Two More Cat Reports

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21st
I managed to make it in for an hour yesterday to give the cats some extra walking. Mr. BELLAMY ranged further afield than ever before, into the warehouse area, which he found fascinating. I’ll have to call him Captain Bellamy after all his explorations. MATILDA and OSCAR got carried around. Oscar’s smarter than I thought: he knew exactly the shortest route from where I put him down to back at the cat room. The other three had brief outings but didn’t seem to enjoy them much.

I was back today for my regular 11 to 1 stint, during which time everybody got outside at least for a little while. BELLAMY had the first walk but was jumpy. He seemed afraid of one guy in particular who was shopping in that part of the store, trying to hide whenever he came near. Other than that he had a good morning: out and about, playing in every game and generally lording over the room from atop the larger cat-stand. The feather-duster was his favorite toy today. MATILDA got chauffeured all around the store, and was mildly interested in a wild bird that’s gotten into the store. OSCAR didn’t enjoy his walk, nor did BABY KITTY, ELEANOR POLY, and DOLLY. POLY has quite the voice: loud and pitiful at the same time. 

Everybody was out except Matilda, who was a little out of sorts — whether grumpy or not feeling well I cdn’t tell. POLY also spent much of her time inside.   BABY KITTY went from the cloth ‘cave’ to enjoying the view from atop the smaller cat-stand placed next to the door. DOLLY liked being beneath the same stand, especially when the laser pointer was out; eventually she switched over to her favorite spot inside the tube on the larger stand (see photo above). OSCAR loves all games but eventually settled atop the bins in the back of the room. BELLAMY is willing to try any game and also thinks catnip is a fine thing. B. KITTY agrees with him about the catnip. 

—John R. 

Health concerns: 

--No throw up today.  

—Matilda’s ears felt warm to me. She had something at the side of her mouth that we shd keep an eye on in case it turns into drooling.

WEDNESDAY SEPT. 14th

Had a nice long cat-walking session today (two and a half hours), during which all six cats got out for some one-on-one time outside the cat room. Some liked it a lot, some were pretty nervous. 

Good to have Princess Maltilda back with us, and to know that the knot in her tail (which I’d assumed was a spot where it’d been broken once) isn’t anything serious. She spent her walk looking for hiding places but had a nice purring session in my lap afterwards. Later she disappeared and I found her sharing Baby Kitty/Eleanor Poly’s pad, with all three cats harmoniously sleeping in a different section. Maybe Eleanor and B. Kitty aren’t so much bonded as simply good-natured.

Mr. Bellamy had the first, and longest, walk. He wants to go into every room he sees, including those at Banfield. He’s a great explorer, ranging all over the store, and pleased to get attention from passers-by. Afterwards back in the room he enjoyed a box-and-feather game and also the bug-on-a-stick game (which he had to share with B.Kitty). A fellow volunteer came by, bringing a lid for the circular litter pan, so we got that all set up in his cube; hope it circumvents the outside-the-box issue.

Oscar Rin and Dolly Brulee love being out in the larger room (he sprawled on the floor, she in the tube section of the cat-stand). They got along fine with Baby Kitty and Eleanor Poly and Princess Matilda: at one point I had five of the six cats all out at the same time. Dolly doesn’t much like walks, but Oscar is willing to give them a try. He was most interested in the various padded pet-cushions, which he wanted to try out (very sensibly, from his point of view). His least favorite thing seems to be going back in his cage; always makes him look wistful, as if he can’t understand why I’d do such a thing.

Health Concern: One of the two, either Oscar or Dolly, threw up twice (or each did so once). Once was on the floor of their cage, which was easy enough to clean up. The other was from atop one of their perches in the cage, and it ran down between their little stand and the front wall of the glass, making quite a mess; took some doing to get all cleaned up. N.B.: there was some talk of getting them plates rather than bowls to feed them off of: don’t know about PetsMart, but Mud Bay definitely has some such plates.

Our other bonded pair, Eleanor Poly (Manytoes) and Baby Kitty, also aren’t that sure about walks. B.Kitty was very shy at first, but gradually warmed up to the idea and seemed to be getting the hang of it after much reassurance. Eleanor got a walk-around, during which she cried like a lost kitten, though she got quiet and attentive when we got close enough for her to hear the birds twittering. Once we got back inside, B.Kitty claimed the top of the cat-stand and wanted to play games, while E.Poly turned herself into a lap-cat who was behind on her purr quotient.  

And that’s about it. Hope those folk who’d been interested in Matilda come back for her: the sooner she’s off to a good home the better.

—John R.