The Dude – Hewwow

June 3, 2015

Another Double Vet Visit

Poor Charlie's Nose, 6-2-15 — Poor Charlie’s Nose, 6-2-15

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?

November 23, 2014

Fighter Meets Voldemort

We’ve always said that Fighter and Spider, the two boys from Little Mamma, looked and acted so much like their uncle (?) Voldemort, the alpha male in our colony.

Spider got adopted out before he could really meet Volvo, but with the weather getting cold and Voldemort darting into the house lately, Fighter has gotten to know his older mirror cat. They look alike, but more than that, they are both dominant males with big squishy, cuddly sides.

With Volvo in the house (acting like he wants to learn how to be an indoor cat), Fighter has gotten to know him a bit. Which was adorable until tonight when they actually cuddle up on the couch together. I really thought I was going to explode from the cuteness. It sucks that it’s so hard to get attractive pictures of black cats, but I desperately tried. They cuddled up for a good 20 minutes, which knowing Volvo, is a Christmas miracle.

As it is, when I have to evict Volvo from the house for whatever reason, I have to double check to make sure I’m not putting Fighter outside. Fortunately, their major difference is that Fighter has amazingly silky fur, where Volvo has a coarse, short fur like Spider inherited.

July 19, 2014December 12, 2016

The Dude (a.k.a.) Little Fighter

Temporary Name:

The Dude, (a.k.a.) Little Fighter

Gender: Male
Color: Black
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 4/17/14
Mom: Lil Mamma
Family: 6 kittens

Adopted!

Update: The Dude was adopted by the perfect family and is doing well 🙂

Little Fighter got his name because he was the most fearless and playful of his siblings. He would take on two or three easily, and keep coming back for more when they played. He was one of the largest of the kittens, but as they were weaned, and had all of the kitten kibble they could eat, his siblings caught up with him.

He is almost pure black. His kitten fur was the most fluffy of the babies, and had little fine silver fur mixed in along his throat and belly. But as he grew older, he got more sleek fur, and now his eyes are turning a lovely gold that is popular in our neighborhood cats. His brother Spider is almost identical, with slightly less fluffy fur and eyes that are a little more grey.

As he grows up, he’s also becoming less aggressive. He’s much more willing to cuddle, and loves to be scritched on his back and neck. Because the kittens came to us with crusty eyes, we washed their eyes and faces with wet paper towels 3-4 times a day. Now these little guys love to have their whole faces stroked and petted.

He’s a bit territorial, so he would probably be best as an only cat, or with his sister, Elusive. But he is also used to having a lot of cats around, and our dog, plus all of our friends in and out, so he is also very tolerant of a variety of people in his house.

Note: As he grew up, we changed his name from Fighter to The Dude because he grew less assertive and more cool and cuddly. He’s a very people-oriented kitteh now, and likes to drape himself across your lap or talk to you as he follows you from room to room.

Health history:

8/27/14 – Neutered, rabies vaccine, flea/parasite treatment, and microchipped. (No More Homeless Pets: Operation Petsnip, www.nmhp.net) He had a minor infection after being neutered, but that cleared up and he’s back on all four paws, running around like always.

When these kittens came to us, they had very crusty eyes. It took a good week or two to get that under control. This little boy hasn’t shown signs of any returning issues.

Quick Details

Litter box: A [he has great aim but can’t always cover the business no mater how hard he tries]
Other cats: B [probably best with fewer cats]
Cuddling: A
Food: A+