Herd your cats here

[onehappyunicorn]

Our giant kitty Poe got a bit of a respiratory infection with lots of sneezing and runny eyes. He managed to shake it off after a couple of days but poor little Hazel got it much worse, she's been really runny and goopy. If she doesn't look better by the time I get home today I'll have to take some time off tomorrow to take her to the vet. She's got a good amount of snowshoe in her and I think she's just built to suffer respiratory issues more with her muzzle shape.

[mamselle]

Those tiny little passageways are so easily clogged...poor kitties.

Hope they both get better soon.

M.

[FishProf]

Orestes had a surgical follow-up.  Bit of an infection but a shot of antibiotics should clear it up.  He's not quite romping yet, but he will defend the food now.

[Larimar]

Best wishes for recovery for Poe, Hazel, and Orestes.

[brixton]

I just put down a deposit to adopt a kitten from the humane society.   I keep checking my phone for updates, but nothing so far.  So I spend time on Amazon, looking at cat toys, trees and stuff.  It's been so long since I've had a kitten in my life.  Brixton passed away the January before last, and Pi (my little irrational-number of a cat) and I have been hanging.  (My nephew took care of her when I was in China.  He said she was a very lazy old lady.)  So, we are excited to welcome new-cat into the house hold to shake things up a bit.


Updates and names to follow when we meet and he whispers his real name in my ear.  Right now he is called Copycat at the shelter, which is a totally unsuitable name for an academic's cat.  They might as well have called him Plagiarism...

So send happy kitten thoughts my way!  I'll include pictures when I have them.  He looks lovely on the humane society website...

[OneMoreYear]

I just put down a deposit to adopt a kitten from the humane society.   I keep checking my phone for updates, but nothing so far.  So I spend time on Amazon, looking at cat toys, trees and stuff.  It's been so long since I've had a kitten in my life.  Brixton passed away the January before last, and Pi (my little irrational-number of a cat) and I have been hanging.  (My nephew took care of her when I was in China.  He said she was a very lazy old lady.)  So, we are excited to welcome new-cat into the house hold to shake things up a bit.


Updates and names to follow when we meet and he whispers his real name in my ear.  Right now he is called Copycat at the shelter, which is a totally unsuitable name for an academic's cat.  They might as well have called him Plagiarism...

So send happy kitten thoughts my way!  I'll include pictures when I have them.  He looks lovely on the humane society website...

This seems like a complicated process; I hope you get to bring not-Copycat home soon. I think when we last adopted our kitten pair, we went to the shelter, played with some cats, hubby fell in love with tiny black kitten (who has now become large black Ninja cat), we said "we'll take these two" (Ninja was paired with her litter mate, who is now our squirrelly tortie, Ricochet; they were Bumble and Bee at the shelter), and we signed on the dotted line.  We did have to wait until after their spay, but they were ours from that moment.

Ricochet continues her enrollment in the developmental certificate Living with Humans, and yesterday attempted to complete a lap-sitting assignment.  She did impressively flop down after only a couple minutes of jumping on and off.  She butted her head against my hand to indicate she wanted head-scritches and purred. Unfortunately, she was doing this when I was trying to finish a lecture, so I'd stop scratching her to type.  She was not impressed, and nipped me (softly) to keep me going.  Once she'd had enough, she jumped off and leaped on top of the tallest cabinet in the room to lick off the human scent. So, if we had a theme for today's assignment, it appears to be "in it for the scritches."

[smallcleanrat]

Anyone know how smallcleanrat is doing?  She used to post in this thread so thought I'd ask here.

She had a lot going on.  Hope she is doing well.  Wishing her the very best.

Thanks for thinking of me Cheerful and mamselle! Trying to rejoin the fora after a couple months' hiatus; for awhile things got too overwhelming to be able to string together coherent sentences.

I have quite a backlog of anecdotes, observations and questions centered around the Maestro to post here. He's about 5 months old now and quite a sleek, handsome fellow; long and lanky, but well-muscled (he's octupled in weight from the first week we got him). His milk mustache detracts a bit from the dignity of his visage, but adds charm and whimsy.

I love him so much. Even though I've seen him everyday for the past 4 months, my inner 6-year old still gleefully shouts, "Kitty!" every time. Often, adult-me says it out loud.

I was a bit nervous about committing to be his forever family when we first agreed to take care of him. We hadn't seen or interacted with the kitty in any way; we knew nothing about his breed, temperament, or...well, we knew nothing except that a 4-week old kitten needed care. On the way to meet the Maestro and bring him home with us, I said, "We can raise the kitten, get him healthy and well-socialized, and then I guess we could start inquiring about finding a home for him." SO gave me a skeptical look and said, "uh-huh; we'll see about that."

Of course, SO was right. Everyday I fell more and more in love with our serendipitous quarantine kitty, and now giving him up to anybody else is utterly unthinkable. This is our kitty, we are his family, and this seems to have become his apartment (initial plans to limit "cat stuff" to the living room fell through fairly quickly; he now has some combination of toys, scratching posts, cat trees, and beds in every room).

Awhile back I had a dream that a perfectly lovely couple, brimming with excitement, showed up at our door to adopt the Maestro and take him to live in what I assumed would be their perfectly lovely home. Dream-me told them, "This is our cat. Find your own cat!"

[mamselle]

Very glad to hear that Maestro is in charge, as he should be.

And very glad to see your post on the thread.

M.

[Larimar]

Very glad to hear that Maestro is in charge, as he should be.

And very glad to see your post on the thread.

M.

+1 to this. Glad you're back, smallcleanrat. I've been wondering how you and Maestro are doing too. Glad you're both doing well.


Larimar

[Cheerful]

Very glad to hear that Maestro is in charge, as he should be.
And very glad to see your post on the thread.
M.

+1 to this. Glad you're back, smallcleanrat. I've been wondering how you and Maestro are doing too. Glad you're both doing well.
Larimar

+1  Great to see your post, smallcleanrat.  Glad Maestro has brought you joy, as you have for him.

[the_geneticist]

Very glad to hear that Maestro is in charge, as he should be.
And very glad to see your post on the thread.
M.

+1 to this. Glad you're back, smallcleanrat. I've been wondering how you and Maestro are doing too. Glad you're both doing well.
Larimar

+1  Great to see your post, smallcleanrat.  Glad Maestro has brought you joy, as you have for him.

+1 Indeed!  Glad you're back on the fora.  Your description of Maestro is just charming!

[brixton]

Didi (formerly Copycat) is now safely ensconced at our house and is a complete sweetie pie.  Didi means younger brother in Chinese, and he is indeed a younger brother.  We still have Pi, our little irrational number, who is cranky as always.

This seems like a complicated process; I hope you get to bring not-Copycat home soon. I think when we last adopted our kitten pair, we went to the shelter, played with some cats, hubby fell in love with tiny black kitten (who has now become large black Ninja cat), we said "we'll take these two" (Ninja was paired with her litter mate, who is now our squirrelly tortie, Ricochet; they were Bumble and Bee at the shelter), and we signed on the dotted line.  We did have to wait until after their spay, but they were ours from that moment.

Playing at cat shelters in San Diego is a thing of the past.  With COVID, all shelters are closed, and cats are at foster homes, so finding a new cat is very much like on-line dating.  You look at a picture, read the profile, and then finally after you've signed on the dotted line.

[smallcleanrat]

Ok, kitty question.

Why does he stare at me so much?

He often does this while sitting in the doorway of my room. I call him and get no reaction. If I move over to him, sometimes he will accept petting and sometimes he dashes away.

If I do nothing, he will sit there for a good while just...staring. Sometimes he has a relaxed expression on his face and sometimes his expression is intense and hyper-focused.

I want to know what's happening in that little kitty brain of his.

Second question. Don't cats need to blink?!?

[the_geneticist]

Ok, kitty question.

Why does he stare at me so much?

He often does this while sitting in the doorway of my room. I call him and get no reaction. If I move over to him, sometimes he will accept petting and sometimes he dashes away.

If I do nothing, he will sit there for a good while just...staring. Sometimes he has a relaxed expression on his face and sometimes his expression is intense and hyper-focused.

I want to know what's happening in that little kitty brain of his.

Second question. Don't cats need to blink?!?

Why the staring?
The "Observation of Humans and Their Weird Habits" is a time-honored feline pastime.  I like to joke that they are compiling reports on us to send to the "Cat Mothership".

Do they need to blink?
Theoretically.  Maybe.  Sometimes?

[mamselle]

He is contemplating his secret name.

The Naming of Cats

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
     It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
     Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo, or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey—
     All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
     Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter—
     But all of them sensible everyday names,
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
     A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
     Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
     Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum—
     Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
     And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover—
     But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
     The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
     Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
          His ineffable effable
          Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular name.
              -- T. S. Eliot - 1888-1965

(Or to hear it from the poet's own mouth):

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXkLgtusza4