have one stone be for Spot and one stone be for Bo, her beloved Cornish Rex who went to the Bridge in 2005. Spot's was born in June, so his stone is a Moonstone and Bo's in August, so his is a Peridot. She also got a pretty Cherry box just like Bo's Oak box and put Spot's photo in it.








And, we all know you are anxiously awaiting new kitten pix and movies...and that's what Teri has been working on all day today, and so without further ado...

Simply Sunday Morning, Mama's Day

To all the Mommycats and all the CatMommies out there...wishing you a day filled with lots to purr about! Here's the latest Mommycat photos from Furrydance! Coco and babies are doing great! Their sniffles cleared up quickly and their weights continue to gain each day just as we want. The aren't quite at the stage of climbing out of their kitten box, but I did bring out the larger one as they are starting to need a bit more crawling space!





And here's their latest video! You can tell, they are starting to play, nibble and paw at each other--the beginnings of their personalities starting to show. I will have to say that Clover "Loves the Camera" and Daisy is just the "Baby Sister" and Buttercup and Dandelion are very close in size now, with their coat color being the easiest way to tell them apart now!



And here's the first photo I have taken of the newly renamed Sonny (the cat previously known as Keyser Soze). I figured Sonny and Soze are two syllables, similar sounding to the kitty and with a much nicer connotation than his previous namesake! Easier to warm up to a Sonny than a Soze and he needs all the love and warmth he can get right now!



It's only been two days, but already he is head butting me and not growling and huffing like he was on Friday. He is in a 4' x 4' x 2' cage right now, with a cozy tunnel bed on a pet safe heating pad and he likes that. He is resting, not yowling and anxious like his previous owner reported and so far, has not done any urinating outside his litterbox, so he is already making headway!



I hope that going in to work with me tomorrow doesn't knock our budding friendship on it's rump, but if he is too stressed by it, we will just lightly sedate him and use a short acting gas anesthesia, so he isn't scared and so we can do a thorough exam on him, too. And while he is asleep, we can bath him and clean his ears and nailbeds, which he would probably fight if he were awake.

He is very handsome, not much coat right now but that could be stress or nutritionally related...or he could be just one of those Cornish Rex with a thin coat instead of deeply marcelled waves.

Being a Responsible Breeder...

Well, I am getting another Furrydance kitty back due to "Inappropriate Urination". I just hope I am as lucky as I have been in working with these cats and he gets through Rehab with a Gold Star!

His name is Keyser Soze and I almost lost track of him once before! Right after Mike died, the couple who had Soze gave them to friends of theirs without letting me know they were having problems (their other cats picking on Soze). That angered me, as part of my contract says that I will take back a cat for any reason and then be able to chose the best home for them personally. They told me they thought I was having enough problems to deal with, and they thought they were doing the right thing...

They gave him to a couple who knew him and liked him...but he was going right back into a similar situation, multiple pets, and I just would not have picked that home for him, with his history of being picked on and maybe having self-confidence issues. But at least I was able to contact his new owners and chat with them, but they never did send back the Adoption Application form I emailed them and that was dissin' me, but at least they now had my contact info!

Then today I get a phone call that they have been having many months of problems with him, escaping outside, peeing everywhere and they are having to move into a smaller home for a while and knew he would only be under more stress there. And I am grateful for the fact that because I had kept in touch with them, that they knew how to get in touch with me and that I would take him back.

I asked them to fax all his vet records to the hospital where I work, so I can see what his healthcare has (or has not) been, and just like any time I bring a new cat into the house, he will be isolated and taken in to work with me on Monday for blood tests and parasite tests, so I don't expose my household to something he may have picked up on one of his ventures outside or from one of their other pets.

Then just like the cats I have Rehabbed before him, Jasmine and Nacho and Peachie and Disco...he will go through the "12 step program" to recovery. Well, it's not really 12 steps, that is just a reference to AA. It's 4 steps, each about 2 weeks long and a cat only gets to move to the next level if it's well behaved. Sometimes there is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. And sometimes (most of the time) there are anxiety meds involved. I follow the protocol of an animal behaviorist group that the cat hospital where I work uses.

Over then next few weeks, you will get to know Soze and wish him luck and send him purrs, but thought you all would like to see pix of him. He's quite the handsome boy, 4 years old and I am looking forward to getting to know him again and evaluating his issues and hoping like *&%#@ that I can help him...it's the least I can do!