Homeless Cat -- Now Spotacus' Legacy

[Wanderlost]

On 18 Dec, a very large cat showed up at our house. It was late and cold, and he looked in the door and made it clear he wanted inside. Well, since we have two cats already and he was a stranger, we could not let him in the house. WLToo walked out and the cat ran to him, so he walked the cat into the garage and into the climate controlled room out there.

He was extremely hungry and thirsty, but in otherwise good condition and very clean. We fixed up a bed for him, set up the feeding and elimination stations, and went to bed.

Next day, we worked in the garage all day, while the big guy slept or supervised. We found him to be an intact male, no sign he's ever worn a collar, and he has a strong need to be in the general vicinity of humans. For an intact male, he's remarkably mellow - I don't think he was the alpha cat in his previous home.

Have had zero responses to the "found cat" notices around the area and online, so we'll be working with the local rescues to get him neutered and all his shots, then find him a home. We can't keep him because he's just too big for our two cats to share our small house. Alex would have another emotional meltdown, and I don't want to go through that mess again (long, ugly story).

For now, we're calling him Spot, not that he answers to it (does answer to "Kitty, Kitty"). No idea how he travels; we'll find out when we take him to the vet on Tuesday.

If anyone knows of someone who would like a large (about 15-18 pounds) cat who needs to be with people, please let me know. No cat novices, please; this cat needs someone who knows exactly how to handle an adult cat of this size, especially when he's feeling frisky.





We're at Canyon Lake, TX, so if there are any Winter Texans nearby who would like to meet him and maybe give him a home, that would be great.

[CA_POPPY]

It's great the way the clock ended up, how fortuitous. A lot of the Freecycle recipients here just want the stuff for garage sales. I dealt with my mother's 70 year collection of "everything" by giving my brother her house and all the contents. I have no idea if he just hauled it all to the dump. I couldn't have done that, but sorting and dealing with it would've been killer. I think that generation hung onto "everything" because of the Depression. Mom never seemed to put any value on empty space on a shelf, in a closet or on any flat surface.

[BarbiO]

We had an issue last fall with our 14 year old female, Buffy, and inappropriate elimination. We couldn't afford the full litany of tests they wanted to do, just the urinalysis, as I had surgery scheduled with three months off work with no pay. She had a possible mild infecion for which she had a course of antibiotics. Vet recommended giving her hip & joint tablets for cats to help with inflammation. I figured her her problem was her 7 year old feline housemate, Danny. They'd never gotten along. Her brother, Jesse, would join in and the boys would always gang up on her. Well, the stress finally got to her. I kept her in the sewing room and then in February the youngster succumbed to cardiomyopathy, may dear Danny RIP. She has been out with full run of the house since Danny's passing and no issues since November.

[Wanderlost]

Spot sprayed right in front of us several times today. The last time, WLToo trapped him in the bedroom and soaked him with the water sprayer. He's sitting at my feet bathing now.

I think I need Feliway atomizers in every outlet in the house -- more for me than him, at this point.

This afternoon Black Kitty showed up in our driveway. I walked outside, said go home, and he did. Quickly. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if he and Seal Point hadn't sprayed the outside the whole two weeks Spot and Alex were in lockup, and between the bladder problem and smelling them, it's totally screwed up his brain. Then he sprayed when he wanted treats and didn't get them...so he's really not gonna get them now.

MDL didn't show up today, probably because we had company. Luckily, they have cats and understand when one's house doesn't smell pristine...

We and company unloaded the trailer, then loaded my Jeep full of stuff from MIL's house to take to the local thrift store. That's one trip. Many, many more to go, as we sort through all the stuff she could never bear to toss. We even found things marked "does not work," and boxes of broken vases. Why would you store something that doesn't work or is busted into bitty pieces? I don't get that mentality at all. But this stuff was everywhere. Gives me a headache to even think about it.

WLToo's grandfather built a grandfather clock case and installed a 1928 electric clock in it. WLToo's parents stored that clock in the garage for 30 years. WLToo wanted to haul it to the dump. Yet the case was in pretty good shape, so I suggested we Freecycle it. Sure enough, a collector offered to restore the clock and the case, and put it in our recently restored courthouse, so at least one "does not work" thing is saved. I doubt the remaining such stuff will go that route.

The wind was blowing strong enough today that we didn't hear the barn swallows gossiping on the porches. Even though they've only been here a few days, I miss their sound. There's something so "homey" about them chitchatting away.

Well, it's been a very long day. Time to sleep. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Susan, Spot knows full well when he's done wrong. He hikes his tail in preparation to spray something, I yell, "NO!" and he immediately runs to his Litter Robot and uses it.

Got 4 gallons of Wee Cleaner, so I plan to go around the outside of the house and look for spray marks, then treat them. It might help calm him down. We also have Feliway atomizers in our bathroom and the great room, and as soon as the area rug dries, I'll spray it with Feliway spray.

It took more than a month last time for Spot to cut the nonsense; I expect it will take just as long this time. Sigh.

We've started mixing the SD with regular cat food, as he'd stopped eating it and was begging for treats every half hour. He's back to eating some of the wet SD. As picky as he is about food, I don't look forward to starting the transition to raw food.

MDL is still a couple months from dropping a fawn, but she's already getting fussy about who she allows in our meadow. I think she'd prefer we kept the gate closed. She rubbed her head on my pants leg the other day - I guess she had an itch. I checked myself for ticks later...

Well, it's much too nice to be inside on the computer. I'm headed back outside. Later, y'all.

[Code2High]

My experience has been that if the cat won't pee in the box, the problem isn't gone.

[Wanderlost]

Spot is off the medication, but stays on the CD for a full month. However, his litter box discipline is gone. Completely. In addition to peeing on the floor, he started spraying furniture. So we spray him with the water bottle...

He's peed on the bathroom floor so much that I ran out of Wee Cleaner and had to use regular cleaners, which don't work in the long run. The new shipment will be here tomorrow or Wednesday, along with a black light so I can finally locate all the dried pee in the house and Wee it. I've done so many bend and squats that I'm amazed I'm still standing...

Meanwhile, another Feliway atomizer is on the way, and the one we have is in the bathroom. The second will go in the great room, near the area he's peed in so often. If I could afford it, I'd put Feliway into a garden sprayer and completely cover the area rug and all the other places he's peed/sprayed. Right at the moment, he is NOT my favorite animal. To know he's not supposed to do it, and then do it right in front of me, shows that the contest for alpha cat is on again... Sigh.

About six male barn swallows are checking out or moving into our nests. The females should arrive any day now.

Ah, the hot tub has reached peak temperature and we really need to let the jets pummel our muscles. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Scott_85 wrote:
Thank you so much for opening up your life to us. I have cried with you laughed with you this whole time. I found this tread two days ago and have been reading it every chance I could get. But its off to bed and I will share some of my stories tomorrow that go hand and hand with the adventures at the Wanderlost homestead.

Welcome to Spot's place, Scott. Looking forward to reading your adventures, too.

[Wanderlost]

It’s been a long, long, LONG month - without internet access. WLToo’s mom sold her farm, so we moved her into the retirement village she’d chosen. But downsizing from a 3000+ square feet house into a 300 sq ft suite was painful. She was more interested in messing with her sons’ minds than in deciding what she absolutely needed. We worked like youngsters for weeks, packing, moving 40 miles one way, unpacking, going back for more, taking back what we’d told her would not fit but she insisted on it until she saw for herself it wouldn’t fit…

After we got her moved, we had to empty the house. She again refused to tell them what they were supposed to do with the stuff, so WLToo made the decision for her. A charity came with a huge truck and took almost everything, only stopping because the truck was full. The few things left over went to her friends or straight into the garbage.

She’s ticked at them for making decisions. Both sons are ticked at her for acting like they were 20-somethings who could handle all the manual labor without consequences - and for not making decisions. The elder had to go back home before we were done, and his doctor did yell at him for overdoing it. WLToo at least has been working out, so he was doing ok until he caught a cold. I had the stamina and strength to keep going, but had to come back home a few days before WLToo did. Even lost another inch off my waist and added 6+ pounds of lean muscle mass from the labor, but it’s not real high on my list of fun ways to lose fat.

The whole time, Spot and Alex were lounging around the vet’s office, getting spoiled. But just a couple of days after he got home, Spot started squatting everywhere. The bladder problem was back. Then he couldn’t pee at all. Wound up with a catheter for 24 hours. Lab results and a sonogram showed crystals in bladder and right kidney, but no bacteria. So an antibiotic won’t do anything.

End result is he’s on a pain killer every 8 hours (oral or sub-cutaneous, depending on how hard he fights me), Hill’s CD for a month, then a raw food diet. He likes the CD dry, appears to be tired of the wet, and still wants the treats he’ll not be able to have when we finish the transition to the raw food diet. I predict a long and painful process.

Meanwhile, until the CD dissolves all the crystals, every few hours Spot goes into a squatting frenzy, peeing any and everywhere. I’ve gone through an entire gallon of Wee Cleaner already, and the place still reeks.

Then Alex got into trouble by spraying my dresser. Great. Two cats peeing everywhere. I’m completely exhausted just from cleaning up, spraying Wee Cleaner, cleaning up, spraying Wee Cleaner. I’ve stopped counting the number of bend and squats I’ve done (not my favorite exercise). Today will be steam mopping with distilled water and vinegar, and shampooing the area rug.

The only up side so far is that Spot is using his Litter Robot again, more or less. For several days, he’d put his front into the litter, pee on the step, climb inside and lay down. He leaked on himself a few times, and the litter clumped on his fur, so that was a fun cleanup, too, especially since it was on his hind legs and he hates having them touched.

He knows full well that peeing anywhere he wants is not acceptable, yet he’ll literally do it in front of me, then run to the Litter Robot, as though he thinks that makes it all better.

My brother nicknamed him Spotacus; right now, SpotaCUSS! is more accurate…

On the wildlife side, we have barn swallows! They showed up yesterday, examining all the nests. We’ve not seen the hummingbirds since just before we went to his mom’s, and we need at least one new feeder, as the old one just plain wore out. Birds are singing – it’s quite noisy outside – and the bluebonnets are already blooming.

MDL is quite pregnant. I hope she doesn’t lose this year’s fawn(s), as she’s probably nearing her last breeding seasons. She’s coming up now after deserting the doe herd that follows her around, so she can get her corn. Smart girl, knows we only feed her, not the rest of them. A couple of the younger does are right bold, standing just beyond the porch and stomping at us while we’re inside looking out. We stomp back and they go away.

There’s a very large cat on my lap, sucking up. Will have to keep him away from my glass of V-8, lest he help himself. Will be glad when WLToo gets home to share the load. He’s back at the farm, clearing out the last of the junk. If there’s anything left this time, it’s just going to convey.

Time to start mopping. Later, y’all.

[Scott_85]

Thank you so much for opening up your life to us. I have cried with you laughed with you this whole time. I found this tread two days ago and have been reading it every chance I could get. But its off to bed and I will share some of my stories tomorrow that go hand and hand with the adventures at the Wanderlost homestead.

[Wanderlost]

Ahhh, warm weather. Should be warm the next five days. I think I'll plant some cauliflower.

MDL came up by herself this morning, so she could eat her corn in peace. I had an appointment, so I couldn't stay out there and chat, which she seems to like.

Had to get out the Feliway spray again. Spot tells me he wants to go outside at o dark early by clawing the bed frame, the screen, the chair and a half, or the window bench. WLToo has been letting Spot outside after yelling at him to stop clawing. Well, I don't reward bad behavior. Instead, I got up, sprayed everything he's been clawing, and went back to bed. He gave up and went back to bed, too. He went outside when I got up for the day.

Ah, it's supper time, for both cats and human. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Thanks, Stephany. Handy hint to have.

We had lovely warm weather all weekend, in the 60s and 70s. Today we didn't reach 45, and tomorrow will only be 38. The pattern for the next 10 days looks to be cold, cold, cold, warm, warm, cold, warm, warm, cold, cold. Must be February...

A doe came up to MDL's dish and tried to take it away. She put her hoof in it and yanked, and the corn flew out. MDL was a tad disgusted with the other doe.

Spot is a bit frustrated with the weather patterns. He doesn't mind the cold so much, but when it's mixed with high winds and a bit of moisture, he'd rather stay inside and insist I play with him. Well, he'd like to play with Alex, but Alex does not want to play -- he'd much rather cuddle with a human. So Spot stalks my legs, dashes up, whacks me on the leg, and dashes away.

Speaking of whom -- he wants up in my lap, so I'll move the computer now. Later, y'all.

[Stephany]

Hi,

We found that wrapping a string of the little Christmas lights (not LED) around the hummer feeder and leaving it plugged in all night kept the syrup from freezing on our occasional sub-30 degree nights here in Seattle. We have also bunched the lights into a margarine container and snugged it up to the bottom of the feeder with rubber bands, again leaving it on all night and that keeps the syrup from freezing too.

But my husband usually just brings the feeder in at night and puts it back out in the morning before dawn.

Hope this helps,

Stephany

[Wanderlost]

The wind and cold last night froze the hummingbird nectar again. I brought it inside, thawed it, cleaned it, and put new in.

I know it will freeze tonight, but at least today the bird has new nectar.

Spot's been outside four times today so far, all trips lasting less than two minutes each. OK, make that five - just let him out again.

Alex isn't fooled. He knows it's too cold out there, and there are nice, warm humans to curl up on.

Haven't seen MDL in a couple of days. I guess they've all taken shelter from this nasty cold wind.

WLToo needs help with the broccoli soup (harvested from our garden day before yesterday). Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

We had several days of 60s and 70s, and today another front has arrived. Not frigid, but awfully windy, so it's been a sit by the fireplace and drink hot beverages day.

Alex is on top of my recliner, trying to ease his way down on my lap (where the laptop is). Spot's on the bed.

Spot has a new "thing." He goes outside, does whatever he does, comes back inside, and immediately climbs on me, where he plants his cold nose into my neck and stays until he's all warmed up. If I'm not sitting down, he comes to me and makes it very clear he wants to be held. It's kinda cute, considering how big he is...

A tiny hummingbird is still here, and looks pretty good. The deer are all fuzzy. We have an 8-point buck interested in us, mainly because MDL hangs around with us, and she's part of his harem of five or six does who stay in our meadow. So now we have a buck in the meadow, too, and he's much inclined toward being somewhat friendly. When he drops his antlers, fine, but until then, we're keeping him at a respectable distance. Besides, if the zombie apocalypse occurs, he's lunch...

Time to head over to the library. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

So we had an ice storm Thursday night. Woke up to TxDot having closed I-35 and most of the county roads, so it was really quiet. No vehicle noises anywhere within hearing distance. The night's high winds and low temps (wind chill factor around 10F) resulted in frozen hummingbird nectar, so we brought it inside to melt, then put it back out. Was in the 20s last night, but not windy, so the nectar didn't freeze again.

We had a thin sheet of ice with sleet stuck to it on our property. It melted by afternoon, but was only a trace of moisture. Back into the 60s and 70s this weekend. I'm sure the garden suffered some damage, but since it's all volunteer, we're not out anything.

Alex has moved from the afghan back to my lap. He's trying to stay away from Spot, who's taken to attacking him wherever Alex goes. No more safe zones. Knowing Alex, he probably tried to start something just because he could, and whatever it was made Spot really angry. But that gets Spot into trouble, because he'll hurt (or kill) Alex if we let him continue, so the spray bottle is getting a fair amount of exercise -- not actually being used, just waved in Spot's general direction. That's enough to stop him.

We had a buck fight in the meadow yesterday. WLToo watched for a while, then decided it was a play fight, not a real one. One doe was licking a buck's muzzle, but we didn't see the final result of that obvious acceptance. Three does and an eight point buck separately came up to the north porch and looked in, but only MDL gets the corn, and only when she's alone. It was right lively out there...

A small bird just checked out one of the barn swallow nests. It was not a barn swallow, though.

We're already warmer today than the high yesterday, no wind, and bright sunshine, so around noon I'll go check the garden.

Later, y'all.