The Cat Report (W.2/27-13)

I never did get a Cat Report written up last week, because things started changing so quickly day by day. Then I was going to congratulate Katniss and Kelvis on their cleverly getting themselves adopted, but in rapid succession after that Sunny Sam, General Grant, and sweet little Genesis all did likewise, while Thistle arrived and departed so quickly I never even saw her. 

The main event of last week (2/20) were the walks and their aftermath. Tattoo declined a walk, emphatically. Sam had a good long one, all the way over to the fishes; turned out he tolerates dogs but is not fond of them. Then General Grant got carried around until he felt comfortable, whereupon he had a long walk, exploring the back half of the store. The trouble came when I tried to walk Pascale (No! NO! NOOOO!). She panicked and leapt about like a wild thing; it was all I cd do to get her back into the room, where she hid under the cat-stand by the cabinet and refused to let me take the leash off. Eventually she calmed down, and when a PetsMart employee dropped by about an hour later to visit the cats Pascale let her take both collar and leash off with no fuss. Memo to self: never try to walk Pascale again. Last of all I offered Genesis a walk, which annoyed her no end; till then she'd been v. loving and demanding of attention. Glad to know she's now in a new home of her own.

As for this week (2/27), we're down to just six cats: Edna Jane, Lemura, Butterscotch, newcomer Heidi Klum, little Pascale, and Tattoo. Turns out ALL of them love catnip, and will happily roll in the stuff with abandon.

EDNA went high, eventually working her way via a succession of cat-stands, navigating hissily through territory occupied by other cats, to the cabinet top and hence Cagetop Land. She loved it up there, and even tried at one point to burrow her way under an upside-down cat-bed. She was so busy lording it up there that she didn't seem to mind if other cats were at the far end of the cagetops (Heidi) or atop the cabinet (Tattoo). Getting her back in was a challenge, but a combination of making sure everyone else was inside and out of the way, having her cage door open, showing her I'd moved a cat-stand over for her to jump down on and into her home base, and standing atop the stepladder shooing her along with a big piece of cardboard all worked. All in all think she had a good morning.

LEMURA made her way to the top tier of the cat-stand by the cabinet and, after a good round of catnip, snoozed away the morning. In a good mood but not v. active.

BUTTERSCOTCH refused to come out but rolled in her cage in catnip, played the string game with great zest, and several times came to the front of her cage. I put a short cat-stand in front of her open door, but she declined to come out. Since she usually won't let me clean her cage fully (i.e., replace the blankets and get them all smoothed down), tried something new. Put the wicker basket in her cage where the litter box wd usually go. She came out of her cat-stand cubby and examined the stand with great attention before climbing inside. Then I removed her little stand and the blankets and moved the wicker-basket to where it'd been, returned the dirt-box and put out food and water. She was so pleased I left it there at end of my shift, thinking that if it needs to come out it'll be pretty easy to remove, and that she might as well enjoy it in the meantime.

HEIDI , our new semi-tuxedo cat, is a purrbox who loves to hike up her tail when being petted. She loves attention so much that at one point she went into a corner and cried because she wasn't getting petted. A beautiful, charming, and affectionate cat. Tried her on a short walk at end of morning; think for her part the jury is out on whether this is something she likes or not.

PASCALE was shy but active, prowling about here and there, in and out of cages, mostly hanging out around the bottom of the cat-stand near the door. She still flinches if I try to pet her; don't know what bad experience in the past has made her so wary. Pretty little thing; hope she finds a home where they want an independent cat rather than a clingy one (some do).

And then there's TATTOO, our dark tabby senior cat, who was sweet today, welcoming attention and purring mightily in response. 

Ended the morning with wet catfood all round, which was greeted with enthusiasm. 

And that was about it; left a little early, everybody settling back down in their respective cages. I'll be out next week (in the Midwest, experiencing more Winter Weather than I'd planned on), so best wishes to all (including the cats) till the 13th -- by which time I hope a few more of them will have been adopted.

--John R.

Health Concerns: part of the right side of Lemura's face is red and puffy -- above the eye (which is closed or half-closed) all the way into the ear. It doesn't seem to distress her, but may need a vet to look at. Last week she'd had some sort of sore by the side of her mouth (the left side, I think); didn't see it this week. 

   Also, there was throw-up (digested food) in Lemura's cage, and her food dish was entirely empty. She acts normally, but something's going on that's not good, poor cat.

   One of the cats had spilled her water (Heidi, I think), but this was probably just accident.

Note: no donation box this week or last. I assume one will arrive the next time new cats appear.