Cat Views

Intelligence in the cat is underrated. — Louis Wain

Of all animals, the cat alone attains to the contemplative life. – Andrew Lang

So, only 5 more days until Christmas! The pressure is on to find those last-minute gifts for the hard-to-buy-for folks in your life. One of my more challenging purchases this year was a gift for my parish priest. I decided to buy him a Betta fish; bowl, rocks, plant, food… a complete aquatic milieu! The bible mentions fish a lot like, “I Will Make You Fishers of Men,” Matt 4:19 so I thought it would be right up his “alley.” I know, it’s an odd gift but just a couple of months ago I bought my cat a couple of goldfish naming them Cat & Nip. I set the bowl on top of my bookshelf right next to my computer. She’d jump up and supervise their morning snack of brim shrimp. The top shelf is the exact height of her cat tree, so once the feeding frenzy tapered off, she’d meander across the top and jump into the top perch cat bed. There, she’d continue to watch them at eyeball-level until her early morning nap took precedence. Oh… the life of a cat!

We are still experiencing random acts of hostility even after several months of our newly adopted Zuli. Both resident Prima-Dona Doofie and Zuli seem to have adapted to their co-habitation with mostly normal eating and sleeping behaviors other than the occasional hiss when Zuli charges playfully (I think) at Doofie in the early mornings. I’d consider it typically silly cat play but Doofie reacts as though she need’s to defend herself. Zuli joined our household underfed & mal-nourished. She has blossomed to double her size – slightly worried about feline diabetes which I plan to get her tested next month. Here’s is one of the very best articles I’ve found, suggesting very specifics on a 3-Step system to introduce new cats into the pack. 

Recently, my cat Doofie began an agonizing afternoon of intense pain. After racing her to the vet for an emergency, I discovered her suffering caused by deteriorating spine near her tail. The vet treated her with a mild pain killer just to calm her down a little (probably me too!!) and sent us home with a box Cosequin for Cats; a powder mixture of Glucosamine, Chondroitin & Manganese. She’s only about 8 so I was surprised with the diagnosis, but believed when I saw her x-rays. She’s been a very active outside/inside kitty so perhaps an injury occurred during one of her excursions. While researching further, I found some very good reviews on Amazon. Since taking it for about a month, I have seen considerable improvement in her quality-of-life, although still a little cautious using her hind legs to reach her top perch. Read the rest of this entry »