Tag Archives: cats

Well, That Was Easier Than I Expected

Y’all know I’m a cat lady. Kenn and I have always had a mixture of both indoor and outdoor cats. There were always a lot of un-neutered feral cats in our old neighborhood. Since we always had food out for any critter (cats, dogs, possums, whatever) that needed it, it wasn’t unusual for mama cats to bring their kittens to us to show them a food source. Over the years we socialized and spayed/neutered countless mamas and kittens. Any that wanted to make their home with us were welcome, but they had to remain outside with occasional forays inside for some.

When we moved to The Cabin several years ago, we brought three outdoor cats with us: Nellie, Marvin, and Roscoe. We “inherited” an additional one since Stumpie was already hanging around when we moved in. However, being an outdoor cat comes with any number of hazards. We lost Roscoe to a systemic infection due to an injury; he was so aloof, we didn’t even know there was a problem until it was too late. We lost both Stumpie and Marvin last summer which left Nellie as our only official outdoor cat. Over the past few months, all of the extra cats that had started hanging around have moved on with the exception of Ghost, who is getting a little braver. However, having Nellie outdoors by herself has been killing me. Girlfriend is now thirteen years old and I couldn’t help but feel that she was a little lonely without Stumpie and Marvin.

Outdoor Nellie

Our previous attempts to move Nellie indoors hadn’t gone well, so I was a little leery of trying again even though I knew the move was in her best interest. However, things came to a head last Saturday. I was petting Nellie when I noticed an issue with with her right eye; it was cloudy and slightly enlarged. A closer inspection revealed damage to the cornea so, moving her inside became paramount. After a brief discussion, Kenn positioned one of our larger pet carriers under the carport so it would be there when an opportunity presented itself. I went out and spent fifteen minutes or so petting Nellie and then picked her up. She was never thrilled about being held, but much to my surprise, she allowed it. Even more surprising, I was able to walk her over to the carrier, place her inside, and shut the door without her freaking out. As far as I am concerned, it was a miracle!

Indoor Nellie

Nellie is now sharing my office with Molly, who is both my mewse and another senior citizen. (Molly is fifteen.) Things were a little tense the first couple of days, but are going better now. Nellie went to the vet on Monday and is now receiving an antibiotic ointment on her eye twice a day. We go back to the vet next Monday to find out how we proceed. More antibiotics? Surgery? Either way, she is now indoors and safe from marauding dogs, cars, etc.

On another note, are you familiar with the Nat Geo Wild show Critter Fixers: Country Vets? Those are our vets! Dr. Hodges and Dr. Ferguson are both great, as are the other vets and techs on their team. I guess using their veterinary services is one of my brief brushes with fame. Tell me about your brushes with fame!

Cat Math

In one of my last posts I wrote about the death of Marvin (one of our outdoor cats), my plans to move his sister indoors and stop leaving food out for animals passing by. (And how Kenn and I somehow completely reversed our normal positions on the topic of cats.)

As of this writing, Nellie (Marvin’s sister and our only remaining outdoor cat) is still outdoors and is ignoring all of my attempts to get her to try the cushy life of an indoor kitty. We also have at least four cats coming by to partake of our food on a regular basis. (We’re going through so much more food, LOL.) I was surprised that the presence of Marvin and Stumpie was such a deterrent as they were both neutered males. (Nellie is spayed as well so she is not luring in new cats with her feminine wiles, er, pheremones.)

Proof that anything can be found on the internet.

Since we now have regular feline visitors to whom we have never been properly introduced, we decided to come up with our own names for them. These names get used when we are talking to them (from whatever distance they will allow) which is one of the first steps in helping them learn they can trust us. Here are our regular visitors (for now):

  • Tiger – Tiger is one of the cats cared for by our elderly neighbors and is the only one who’s name we actually know. Confusion arises because Tiger is our Nellie’s doppelganger. I’ll think I’m talking to Nellie and only realize that it’s Tiger when s/he freaks out because I’m getting so close. Or, I think I’m talking to Tiger only to realize that it’s Nellie. (Tiger and Nellie are both silver tabbies.)
  • Crow – Crow is a handsome black cat. (I love cats of all shapes, sizes, and colors but have an extra big soft spot for black cats.) Kenn announced that he would be calling the black cat Crow or Calypso depending on if it were male or female. Crow rarely gets closer to us than ten feet which would have made the sex determination difficult if he had been neutered. However, even from ten feet away – with the right angle and lighting – it was easy to determine that Crow is an unneutered male. However, if we can ever get him socialized, this situation will be rectified.
  • Bruiser – Bruiser is an unneutered brown tabby with white feet. Bruiser made it a point to square off with Stumpie on a regular basis so I was forever running him off. Now that he’s not stirring up trouble I have no problem with him coming over but I’m probably going to have to work extra hard to earn his trust.
  • Ghost – Ghost, appropriately enough, is a gray cat and by far the most skittish of our new visitors. I have only seen Ghost twice. Both sightings were only glimpses of a gray blur disappearing across the back yard after I apparently scared the crap out of him/her by walking across the deck to the car port.

So, somehow losing two cats has resulted in gaining four. Cat math is weird. Sigh. Lucky for them, I’m a complete sucker for animals in need.

In Memoriam

Last week was one of those weeks. It started with our oldest son having a health scare which entailed us making a quick trip to South Carolina. Fortunately, our son is fine. After we got home, our over-the-range microwave died. While we were dealing with the replacement of the microwave, which was much more time-consuming than it should have been, it became obvious that it was time to say goodbye to one of our cats.

When we moved into our home almost 6 years ago, Stumpie was a feral cat. It didn’t take him long to learn that we had a steady supply of food and water for our outside cats and any other critters that wanted to partake. Stumpie became a regular fixture in our yard. He didn’t trust us and would run off if we got too close. Over time, he wouldn’t run as far. Then, he began trying to befriend our cats and was rewarded when Roscoe took him under his wing (leg?) and they became besties.

All this time, he was watching Kenn and I and saw us interact with the other cats. After 3 years, he decided to take a chance on trust and love and gave me the honor of selecting me as his person. He decided that he enjoyed being petted but didn’t want to see my hand during the process. So, when Stumpie would come to me for attention, he would turn his back to me so he could enjoy pets without seeing my hand.

Over the past couple of months, Stumpie had developed a problem that I knew would eventually lead to his demise. Last week, it was time to let him go. As I have done with all of my furbabies, I held him and told him how much I loved him as he left this world.

It’s hard going to a home that no longer has Stumpie in it. He’s no longer be there to greet me with his gravelly voice and weave between my ankles as I shower him with attention. He’s no longer there to escort me to the food dish and to carefully turn his back on me so I can pet him.

All pets leave a hole in our hearts when they pass, but for some that hole is a little bit larger. I miss you Stumpie. Home just isn’t the same without you.