A Cat With a Big Heart

It has been a bit of a feline circus around here these past two weeks. Eight-week old Lily is a pure delight. We have so enjoyed having a kitten around again. That is, all of us except Max. We don’t know if she is the cause or not, but our 11-year old formerly feral kitty has been sick. And, from all that I read, it could be stress-related.

Lily came to us two weeks ago—she was supposed to be 8-weeks old. But the vet tells us that she was only 6-weeks and, before she would administer her inoculations, she wanted the kitten to grow and age a little more. Well, I thought she was awfully small, but it has been a while since I’ve been around a very young kitten. Why didn’t the owner know how old her kittens were? I guess because she had so many. She thought she had 13 kittens (from 3 mother cats), but actually found 2 more this week. She thought they were all born around mid March. But Lily’s litter, it seems didn’t arrive until around April 1.

Okay, so a few days after we brought Lily home, Max started vomiting and gagging. He went off his food and he began to drool and hang his tongue out. Of course, we took him to the vet. He spent a week getting examined, observed, poked, ex rayed and force-fed. Initially, the vet (and I) thought he had a hairball lodged somewhere. Ex rays proved us wrong. What the vet did find, however, was that Max had a very red throat and that he has an enlarged heart and some sort of kink in his esophagus. She wasn’t too concerned about his heart because she could not hear anything irregular through the stethoscope.

When Max didn’t seem to perk up, however, and when he still wasn’t eating on his own after almost a week, I went online. I discovered that stress can cause a cat with an enlarged heart to have symptoms such as Max had—even the red throat, from stomach acids coming up into the throat. And I found this tidbit—“sometimes it can be uncomfortable for a cat with an enlarged heart to lean down to eat, so they go off their food.”

That’s when we got the idea to elevate his food and water. We set his bowls up on a little stool, kept Max isolated (that meant he got to sleep on my bed all day and night) and the very next evening, he started eating and he has been eating his usual amount every day since—about 7 days.

He’s still not crazy about the kitten, but, as you can see in the photo, they have established their pecking order. She’s a bit of a tease and he’s a grumpy old man without much tolerance—they’re similar to Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson.

There is another cat in the household—the middle child. Sophie, 4, still has a lot of kitten in her and she and Lily romp and play like crazy around here. It is so much fun to watch them.

Is there anyone out there who has a cat with an enlarged heart? I guess it is rare that you would discover this unless there is an irregular heartbeat or an ex ray is called for. I’d like to hear your stories and your remedies. I’m a little concerned this morning as Max, who has been doing beautifully, lost his breakfast all over the carpet. I hope we aren’t back to square one with him.

Crystal is a hard working therapy cat. She had to pass a temperament test and do ten hours of visits to qualify. Her good looks, of course, come naturally.

She visits the mental health unit at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California for Love on a Leash. The poor therapy dogs are intimidated by Crystal in her stroller, so they visit another day. Just as well, more attention for Crystal.

Crystal earns advanced degrees for every fifty hours she works. After seven years, she has enough hours for five degrees! Currently her official title is Crystal, ThC, e:sv. That stands for Therapy Cat, specializing in elderly people, social visits. The hospital posts her picture and copies of her degrees in the activity room so everyone can see them.

Crystal lives with Janice and Florence (Janice’s Mom). When Janice’s Dad was in the nursing home, Crystal was a constant visitor and comfort. Dad would get agitated as the evening went by, knowing Crystal had to leave. He could hardly wait for morning so she could sit on his bed all day.

The doctors and nurses look forward to Crystal’s arrival just like the patients do. Sometimes when Crystal’s special friends know they are dying, they ask to see her one more time. She always obliges.

The nurses got Crystal a special gift once and presented it during the annual volunteer awards ceremony. It is a couch, just her size. The three pillows across the back are made from photos the nurses took of Crystal during visits.

Crystal doesn’t limit herself to visiting—she also models. One photographer uses her pictures (16×20 size) in coffee shops in San Mateo. Crystal made time to be in the 4th of July parade where the judges were wowed by her flag costume—her picture made the front page of the newspaper.

Cats just don’t get the recognition they need and deserve—but Crystal’s working on it.

For more information on therapy pets, go to http://www.loveonaleash.org .

Contributed by Sandra Murphy, a writer and the editor of SPAWNews.

Meet Lily

It’s kitten season. Kittens are showing up everywhere—most of all in animal shelters. It’s always a good time to adopt/rescue a cat. And right now, you will likely have a wide choice of colors and styles in kittens of all sizes and temperaments.

We adopted Lily last week. Isn’t she a dear? My daughter has a friend whose 3 female barn cats gave birth to 13 kittens this spring. She brought me 2 of them for Mother’s Day. And we were prepared to keep them both, despite the fact that we have two adult cats. But before we could name the kittens, my daughter called to say that all of the other kittens had found homes and there was a woman still wanting one of the kittens. We decided to relinquish one of them—but which one?

We chose the pastel tabby and my daughter took the little calico to the woman. I’d never seen a litter of kittens disappear so quickly—let alone 3 litters. I can only hope that they are all in good situations.

I kept remarking how tiny these kittens are. But figured that I’d just forgotten what an 8-week old kitty looks like. Well, we took Lily to the vet yesterday for the first in her series of vaccines and, guess what? She isn’t 8 weeks old. She is probably only 6 weeks, according to Linda, the veterinarian. Yikes, we’re cradle robbers.

Lily is eating well and using the litter box. I remember with kittens past all sorts of digestive problems as they adjusted to solid food. But now, they have food engineered specifically for kittens and this one—even though she’s awfully young—is doing fabulously on Fancy Feast kitten food.

We were hoping for a friendly, greeter-type kitty this time after living with formerly feral, hidey cats for so many years. And, so far, she is proving to be a real social butterfly. She hears voices and she’s there in the midst of people—any people.

We hope to have many enjoyable years with this little darling. If you have given any thought to adopting a furry friend, this is a great time to give yourself the gift of kitten joy.

My sister-in-law thinks that it is my Catscapades book of cat stories that prompted both her and I to get kittens this year. Read Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats and see if it has the same effect on you. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html

Cats regard humans as warm-blooded furniture.

This quote is attributed to Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Does your cat sit on your lap at every opportunity throughout the year or does she just curl up with you during cooler weather, at certain times throughout the day or not at all?

Some cats are not cuddlers. Some cats cuddle only with certain of their people. And then there are those who will sit next to you, at your feet, on your keyboard, but never, NEVER on your lap.

Our formerly feral tortie, Sophie, will curl up on my lap anytime I am sitting down. That is in any weather situation, anytime, with or without invitation. But I’m the only one whose lap she’ll use.

Max, our formerly feral pretty boy, sits on my lap in the living room only when it is very cold (and when Sophie isn’t already there). But he cuddles with me every single morning in my office while I am trying to start my work day. Again, I’m the only one who has the honor of supporting his 16 pounds on my lap.

I used to have a cat who never ever sat on my lap, but she loved to sit next to me—close—with one paw on my leg. She was always touching me. The calico in the photo this morning, as you can see, was a lap sitter. She didn’t care whose lap it was or even if it was a warm lap. Neither did she care who else was in the lap. When she wanted lap time, she would just scooch right in and join whatever cat was already there. This is a photo of Dinah enjoying the lap of a dummy we made for a local production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

What are your cats’ lap habits? Are they starting to stretch out on the cool floor in front of a fan, on these warmer days, or do they still hunt down laps?

Speaking of fans, our Himalayan, Katy, loved them. She’s the only cat I’ve ever known who liked to go face-to-face with a fan. Her favorite place on a hot day was in the windowsill in front of the swamp cooler. It was hilarious to watch her sit there as contented as could be with her long fur blowing ferociously in the strong wind of the cooler. Sure wish I’d taken a picture of that.

Send me your comments about your lap-sitting or fan-loving cat.

And be sure to order your copy of Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.

It’s Kitten Season

Kittens waiting for a home

It’s kitten season. I know one woman locally who has thirteen (13) kittens in her attic. There are three mom cats caring for the litters. Let’s hope that she adopts out all of the kittens to responsible people who will have them spayed/neutered and that she takes the mother cats in, as well. Otherwise, she could have as many as 45 kittens this time next year—more if the mother cats have another heat cycle in the fall.

It’s mind boggling, isn’t it? Kittens can sure multiply when no one is paying any attention. And there just doesn’t seem to be enough homes to go around. We’ve all seen the figures reflecting the number of homeless cats and those that are ultimately put down because there is no one interested in adopting them. Sad, sad, sad.

Well, I am going to visit the 13 kittens this weekend and chances are, I’ll reserve one of two of them. They won’t be ready to go to new homes for another few weeks. If there’s anyone else living in the Ventura County, CA area who would like to consider rescuing one of these kitties, email me at plfry620@yahoo.com.

In the meantime, if you have a smidgeon of room in your home and your heart, rescue a cat or kitten. Have your animals spayed/neutered. And donate time or money to the animal shelter or rescue facility of your choice regularly.

And for a delightful read, order Patricia Fry’s book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html