Category Archives: animals & pets

mira la luna!

18 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, change, home, hope

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Say hello to my beautiful girl. It’s so weird to think that a week ago getting a third cat was something I was considering – maybe! – for some time during the winter. Closed balcony doors, less chance of kitten dropping off balconies, etc. Though it had been on my mind for awhile to look for a playmate for Loki. And then I saw that poster last Monday…

Then after much back and forthing I made the Big Decision on Friday that I would take this kitteh, even though it means having to keep her “in quarantine” for a month until she can be retested for feline leukemia, as the test she had on Friday wasn’t “negative enough” for Yolanda to say with confidence that it’s safe for her to be in contact with Azar and Loki. But she has plenty of space to sleep and play, and she is never left alone for long. Plus Nog sleeps with her at night.

I picked her up yesterday after going out to get some proper kitten food and a small litter box. So she is set up quite nicely in Nog’s room with the cushion of my ex-comfy chair as a cat bed, her food and water dishes and a couple of toys. Litter box is out in the hallway. And she also seems to like the “safe hiding place” I left for her – the cat carrier with the door taken off – as well as crawling in behind the big square “reading pillow” on Nog’s bed.

[click on collages to enlarge]

The best part is that she is so affectionate and loves purring away on my lap. And she is also very playful. Yesterday afternoon I settled down to watch a film on tv after lunch and, since the boys were napping elsewhere, decided to risk bringing her out to sit with me. And she was happy as anything on my lap getting lots of snibbles. Azar came over after awhile and didn’t seem to notice her at all, but after the film was over I put her back in her room.

I’ve decided to call her Luna. It just sounds right and it’s a bit in memory of Lua, as she was also a very pretty girl and a siamese mix, and of course both names mean “moon”. I just hope Luna turns out to be less *ahem* cranky than dear old Lua was.

One thing’s for sure – Luna sure is photogenic.

decision time…

16 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, change, home

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by Thurston Arnold

Today I had to make the Big Decision about taking in this little darling. Fani took the kitteh to see Yolanda this afternoon and there were a couple of surprises. First, she is a girl. Second, she is approximately four months old, which really surprised me because she is so tiny. But apparently all the milk teeth have been replaced by permanent ones and, despite her size, she isn’t as young as we all thought.

The good news is that she seems relatively healthy. She was deloused inside and out when Fani took her to a different vet a few weeks ago, and I’m told she has a good appetite. The only possible bad news is that the test they did for feline leukemia was inconclusive. Yolanda said there was a small “blip” in the test results that meant she couldn’t say for sure that it was 100% negative, and she recommends redoing the test in a month’s time. Meanwhile, the kitten shouldn’t have contact with the other two cats as it’s very contagious and can be transmitted by saliva. Also, although both Azar and Loki have been vaccinated now, this doesn’t offer total protection against the virus.

So, this was all going through my head after Yolanda called me this afternoon. I had already half-decided that keeping the kitten “in quarantine” for a month wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, when I thought it would be a case of waiting for it to be old enough to have the test accurately done. But now it will be a case of retesting because there is a suspicion of disease. Also, I was kind of wanting a male cat that would grow into a robust playmate for Loki. This tiny thing looks like she’ll never weight more than a couple of kilos at most. So I called Fani to tell her about my doubts and she was understandably upset, as the only other option for the kitten at this point is to take her to Greece on Monday, which will be a long 7-day journey by car.

And so… I’ll be picking her up tomorrow morning. What the heck. Worst case scenario is that she has feline leukemia and I have to find another home for her where she would be the only cat. But after getting this involved I couldn’t just walk away.

I’m thinking of calling her Luna.

new kitteh?

13 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, home

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I mentioned this little guy in yesterday’s post, as a possible new playmate for Loki. The idea of getting Loki his own kitten has been on my mind for awhile now because, although he and Azar get along well (most of the time), I know that it would be more fun for Loki to have a cat closer to his own age to play with. And so when I saw a poster in the street on Monday saying that the people who’d taken this little darling in were leaving Sevilla in two weeks and needed to find a home for him I decided to get in touch.

I went to visit the kitteh and immediately fell in love. He’s so tiny, can’t be more than two months old, and just gorgeous. Of course the problem with taking in a street cat is making sure it doesn’t have any contageous diseases and, after talking to Fani, the woman taking care of him, she agreed to pay for the tests and I said I would take care of vaccinations when he’s a bit older. But a phone call to Yolanda stopped us in our tracks. She said the kitten is probably too young for an accurate test result and, if I took him in now, I’d have to keep him isolated from the other two just in case until he could be properly tested. Then Fani said that she would take him in to Yolanda’s on Thursday to see if he could be given the test, otherwise she may consider taking him back to Greece with her.

So, we shall see. I had thought of holding off until winter to get a kitten, but when I saw this poster I thought “maybe this is my new cat!”. And after meeting him I’m still hoping that we can work something out. I mean, there is enough room for him here to stay in “quarantine” for a month or so. After going through all this worry when I took Loki in I realise how lucky I was the day I brought Azar home. I gave him a good scrubbing and checked for fleas (surprisingly he didn’t have any) and then had to give him de-worming medicine, but that was all I did. I didn’t realise I might be putting Lua and Sunny in danger. But now that I know the risks I can’t take any chances. Stay tuned…

diagnosis & treatment

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, health & happiness

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When I got home from the hospital on Friday I received a call from Yolanda the vet telling me about Azar’s blood test results. The good news is that so far there isn’t any serious renal dysfunction happening, but the bad news is that it’s now clearly just going to be a matter of time. Well, Sunny lived a good couple of years after he was first diagnosed with kidney problems, so let’s hope Azar has at least that much time left.

The treatment is also the same as it was for Sunny, which is basically a change of diet to a special type of cat food, as well as a daily supplement. With Sunny this supplement was no problem as I just crushed the pill into a bit of wet food and he gobbled it down with relish every morning. With Azar it will have to be, ahem, inserted into his mouth. Fun, fun, fun. Also, Azar will need a daily dose of the liquid laxative to help keep him regular. And, of course, he is given drinks several times a day from his own special glass so that he stays hydrated.

I don’t know if I was in denial about Sunny or if I was just so overwhelmed with being on, and getting over, the chemo, but I didn’t realise how seriously his health had declined until it was too late. And while I know there is no cure for kidney dysfunction in cats, I still think I could have – and should have! – made Sunny’s last few months more comfortable. With Azar no detail is going unnoticed (am even logging stuff in a journal) and he is getting constant attention and being properly spoiled. The good thing is that he is still playful and happy and shiny. And I will do my best to keep him that way for as long as possible.