h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Great stories!

Re: what SC said about marking territory, it's kind of hard to say if this is the issue. If Sunny *was* remarking, why on the sofa and not the shoes? Anyhow, I wonder if there is much point having Sunny castrated now just in case this is the problem - I mean, he's 12 now and, as with Lua before, I'd feel nervous about him undergoing a general anaesthetic.


az

I'd feel nervous about him undergoing a general anaesthetic. bet you next time he marks couch you will consider no anaesthetic Az probably because your smell is stronger on the sofa ,this smell would be the prevailing smell in the flat ,hence why some cats tend to mark beds ect its neccesary for them to cover the strongest or special area .

The anaesthetic use for neutering is generly weaker than for op such as lua had ,though neutering does not work in all cses residul memories do mean some cats will carry on marking even after op.

Well, considering this is a relatively recent thing and there have been several months between 'incidents' I don't think I'd want to operate on Sunny at this point.

As for stronger smells on the sofa, I'd say it's Noggin's since he spends more time on there than I do, um, *thinking*.

Meanwhile, it could be something totally unrelated to marking, like maybe Sunny was just pissed off that morning because it was Sunday and we didn't get up early enough to give him his brekky. Or maybe he doesn't like his new 'diet food'?

Still waiting for the sofa cushions to dry out . . .


az

Aha!! That's it -- you didn't sleep late enough to forget about feeding him the despised "diet" food!! I knew we could figure this out!

SC

ltp actually has a good point -- neutering an older cat is beside the point, the behavior is already ingrained. And, no, it would not be a good idea to do this to Sunny now! I was just curious as to why it wasn't done when he was a wee laddie.

In Rocket's case, I was not going to allow him out, period. There were and still are a number of toms around here, and I have seen too many of my old favorites after an argument with a car.

SC

I thought you would like to see Moussa, the cat my Mom is cat-sitting: http://public.fotki.com/Mudhooks/my_stuff/year_in_photos/2005/housesitting_2/img_0066.html

Wow, Mudhooks, he looks so tigerish! Some cats seem to have that in their faces, particularly of the stripish varieties. Although lion will come out sometimes in the marmalades.

picture!

SC

What a gorgeous cat, Mudhooks!

And thanks for all the support about not cutting off Sunny's 'pelotas' at this stage. I would have done so when he was younger but he never showed any signs of marking territory until the last year or so - and he'll be 12 on August 5.

Re: Nimbus. I spoke to Maria again and she said that, frankly, anyone looking to adopt is normally looking for a kitten or at least a somewhat friendly cat (which hissy-spitty Nimbus certainly isn't). So, since Pepe is now away, Noggin and I thought we'd keep Nimbus upstairs for another week or so and fatten him up a bit so that when we take him to the gardens he has a 'bit extra' to live off of at first. And I'll give him one more de-worming pill before we take him there.

Meanwhile, my new tenants next door also go upstairs everyday with their 3-year-old daughter to feed Nimbus. I half-jokingly asked them the other day if they'd like to adopt him and take him back to the States with them in October (hey - it only costs $500!) but they are actually going to be living in Peru after they leave here.

BUT . . . then I thought . . . what if they take him in for the summer and in the meanwhile I can either look for another home for him or else - maybe - little by little introduce him to the two boys here. Or even keep him next door as the 'house cat' over there. Of course, if the neighbours did take him in it would make it almost impossible to THEN take him to the gardens in October if we can't find another home for him. As it is now, the gardens are a better option to the hot, dry and dusty rooftop (even Maria the vet said the gardens at least gave him more of a chance and sounded like the best idea).

Still thinking . . . Noggin and I both agree that we are going to miss the cranky miserable weirdo if we end up having to take him to the gardens . . .

az

Az, I sympathize. At least Pepe is gone for a while, so you can monitor Nimbus's health more closely and give him a better chance no matter what you decide to do.

I think giving Nimbus more meds and possibly getting him adopted are good ideas. Do you think he would take to being taken in by the neighbors? with whatever you decide, I know you have his best interests at heart!

SC

The deed is done. Nimbus is now living in the gardens.

These past few days have been very very hot - getting up to close to 50º on the roof. Barely cooling down at night. It just felt cruel to leave him up there any longer.

This morning Noggin and I went over to the gardens to look for a nice spot to drop him off, preferably a cool shady place near a fountain. After a bit of looking around we found a nice spot, with other cats around, and we sat there awhile in the shade enjoying a lovely cool breeze and I decided it was time. To even leave Nimbus up there even one more blazing hot afternoon seemed like too much.

So we went home and I prepared the cage. I put a couple fillets of tinned sardines at the very back of the cage and took it upstairs. Put it down near Nimbus with the door open and . . . he walked right in! Of course when I shut the door and locked it commenced to hiss, spit, howl and moan. And when I picked up the cage and handed it to Noggin, Nimbus started flinging himself against the walls of the cage with his front paws (and claws!) attacking the door - total Tazmanian Devil. He kept this up while we were going downstairs but as soon as we got outside he started to quieten down. And once we turned the corner into a cool shady narrow street he totally settled down, stuck his nose through the bars of the cage door, and started taking deep breaths.

When we got back to the gardens (it's just a five minute walk from the flat) we put the cage down next to one of the benches and I unlocked the cage door (though didn't open it). I was going to put out some food for him and really expected him to take a bit of time coming out of the cage but - nope. He walked straight out, calm as can be, sniffed around a bit and then set off exploring, disappearing around the corner into the next square without even a look back (ingrate!). Well, Noggin says he did glance back once over his shoulder (I was calling him, trying to get a photo of him in his new home) but I didn't notice.

Later we went over to the next square, called around but didn't see him, but he also could have gone over to another section of the gardens. The really neat thing was his body posture as he walked away from us. He wasn't cringing or looking scared, as he often did up on the roof.

http://public.fotki.com/azahar/gatitos/nimbus_2.html

Instead he held his head up, his shoulders looked totally relaxed, he was sniffing the fresh cool air like he couldn't get enough of it, and generally just looked totally in his element and very interested in everything as he wandered - almost swaggered - off.

We noticed quite a few 'cat feeding spots' where obviously people leave food and water out. If he's interested he can probably trace his steps back to where we first left him as there is a nice fountain there (and also a couple of very cute young girly cats) - tracing his tracks shouldn't be too hard as his paws and legs were covered in mashed sardines! In any case, we're going to pop by again this evening to see if we can find him. And as we are about to start daily early morning walks in the park we will stop by with food as we have to pass through the gardens to get to the park.

I guess it is possible that we won't ever see him again, but just watching his erect posture as he walked away made both of us feel like we'd done the right thing. Awhile ago I went upstairs to bring in some laundry and although part of me was missing him, I was also happy not to see him pathetically crouching in the only small bit of shade he could find up there.

Just to show you all the difference I took some photos of Nimbus's old and new homes (photos 139-144).

http://public.fotki.com/azahar/gatitos/nimbus_old_home_1.html

I really hope I'll be able to add some photos of Nimbus in his new home soon.




az

Well! Success.... I wish him well.

We had our own "cat adventure" this morning.

Mom is house and cat-sitting for a friend. Moussa, the one-eyed, 18 year-old puss whom some of you have seen in photos (see below), came in early this morning, obviously in pain and favouring his left hind leg.

We took him to the vet and were told that it was "probably broken", though they were going to x-ray it and let us know. Given that he IS 18, with a heart murmor, and with failing kidneys, he does not make a surgical candidate, much less a "good" surguical candidate and, if it WAS broken, surgery would be required.

The other possibilty was that there were torn ligaments which, hopefully, would not require surgery.

We still had the problem that Maggie, Moussa's "mother", was in California somewhere, and had not left a number where she could be reached. We certainly would need her decision on whatever needed to be done "either way". I ended up going through her phone book writing down every number in California I could find. Luckily, the very first number I tried was a relation and, after explaining it was an emergency, she gave me the number where Maggie was staying and I spoke to her.

Relief was great when I spoke again to the vet and she told me that there WAS a broken bone but that it was the fibula (in 3 places).... "If he was going to break a bone, it couldn't have been a better one to break!".

This will require ONLY pain medication and his remaining indoors until it heals! No bandage or splint will be needed as he would be likely have more objection to it than to simply hobbling about.

We are much relieved as he really is a dear old fellow and sort of an inspiration to the humans who meet him, managing to live to the age he has with one eye and being a regular outdoorsey cat. The vet described him as "The ancient fellow who still loves to haul himself out to his local establishment to have a beer and smoke his pipe".

He really is a stoic old fart....

http://public.fotki.com/Mudhooks/my_stuff/year_in_photos/2005/housesitting_2/img_00661.html

I think they often don't operate with broken bones. Even when Lua fell three storeys and broke her hip (the hip bone was pushed up alongside the spine) the vet said it would be better to let it heal on its own, unless I was willing to spend over $500 (this was 12 years ago) on an operation that might not help it heal any better.

Moussa has a great face. A very dude. Glad to hear he's on the mend.

Well, Noggin and I are off for an evening stroll in the gardens to see if we come across you-know-who . . .


az

from the sound of the location ninbus would have spent many hours watching some of the goings on in the park from the roof.

so prob knows which toms to avoid.Nice toget update

We picked Musa (the correct spelling, apparently, according to the vet) from the vet.

Not a horrifyingly expensive bill, considering. $245 for X-rays, medication, medical exam, and surgical consult. Could have been worse. At least we get paid back by his owner.

I meant to ass that he has been lying on the love-seat getting peeted and loved and will spend the night on a chair in the livingroom pushed up to the couch beside Mom. I made a series up steps down to the floor from the chair so that he can get up and down relatively easily. I moved his box up from the basement so he doesn't risk falling down the basement stairs to use it. Hopefully, he will remember it is now in the kitchen.

How that came out "I meant to ass" instead of "I meant to say"... I do not know.

Hi az,

I'm so glad you took Nimbus to the park -- if there are other cats surviving there, he'll be fine. I think ltp is right, he calmed down because it was a place he already knew about, a huge improvement over his roof.

Did you and Nog spot Nimbus in the park this evening? I think you will, from time to time.

SC

We haven't spotted Nimbus again yet, though we keep seeing the very pretty girl we first met when we were checking out new 'home' places for him. She was first hanging out on a bench next to the fountain in the photos.

And, somewhat oddly, we've seen her each time we've gone back to look for Nimbus. In different areas of the gardens.

Have decided to call her Shadow.

Isn't she pretty?

http://public.fotki.com/azahar/gatitos/cats_001.html

(photos 145-149)



az

Oh az! I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I know you will miss him but just looking at the photos makes me see that he will be soooo much better off in that park than up on that sweltering roof. I think he must be so happy there now. It is like a new life beginning for him.

I have to admit - I am openly crying what I call wedding tears now - you know the ones that well up out of nowhere because you are happy.

I know you will see him again soon. When you do it will be so special and your heart will do a little flip.

az - you are a special lady.

Az, *I* could live in that park! How beautiful a home for Nimbus -- so many places for him to hide if he gets shy, and water whenever he wants it! It looks so cool and shady, so much better than the roof!

Shadow looks like she could be Missy's twin sister! SO much alike, except she's more friendly than Missy, who was a very feral 5 week old when I got her.

Az, you and Nog done good!

SC