Cats and Watermelons
Getting Moxie Fatter
I took Moxie in to get weighed, and we’re super excited that she’s getting healthier! She gained about .75 pounds in a little over three weeks. In a few more weeks she might be healthy enough to have surgery to be spayed, and get her shots.
She has an amazing personality, and is getting to know how to live in a house with people and cats and dogs. We also discovered she loves the red dot, and is learning to love other toys.
Another Double Vet Visit
Sunday evening we noticed Charlie’s nose looked split and raw. The wet, squishy part of his nose. He looked like he was in a little pain, but it didn’t prevent him from running for his food bowl or jumping in the litter box while it was being cleaned. So I followed my 48-hour rule. If things get bad, if blood is gushing, if drinking of water stops, all bets are off. But otherwise we wait 48 hours before going to the vet.
Monday didn’t show much improvement. Worse. On Monday evening, the Dude started doing something weird with his mouth and caterwauling randomly. So I called for a vet appoint first thing on Tuesday. We won a 3PM spot.
I was sitting working when Charlie crawled into my lap to have a nap. I thought he was purring but on closer inspection, he was shivering. I called the vet for a sooner appointment. At 11AM I wrestled the two boys into their cat carriers and hauled them into the car. Charlie started freaking out, rolled onto his back panting and legs waggling in the air. Meowing and the works.
This was their first vet visit and they were super nervous. Charlie went first for a weight (about 11.5 pounds!) and then the Dude (10.5 pounds). Hearts, gums, temperatures, internal parts. Everything got checked.
There was some back and forth about possible problems. The deal was to get Charlie’s infection under control, and The Dude was a mystery. They got worming meds. Charlie got an antibiotics jab. We got some antibiotic wash to go home with for Charlie’s nose and the Dude’s mouth.
On his release, Charlie crawled into his brother’s carrier and curled up behind The Dude. We had to sort them out before I could schlep them out to the car because they are big boys. Arriving home, the slunk out of their carriers and departed. Charlie promptly found a hiding spot in a closet where he hid the rest of the day. The Dude slunk around, hiding in doorways and around corners, glaring.
This just adds to the feeding and health regimen that fills my day. I sometimes get weary of the constant work, but I feel like these kittehs are going to be the beloved pets of wonderful people one day and I woe it to the cats and the people to take care of them as if they were my own. Plus, credit cards, right?
The Fun of Meds
With this many cats in the house, we’re dealing with two problems that go hand in hand. Too many cats causes stress, which cause health issues, which causes more stress. So it can be a downward spiral that can get expensive.
One alternative is to reduce the cat population. Which isn’t really an option because it’s hard finding good homes for non-kitten cats. And sending them to the shelter is just not an option.
So I max out my credit cards to get reliable health care for them. And learn about health issues in the process.
Like Little Black Bean had Eosinophilic Granuloma, where her upper lip became swollen and stiff. Fortunately, it’s not one of the messy or painful issues cats can get. A round of steroids can usually solve it.
We also had a mysterious infection going around noses, lips and chins to random cats. Charlie got it the worst and his squishy nose looked like it had been split open.
Of course we also have two elderly cats and an old dog. Plus UTI issues in some cats. And we were using diatomaceous earth preventatively against internal parasites, while fighting fleas with regular flea combings. So it was a circus three times a day for meds.
Once a day I had to get one and a half steroid pills into Little Black Bean who was ferocious. Twice a day I had to get the dog his pain meds for arthritis, which was easily done with cheese. Two to three times a day we had to catch six to eight cats and wipe their chins/lips/noses with anti-bacterial drying ointment. Three to four cats got a herbal tincture for urinary tract health. And one cat got saline drops in her nose for sinus issues from long-term kennel cough.
And they all got a measure of diatomaceous earth in wet cat food every night to fight worms, and then flea combed to battle the flea season overflow, because even the best topical flea treatment isn’t always high-functioning at the height of the Florida flea outbreaks. It can also get expensive if you’re treating over a dozen cats every month with this stuff.
Suffice it to say, things got a little wild from time to time when multiple issues coincided. And add in the ongoing issues with the colony cats who really need medical care I can’t afford…
Fortunately we have a wonderful vet who understands the issues we face, and is happy to work with us on affordable treatment options.
The Cathouse Three
As part of the ongoing saga with my hoarding neighbor, I’ve been waiting to hear what happened to the three cats that Alachua County Animal Services liberated from the house. Last I heard they had seen a vet and were at the shelter. But nothing else.
This morning I got a call from Animal Services asking if I minded if the one-eyed male was released back into the neighborhood. What? Of course I don’t mind! I asked after the other two which turned out to be small females that were now in the system and up for adoption. Yippee.
Not long after that, two ladies from Gainesville Pet Rescue arrived with a cat in a box. We had a lovely conversation about feral cats, resources for animal advocates and activists in Alachua County, and how to handle issues that arose like kittens and colony food needs. Apparently GPR is heavily involved with helping the street cats and feral cats make their way out of the shelter alive.
I also immediately looked up the two female cats and put it out there on Facebook to get them circulating the interwebs. Fingers crossed that they get into good homes. All of the cats that came out of that house over the years are super people-friendly and love affection. Some are nervous about other cats.
The one-eyed male was released and I’ll be keeping my eye out for him (haha no pun intended!). And here are the ladies:
Zoey is at Animal Services (ZOEY – ID#A519957)
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/32324076/
Zelda is at Animal Services (ZELDA – ID#A519956) This picture doesn’t do her justice!
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/32324075/
Is Moxie Getting Fatter?
Moxie loves wet cat food and dry cat food. She loves the water bowl. She loves being picked up, and being pet. She loves chin scritches. I can’t tell if she’s actually getting fatter or if it’s just my imagination.
Her confidence level is skyrocketing. She is able to move around the house without getting too freaked out by the other cats. She can usually sneak past Sammy, the dog, without too much drama. She is exploring ALL of the possible sitting spots in the house. Sometimes she crawls into the back of a shelf in the liquor cabinet, and others she sits in the window of the cat room for hours watching the neighborhood.
Double Trip to the Vet
I noticed Little Bean had some bumps on her upper lip a week or so ago and didn’t think much of it. She acts timid but she throws down with her brothers like anyone else. I figured she bumped it.
But then she came and sat on my lap to cuddle and looked up at me with full duckface. Upper lip puffed out and distorting her profile. A little Googling brought me to a fantastic article about EGC. http://www.2ndchance.info/egc.htm
First thing the next morning I called the vet for an appointment. And then I called back so I could bring Elusive for a look at her UTI. And hopefully get the girls both wormer pills.
Sure enough, Dr. Doll had a look at the swollen and hard duckface and suggested a gentle round of steroids to get it under control. Elusive was more of a challenge because we needed a urine sample and just had nothing to go on. They got their worming pills though. And we got Sammy (the dog’s) arthritis pills refilled.
While we were waiting for the pills and paperwork, another patient came in with her dog and two kids. The vet office is a big, echoing space and the kids immediately had a shrieking match. Mom yelled at them to stop eventually. They then started up chanting ‘puppyPUPPYpuppy’ for a while until they were shouted at to stop eventually. My cats were shivering and freaking out, and I could hear the dogs in the back of the clinic freaking out. I’m totally being judgy in that situation because my mom had The Look. And if that didn’t work, she had The Finger.
Anyhow, Little Bean took home tiny steroid pills (after I drove across town to pick them up), and I had a bag of fake litter, a vial, and a squeazy thing to suck up a urine sample from Elusive. And they were a few days away from being worm-free.
Although they chirped the whole way to the vet, they didn’t have a lot to say on the way home. One more round of stuff to add to the morning and night animal routine. Tiny pills to a tiny, cranky black kitteh.
Jane
Temporary Name:
Jane
Sweet Jane is a quiet lady that needs a peaceful home — preferably with a sunny windowsill, an occasional warm lap, and a food bowl all her own. Despite her rough life on the street, she’s a gentle, timid little girl that’s very polite.
Gender: Female
Color: Brown Tabby & white
Fur: Short
Born: Fall 2012 (estimated)
Mom: Unknown, possibly Mushka
Family: At least 1 litter of kittens (Batman, Valentina, Sushi, Moneypenny)
Available for adoption.
We originally met Jane as a young teen mom who showed up at our colony, pregnant and hungry. Based on age and behavior, my best guess is that she is the daughter of one of our original colony members, Mushka. A few months later she brought her kittens to our front porch. We managed to catch all four kittens and mom, and bring them inside. I got her spayed through Operation Catnip, and as soon as she was done nursing, we slowly transitioned her to being an outside cat again because she was unhappy inside.
It was heartbreaking to watch her survive on the streets. She tried desperately to find a place in our colony, but she was small and passive, and became the lowest kitty on the pecking order. Everyone picked on her, and more often than not, she would spend her days living in the storm drains to keep out of reach of more aggressive cats.
And then she disappeared for a little over a week. We were getting ready to go out with friends on a Saturday when I happened to look outside and see her hunched in the grass across the street. Seeing her condition, the fact that I easily picked her up and carried her inside, I canceled all plans and took her to our vet immediately. After an exam and blood tests, he supported my instant assessment. Chances are she was trapped in our hoarding neighbor’s house for a week without food or much water. He suggested we keep her inside for a few weeks with a lot of TLC to see if she bounced back.
And boy, did she bounce back. After a few days of sleeping and eating a cat food slurry, she started to amble around the house and make noses with other cats. Within weeks she was the absolute happiest cat I’ve ever met. It was like she was in Disney World every day. She loved being picked up and snuggled. She loved being fed. She loved finding a new place to nap. She found a spot in the hallway to sit where she could pop out and sniff all of the cats that went by. She liked to lay next to the dog and let him snuffled all over her head.
We are sure if she returned to the outside life, she would probably be more assertive in the colony now that she’s found her inner strength. But she is a small cat and very sweet, and if we could place her in a good home, it would mean one less vulnerable cat on the streets. And Jane is a small, undemanding kitty that wants only a sunny windowsill, a food bowl, and someone to talk to her.
Health history:
7/11/13 – Jane brought her kittens to us. We managed to catch all four kittens and her, and brought them inside.
7/31/13 – Jane went through an Operation Catnip clinic to be spayed and get her vaccines.
4/4/15 – Jane arrived after being gone over a week, looking very ill. An emergency vet visit and some fluids later, and we decided to keep her inside beyond her two week recovery period.
Overall, Jane is a healthy cat. She’s still young enough to be playful, but for the most part, she’s very calm. She is now getting a little chubbier around the middle than she’s ever been.
Quick Details
Litter box: A+
Other cats: A [But probably best with less aggressive cats]
Cuddling: B+ [she loves being picked up and is learning about lap napping]
Food: A+
Jane nursing 7-16-13
Jane, 6-10-15
Jane portrait, 5-29-15
Jane in sunlight, 5-17-15
Jane playing 7-24-15
Jane, 5-20-15
Jane with Moneypenny 7-18-13
Jane with Sammy, 5-25-15
Skinny Moxie
Moxie was such a good girl on her first visit to the vet. She got the works, and complete blood work done. After a long and thorough conversation with our vet, he agreed that she was in great health despite being emaciated, and that her lack of body mass was likely due to starvation rather than any illness or defect.
She weighed in at less than 4.5 pounds, and she should have been around 7 to 8 pounds. But otherwise was a healthy girl. It was hard to estimate her age due to her lack of weight. But time would tell. Our vet was otherwise happy with her condition.
I was sent home with some things to try to get a urine and fecal sample just to rule out anything obscure. But waiting for a cat to do its business in a weird litter box set up was less than successful.
It’s hard to estimate how quickly she will be back up to ideal weight. Six to eight weeks is the general guess. In the mean time, we’ll be getting her fat, working on her socialization, and inviting potential adopters to come meet her.
Moxie
Moxie
Moxie is the victorious survivor of a hoarding situation, and she has come a long way towards a normal life. Although she (understandably) has anxiety issues around other cats, she adores her humans and is amazingly affectionate. She will do best in a home without other cats, or with just one relaxed animal. And she prefers women over men, but is wonderfully affectionate in either case. When you get to know Moxie, you can see her dealing with her issues every day, and she is an amazing example of someone who decided to overcome her tragic past.
Gender: Female
Color: Black & white
Fur: Short
Born: Unknown (estimated 2011)
Available for adoption.
Moxie came to us from a sad hoarding/neglect situation and was completely emaciated. When I took her in to the next Operation Catnip clinic, they wanted to euthanize her immediately, but I managed to talk her into another chance. The mission was to fatten her up enough to have spay surgery and her shots.
It has been a long, uphill struggle to get her better, but she is a truly amazing cat with a phenomenal personality. She loves to cuddle and talk, and is very people-oriented. We found out she had already been spayed at some point, so we’re working under the assumption that she had been someone’s pet already.
In our journey towards getting Moxie fatter and healthier, we have also been working with her anxiety and social skills. She has come a long way but will likely need a home with few animals and probably no kids. She prefers women, and will even ask for attention form women visitors she has just met. But she will tolerate a guy roommate as a second best option 🙂
We also discovered she loves the red laser dot game.
- Browse Moxie news…
Health History
When Moxie arrived at our door, she was too skinny to even tell where her organs were, what to speak of attempt to spay her. Over the course of time, we brought her back to a healthy weight, and have a firm grasp on her anxiety issue (all of which came from being in a hoarding house). When she is stressed, she loses weight and anxiety-grooms, but in a relaxed environment she really starts to blossom.
5/17/15 – Operation Catnip. Unsuccessful. Initially too emaciated to do spay surgery on, we have been working to get her fat enough to have surgery and vaccines.
5/19/15 – General check up with vet. Moxie weighed 4.5 pounds (normal weight is 7 to 8 pounds)
6/11/15 – Vet weigh-in at 5.25 pounds!
6/30/15 – Roundworm treatment (and whole house of cats).
7/3/15 – Vet weigh-in at 4.75 pounds after roundworm illness and treatment.
8/18/15 – Moxie weighed in at 6.5 pounds is cleared for surgery.
8/20/15 – At NMHP: Operation petsnip we discovered she was already spayed. She did get her rabies vaccine.
Quick Details
Litter box: A+
Other cats: C [due to her previous hoarding life, she has anxiety issues with other cats]
Cuddling: A+
Food: A+
Moxie’s beginning, 5-17-15
Moxie trapped for Catnip, 5-17-15
Moxie loves the cat tree, 5-18-15
Moxie explored inside the house, 5-18-15
Moxie is pretty damn skinny, 5-19-15
Moxie liked her crate at first, 5-19-15
Moxie learned about sunny windowsills, 5-19-15
Moxie tried being a proper cat, 5-21-15
Moxie learned about clean laundry piles, 6-19-15
Moxie is a shameless cuddler, 6-25-15
She’s getting better, 7-10-15
We discovered Moxie has little side stripes, 7-21-15
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