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.

[Wanderlost]

We finished sorting MIL's stuff. I have 3 boxes packed of her china, one to go, then two to four boxes of her crystal to go, and we'll ship it all to the nieces. Then I'll space our china and crystal out in the china cabinet.

Spot ate several of my lintel chips this afternoon. He really does taste almost everything. Alex sniffed one, though it was nasty, and laid down in my lap.

We got 2.12" rain from the storms last night and today. Won't have to refill the pool this week, but it won't put much of a dent in our drought.

Wow. More lightning. Gotta shut down again.

Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Goodness! Didn't realize it's been three weeks since I posted, but things have been right lively around here.

The hummingbirds have been divebombing us as we sit on the porch, the seven barn swallow babies are within a day or two of flying, a doe had her fawn in our meadow last week, Mama Doe Lassie will drop hers within the next two weeks, the garden is planted, we have an algae bloom in the swimming pool, and Spot just peed all over me...

He's been doing so well. He learned to open the screen doors to go in and out, so he wasn't bothering us much for the "kitty on the wrong side of the door" routine. For some reason tonight, he came inside, and instead of letting us know he'd like to go back outside (it is storming), he climbed up on my chair, peed on me, then strolled away as if everything was just fine. So I cleaned my chair, sprayed it liberally with Wee Cleaner, took a shower, and threw him outside. We only let him back inside when the lightning got closer, and he's being somewhat subdued. I am NOT fooled...

Since it is getting somewhat fierce out there, I'll shut down. My little laptop has become far too important to lose what's on it.

Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

No, Gary, I missed that episode.

MDL is spending most of her time in our meadow now. We think there's a dominance issue going on with the doe herd. WLToo saw two does going at each other over by the neighbor's feeder, and MDL has some roughed up marks. As an older doe, we'd expect the younger ones to challenge for dominance. The result so far is she spends a lot more time near us, and we're ok with that. We hope her fawn or fawns this year survive, so she'll have something to herd around other than the cats and us...

Got six boxes loaded and ready to go to the thrift store today. We're down to eight boxes of stuff now.

Found a bone china coffee service for four buried in all that stuff, so it's clean and drying. At first I thought it was more of WLToo's grandmother's coffee service, but no, it's a different one. One great niece wants her great granny's china and crystal, so tomorrow I'll get a big box of bubble wrap and start boxing it up. Will ask about the two china coffee services later, once I've learned what brand and design they are -- I took photos of the china and crystal, uploaded them to Replacements.com, and within a day knew all about them.

Getting rid of stuff is becoming way too much fun...

Spotacus just got into trouble -- he jumped up on the island and was strolling about. At least he's stopped peeing all over the place, just about the time the Feliway instructions said would happen.

The raw diet has come to a crashing halt. The two of them are so accustomed to eating a wide variety of flavors that they simply stopped eating it. So WLToo is going to make some of it into chicken jerky and use it as treats. Meanwhile, we'll stick to commercial foods that contain no grains or meat byproducts, and figure out another transition to raw food. Stubborn cusses -- must be cats...

Our close friends who are more like family got early retirement as part of DoD's civilian downsizing and will be coming home from Germany by the end of May. Their plan is to buy a fifth wheel toy hauler and spend summers at their cabin on the pond in Maine, and "not summer" in our drive, at one of our four RV hookups. We are so looking forward to this. Now we'll have our little motorcycle riding group almost back together. My best friend is eligible to retire, but hasn't made the decision yet. When he does, he'll move down here, too, and the five intrepid motorcycling geezers will be out terrorizing the youngsters along the Hill Country back roads.

Now there's an RV trip to Alaska in the offing next year. Hope Spot and Alex enjoy being cooped up in the RV for several weeks, as we're not about to leave them in the kitty hoosgau that long...

I went back to the gym today. Felt great. The pool should be warm enough to swim tomorrow or Wednesday -- I am so looking forward to that. Late April is much later than usual for me to go swimming, and I really miss it. Hopefully, WLToo will sell enough books this year for us to install a solar pool heater/cooler, and then we can swim most of the year.

Thunderstorms coming in, so I'll shut down my computer. Later, y'all.

[Dashonthedash]

Did you happen to watch the recent episode of Nature on PBS? It was about a naturalist in Wyoming who befriended a herd of wild mule deer. He wanted to study them, and he promised to "tread the fine line between science and sentiment" but, by the end of the endeavor, it was quite clear that he had not only crossed the line, he had left it far behind. He definitely became much more than an objective "observer".

[Wanderlost]

A couple of downright nippy nights, but now we're back to springtime temps. That's good for the cats; they can spend the day on the porch furniture, in between supervising our garage clean out.

Now that I can lift stuff again, we cleared out four more boxes of MIL stuff and hauled it to the thrift store. Also found MIL's crystal and china buried in one very heavy box, so it's clean and stored in our dining area cabinets. Contacted the nieces and nephew about transferring same to them, if they're interested, to keep it in the family. I really don't want the stuff myself, and don't need it taking up space in this tiny house.

We are now feeding two does. A doe who looks and acts remarkably like MDL snuck in there, and we didn't really notice until they both came up at the same time. Oh, well. I guess she'll have a name, soon.

Well, the refrigerator repairman is coming early in the morning, so I'll say good night, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Well, the last few days have been interesting. WLToo was all set to head for his mom's place to close on the sale. Then early Thursday morning, I woke up in very serious pain. Since he'd been through something similar in 1999, I recognized the signs of appendicitis.

Went to the family doctor, just in case it wasn't. He poked me in the McBurney's point and said, yep, it is. Off we go to the ER. So we're sitting in the ER, which is totally empty except for a poor guy with awful kidney stones, while WLToo calls his mom and the realtor to let them know he will not be attending the closing, as his wife is about to get sliced and diced...

Not only is the ER empty, but all ORs are available, so in less than 30 minutes, I'm in surgery. Woke up a couple hours later with three little punctures. No complications, went home on Friday.

MIL got through the closing just fine, and now she's kind of grieving over it, so when WLToo heads over tomorrow to do her taxes, he'll catch an earful. Sigh.

I got the clearance today from the surgeon to swim, but still can't do any exercises at the gym for another week. I miss it dreadfully when I can't lift weights, but abdominal surgery is abdominal surgery, even with scopes and tiny incisions. The pool is a bit nippy yet; it needs to be 76 degrees before I'll go in, and it's only 71 today.

On the kitty front, last week we gave Spot a trial run with raw chicken. Instant success. Good. Wasn't looking forward to doing the transition thing. So today we ground up chicken thighs into "pâté," added various supplements, and packed it into quart jars for freezing.

Because I'm still recovering, what should have been an hour's work turned into a couple of hours, with a meal break. Partway into the second hour, Spot strolled by and begged for a taste. I looked down at him, and in my best Sean Connery voice said, "You're a great deal of bother, Mr. Spotacaris." (from The Wind and The Lion) He chirped back...

Alex really shouldn't have so much protein, but he loves the stuff, and he's old, so if that's what he wants, he can have it. It costs out so much cheaper than high quality commercial pet foods and contains only that which an obligate carnivore can process, which in turn will lessen our considerable vet bills.

Next up we'll be using beef (without bones, adding bone meal and calcium carbonate), then rabbit and turkey. From the number of them he caught in Virginia, I know Alex will be very happy with the rabbit. Don't know about Spot yet.

Once we get the full transition, we won't even have treats or dry kibble about. For emergencies (no refrigeration), I'll can meat and have it in the pantry. That does cook, but it's fine for short periods.

I've spent the last week keeping both cats off my belly, since they have a natural instinct for planting a foot firmly into a bruised area, and I can't pick up Spot at all, which has confused him a little. And definitely no sorting through MIL's stuff in the garage! So I've been working on the family tree and solving the occasional family mystery.

My sister had regularly scheduled surgery the same day, and her yellow furry nurse was much different. He lay beside her, fussed over her, got upset when she put the ice bags on her eyes and tried to take them off, and in general tried very hard to help her feel better. He finally decided to become a cat again today. Mine just wanted to stand on the bruises and incisions... :R

Wildlife wise, MDL is very preggers and looks forward to her daily bit of corn. The other does don't come up with her, thankfully.

The hummingbirds are passing through in large numbers, so the feeder needs daily replenishment. Several times a day, a bird of some sort smacks into the windows or doors. Birdie courtship can be rather intense, apparently... No broken necks or wings so far, thank goodness.

Last week, we heard the unmistakable sound of a great horned owl. Went outside and there he sat, up on the top of the power pole. Alex was inside, but Spot was nowhere to be found, which caused us some concern, since the owl was obviously hunting. When he flew off, WLToo got a couple of photos, but he's way up there, so it doesn't show him all that well. He went swooping down along the road and we've not heard or seen him since - not surprising, since the snakes get most of the rodents around this area. I guess he's moved on already.

Spot had been locked in the garage, and was happy to be let out. He has a bad habit of going in there and not making any sound to let us know he's there. So does Alex. We have to be especially vigilant during the hot months, since the garage is not insulated.

Whoa, look at the time! Night, y'all.

[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.