The Best Cure
I managed to make it through one night without a cat. When I woke up the first morning without Olive, I called the vet about the male and was told he had been adopted the night before but...BUT....if I really wanted another cat, they knew of a woman who was working with somebody in the city who had 28(!) cats in her house and animal control was about to move in. So, I made the phone call.
Marilyn was incredulous when I called, especially when I told her I really wanted two sisters, if possible. She didn't have any kittens, just adult cats. Was I still interested? Of course I was. I don't do kittens anymore (too damn much energy) and my last two adoptions were adult cats. They were just plain brown tabbies. Was I still interested? Of course I was. I don't need designer cats and I'd had plain brown tabbies before and all cats are beautiful. It just so happened she had two sisters of a litter of four who were just Cat 1 Cat 2 Cat 3 and Cat 4 at this point. They were spayed and up to date with their vaccines. They were on the last days of antibiotics and eye drops for a respiratory infection. I told her yes yes yes on all counts and we made arrangements to meet at my vet and do the adoption.
So there I was on Thursday, sitting in the reception area with two empty cat carriers. The staff was as excited as I was, and in walked Marilyn with her two cat carriers. Only hers had cats in them.
And what lovely cats they were! Two brown tabbies, almost identical except for the white patch on one's chest. We went back to the exam room and opened the carriers and I got to see just how absolutely sweet they were. They let me hold them immediately and purred and snuggled and nuzzled and rubbed and frankly, I got more affection in 10 minutes than Olive had given me in six years! The vet checked them out -- no ear mites! -- and found that one had pretty significant gum disease. Marilyn explained that she had just noticed the redness the day before and she was soooo apologetic and said she would have let me know if she had seen it earlier but since both cats had been eating dry food exclusively, she didn't think to do a closer exam. I reassured Marilyn that it was just fine, that there were no perfect cats and I'm not one of those folks who would renege on an adoption because something might be wrong with the baby. The vet explained that with a good teeth cleaning and antibiotics, we should be able to take care of things. Worst case scenario -- all her teeth would have to be pulled and she'd be on canned food. Still, not a problem. We made arrangements for me to bring her back in the morning for her cleaning.
So I took them home and out of the carriers they began exploring. I stuck around for an hour or so but then had to leave and when I got back, they were in full hiding mode. And they stayed that way overnight. I had to call the vet in the morning and cancel because I couldn't find my cat. Later that afternoon I found her hiding place and after a little coaxing, she came out and then it was "Pet me! Love me! Pet me! Love me!" The other one is a little better at hiding and a little shyer. But food has been eaten and litter box has been used, so I think we are going to be fine in time.
I'd post a picture, but I can't get both of them together at any one time, so you're just going to have to wait. In the meantime, I trust you can understand how happy I am to welcome into my home two plain brown tabby sister kitties.
Oh, their names?
Fern and Ivy.
Marilyn was incredulous when I called, especially when I told her I really wanted two sisters, if possible. She didn't have any kittens, just adult cats. Was I still interested? Of course I was. I don't do kittens anymore (too damn much energy) and my last two adoptions were adult cats. They were just plain brown tabbies. Was I still interested? Of course I was. I don't need designer cats and I'd had plain brown tabbies before and all cats are beautiful. It just so happened she had two sisters of a litter of four who were just Cat 1 Cat 2 Cat 3 and Cat 4 at this point. They were spayed and up to date with their vaccines. They were on the last days of antibiotics and eye drops for a respiratory infection. I told her yes yes yes on all counts and we made arrangements to meet at my vet and do the adoption.
So there I was on Thursday, sitting in the reception area with two empty cat carriers. The staff was as excited as I was, and in walked Marilyn with her two cat carriers. Only hers had cats in them.
And what lovely cats they were! Two brown tabbies, almost identical except for the white patch on one's chest. We went back to the exam room and opened the carriers and I got to see just how absolutely sweet they were. They let me hold them immediately and purred and snuggled and nuzzled and rubbed and frankly, I got more affection in 10 minutes than Olive had given me in six years! The vet checked them out -- no ear mites! -- and found that one had pretty significant gum disease. Marilyn explained that she had just noticed the redness the day before and she was soooo apologetic and said she would have let me know if she had seen it earlier but since both cats had been eating dry food exclusively, she didn't think to do a closer exam. I reassured Marilyn that it was just fine, that there were no perfect cats and I'm not one of those folks who would renege on an adoption because something might be wrong with the baby. The vet explained that with a good teeth cleaning and antibiotics, we should be able to take care of things. Worst case scenario -- all her teeth would have to be pulled and she'd be on canned food. Still, not a problem. We made arrangements for me to bring her back in the morning for her cleaning.
So I took them home and out of the carriers they began exploring. I stuck around for an hour or so but then had to leave and when I got back, they were in full hiding mode. And they stayed that way overnight. I had to call the vet in the morning and cancel because I couldn't find my cat. Later that afternoon I found her hiding place and after a little coaxing, she came out and then it was "Pet me! Love me! Pet me! Love me!" The other one is a little better at hiding and a little shyer. But food has been eaten and litter box has been used, so I think we are going to be fine in time.
I'd post a picture, but I can't get both of them together at any one time, so you're just going to have to wait. In the meantime, I trust you can understand how happy I am to welcome into my home two plain brown tabby sister kitties.
Oh, their names?
Fern and Ivy.
posted by dee at 3:03 PM
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