(.. get out of cheney's house .. get out of cheney's house ..)
Posted on 12/16/2005 4:43:32 PM PST by scott7278
He's a very unique kitty. I've noticed most cats are at least a little skittish...they don't like big things going on around them, be it surgery, moving...very easily traumatized.
This one is the most mellow cat I've ever met. Mostly he just lays around sleeping all the time. But nothing phases him at all. Even moving to a new state, which you would think would make a cat hide for weeks...he loved it. He loves trips to the vet, too. Lots of attention, stroking, treats, etc...all for a little rabies shot, must be a good bargain.
Plus, those cute chubby cheeks...
I'm getting ready to move in a few weeks, and I'm not looking forward to it at all because of the cats. They scream like mad for a simple five-minute drive to the veterinarian.
They are both very active, and they are always getting into something.
I think I'm going to call it a night. Goodnight!
Ouch, good luck with that. Still, we were anxious about how kitty would react to our moving, and we were pleasantly surprised at how much he seemed to...enjoy the new house and territory.
He's also good with people. He never gets angry at all. Some cats when a stranger enters the house, they run and hide, or they go up to the new person to investigate. Leo just lays there. He doesn't care. Anyone who wants to is welcome to pet him: he loves being pet, even from someone he's never met. He likes it, but doesn't make a big deal of it. Just a meow or two is all you'll get.
Goodnight, scott. Welcome back.
(.. get out of cheney's house .. get out of cheney's house ..)
You may be surprised. I just moved across country - Vermont to Colorado - and was worried about the same thing. Once they figured out the ride wasn't gonna be short, they settled right in.
Tam actually enjoyed it, I think. He'd watch the traffic and scenery in pure fascination. Halvah just slept...so long as we had vocal music playing. If we turned off the music or put on anything instrumental, she'd start wailing and trying to move around. We must have heard the Clint Black and Jim Croce CDs we had with us about thirty times each...
There are always kitty tranquilizers, too. I don't think they're very expensive, and they just make 'em drowsy.
Heh...your tagline kinda made me do a double-take, until I figured out you were watching "The Mummy". ;-)
I like the gal character in that, too - they manage to make her spunky and intelligent without turning her into a feminist, which is all too often the way in movies. Fun movie!
I was wondering about that. With the character of these two, I'll need it in blow-dart form.
That might become habit-forming, though. For me.
Yeah, using your own pets for target practice is probably not a good addiction to develop...
I wonder...there might be an easy shot that would be enough to make them sleepy for the trip. I'm not saying you'd want to administer a shot yourself...but if it was something that'd last long enough for the trip, it might be possible to stop in at your vet's before heading out.
I'm lucky - my two are pretty easy to handle. Halvah is a little trickier, but I can always do the burrito-kitty trick with her. In other words, swaddle her in a towel or blanket until she can't move at all, and THEN give her the medication. Really ticks her off, but it usually makes things possible.
Tam pretty much just lets me do almost anything, which is fortunate because lately he's had a reoccurring eye virus thing that doesn't go away quickly without an eye ointment. You KNOW your cat trusts you when they allow you to pull their eyelids around and dump stuff in their eyes, without even having to restrain them. He does give me the cold shoulder for awhile afterwards, though.
I myself was owned by the cat from hell! Sure did love her, though. She was feral and I'd rescued her from lethal injection at the pound.
I moved 130 miles with her in a carrier, meowing all the way. She was in the front seat with me, hooked by a seatbelt. When I could, I'd reach in and stroke her whiskers, and she'd shut up. By the time we got to our new home, she was opening her mouth like she was meowing, but nothing came out.
Didn't know about kitty tranquilizers then, wish I did.
Burrito method, that's so funny!
When I had my kitty fixed I had to wrap and secure a towel around her middle, because she was pulling her sutures out.
Heidi had a recurring eye problem when I first brought her home from the shelter -- it scared me silly when I got home one day and her eye was completely cloudy. I thought she had lost her sight or something.
I'd give her internal and topical medicine, and it would clear up for a few weeks, and then come right back again.
She's been free and clear for over a year now (knock on wood).
My cats are so difficult to treat -- and they still have their back claws -- that I have the vet come over. Even with his expertise in catching stray cats, it takes awhile to get her. Calvin would be okay, but she stresses him out and then he gets the same way.
Picturing a cat with a towel secured around her middle...heh...she must have looooooved that.
I had to buy one of those Elizabethan collars for one of my cats in the past. That was just sad! It did keep her from pulling out sutures, but she couldn't quite understand why her head was suddenly so much bigger all 'round, and kept running into things or getting stuck trying to fit through too-small openings. I was really glad when she didn't need it any more.
I've got 350 miles to move, and they both sound like they're dying when traveling. If I talk to them, they meow nonstop. If I stop talking, they scream.
I run out of things to say to a cat!
Mine have all their claws...guess it's a good thing they like me.
Apparently there are a couple of Herpes type viruses that cause cat eye problems. They're very common, contagious among cats, and never go completely away.
I didn't get that full diagnosis until I took Tam to the vet here. Made me feel better, though it's a drag that it may well keep coming back. I was feeling like a really horrible pet owner since I couldn't seem to keep them healthy!
I can't listen to these two songs:
http://www.pcdon.com/-JohnnyMathis_ChancesAre.wav
http://www.pcdon.com/-JohnnyMathis-not-for-me-to-say.wav
Without thinking of MST3K's "Mitchell."
The vet had actually put some sort of a funky collar on her where she couldn't turn her head or move it up and down, but she made such a fuss out of it that I just took it off her.
When I took her to the vet they must have been short of help or something, because I had to hold her while they took her temperature in her rectum. I thought I had her pretty firmly by her scruff and had her secured, but once that thermometer went in she bit the thumb of my right hand, which I had around her two front legs pretty hard. Thankfully, I was wearing thick winter gloves, but she still broke the skin.
It sounds like you have such dear, nice little ones yourself!
Books on tape?
When we were driving out (my sister rode with me so I didn't have to drive alone), it took us awhile to figure out what made Halvah quiet. We kept finding interesting radio stations, but any time a commercial came on, she'd scream. I can identify, but...didn't help my driving any.
Yeah, what do you say to a cat for 350 miles! I'd be looking into what a vet could do for them, a shot or something, for sure!
My cat's full name was Phoebe Louise Smith, and she owned me for 15 years before she got sick and I had to put her down. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life.
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