Pet Ailments

[Earthling]

It happened to our Cody about 15 years ago. He has since passed on, but not from that - they had to surgically remove a piece of ribbon that had knotted his intestines somehow. He was a highly entertaining cat, always into something and very goofy. He was I think the thirteenth or fourteenth - - no, fifteenth - - member of the Greater Herd.

[Bruder Cuzzen]

I'm thinking of getting rid of what little carpet is left in the house , change detergents , soaps and all that sort of thing .
OI ! this will be too much like work .
argh

[Bruder Cuzzen]

What a relief , the vet was right on the munny .
The diet change has shown positive results and me ole buddy boy has healed up nicely and has stopped licking himself so much under there .
He still bugs me for tuna , which I still give him but perhaps 3-4 cans a month instead of 1-3 a week .
I'm blaming it all on mercury and nasty poisons  .

[Earthling]

Me missus claims that too much fish can cause urinary problems - infections, crystals, blockages - in male cats. I didn't realize you were feeding him toona. Our guys are ban from toona unless they're on the way out anyhow. Right now I think she would allow Woofie to have some, and possibly Peete and Dood, but probably no one else. She rules with an iron litterscoop.

[pieces o nine]

My cats have always enjoyed knocking back a tuna water now and then, but all of them have flattened their whiskers in disdain at eating actual *tuna*.

Moufette (RIP) especially reacted to a can opener de-tinning water-packed tuna the way actors on tv react to a new can of Folgers™ coffee being opened and brewed.

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Every time Fritz sees me entering the house with shopping bags he thinks there's cans of fish for him and he'll bother me while I unpack the stuff ,  expecting something good to eat .

[pieces o nine]

Silent Bob, semi-feral cat and grasshopper-catcher extraordinaire, jimmied open the second patio screen door (again) last night, and lit out for the territory before anyone was the wiser. 

Dom the Danger Catte had also joined the adventure, but he got no further than the end of the patio concrete before settling down to peer back inside until someone [me] noticed his absence and came to fetch him back. I was up until 3:30, checking the entire perimeter of the house at intervals for Bob, with no luck.

Housemate roused me at 6:30 with instructions to finish the "lost cat" posters and place them in specified spots about the neighborhood. This was my day off and I had serious art plans, all of which have been superceded by the search.

I am worried as this is a semi-rural develpment (I startled deer less than 10 yards from me as I rounded the house once) and he may have been carried off by a predator. He may be injured. He may be stuck up a tree or in someone's boat in a closed garage (apparently, wayward cats in this neighborhood like to hide out in boats in neighboring garages, living their pirate fantasies until the householders have cause to go out and open that door again).

Food and water out on both decks. Signs posted about the neighborhood, especially in the local park where the area kids will see it and keep their little eyes peeled (several have met Bob and like him very much). Housemate is to contact police for advice on lost pet recovery and the Humane Society for information on tracking his chip tomorrow.

I feel very sad and guilty. If it were *my* cat out there, I would be inconsolable. Meanwhile, Dom knows that something is amiss. He spends a lot of time looking out the patio door and crying (not the  LET ME OUT!  cry). He has been very snuggly and purring a lot. I wish he could tell us which way Bob went, but cats are rubbish at that sort of thing.



Bob, you little shit, where are you???

[Earthling]

Oh, dear, that's not good at all. I wish there was a magic way to figure out where he'd go, but if there is the only one who would know it is you. If he was feral for long enough, he might be clever enough to know the best hunting is at the verge - where the forest becomes a clearing. If there is such a place nearby, that might be where he is.

One of our gang opened the screen to the upstairs deck a few years back, and when I discovered it there were about ten or so cats lounging around in the night air. We initiated a panic catcount (after herding the wayward would-be wanderers back inside) and thankfully discovered no AWOL kitties. Psycho (RIP) got out there one time and jumped onto the (metal) roof of the hot-cold room, and slid right off the edge with a wide-eyed WTF look, but she landed fine and just sat there waiting to be picked up. My friend Lynne had a cat escape a few months back, and eventually discovered her hiding under her car (about 24-36 hours after the escape). If Bob is not too adventurous, he may turn up in a similar place. Hopefully the call of the wild is not louder than the call of comfort. If he sleeps with you, it might help to leave an old sweater or some similar pieces-scent-infused item out in a place he might hide, he may find it and establish a base of operations.

He is not likely to get stuck up a tree, but the other possibilities you listed are certainly valid risks. I hope you find him soon.

[pieces o nine]

Thanks, ET. The prodigal cat has returned.   

Housemate came down to rouse me *way* too early after another semi-sleepless night of jumping up to check the flood-lit backyard every time Dom made strange meows out the patio door. She had called Bob upon rising, and he came strolling out of the darkness, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Dom proudly walked around for about a half hour, purring very loudly as if he were personally responsible for the return, and not just happy to not be mourning any more. (I suspect that if he *was* communicating anything to his on-the-lam friend, it was to complain that he was only getting single rations until there were two cats at the food bowls in the morning again.  (-ha!-)

I've had cats all my life. I know they pull this crap. It doesn't help when they are not where they are supposed to be. Meanwhile, there's a double-check on screened patio door locks going forward.

[Earthling]

WHEW! :whewsmiley:
I'm so glad he came back, I hate the thought of him not being prepared for the life of the wild. It might not be so bad if he was a true feral, at least then he'd know about hunt, kill, eat. But after living the good life for a while they go to hunt, play, torture, kill, repeat. Give him a silent hug for me, and a scritch under the chin.

[Darlica]

 
Good to hear that Bob is back!

[Opsa]

Bad boy! I'll bet your punishing him by giving him extra food and hugs. That's what I'd do.
Tough love!

That'll teach him!

[pieces o nine]

Sadly, he's streaked out the door, prepared to attempt to knock down the human trying to block his egress in the process, at least once a day since then.

[Opsa]

What an awesome kitty photo!

Love the tail. We call that phenomenon the " tail hook" around here.

[pieces o nine]

I googled for "cat + escape" and that was by far the best of the lot!