Since there are four caturdays this month and I have four cats, naturally I decided to feature one per week during NaBloPoMo.
Today we'll talk about the grande dame of the household, Velcro.
She came into my family in the early 1990s when my mom's boyfriend found her tied into a pillowcase and left in a Salvation Army donation bin. She was just a kitten then, but she quickly became my mother's favorite cat. In fact, when my mom was hospitalized after being diagnosed with lung cancer, her boyfriend smuggled Velcro into the room to visit at least once that I know of.
Velcro was a very feisty young cat who HATED children. My cousin Travis referred to her as "the velociraptor" because of the way she'd stalk and attack him every time he came over. (Travis just turned 25, which gives you an idea of how old Velcro is now.)
When my mom died in 1998, Velcro came to live with me and my husband and the two cats we had at the time, Kato and Friday.
For years, Velcro was very bite-y. She was one of those cats who loved attention (hence the name), but she would only accept being petted for so long before suddenly nipping at you. Her teeth are really sharp and it hurt, but she never broke the skin.
Her dislike of children lasted through the first few years of my niece's life, but she's mellowed considerably and has rarely nipped at my nephew at all. She's also stopped biting us, which is nice.
Velcro had a mastectomy several years ago, but bounced back nicely. In the past year or so she's gone deaf and now she's getting awfully skinny and her coat is pretty ratty. Still, she can vault onto a countertop with ease and she never lets me forget that she gets canned food twice a day, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Because she can't hear, her reminders have gotten extremely loud.
After all this time, her name still fits her very well. She loves to sit on my lap, shed copious quantities of white hair all over my black clothes and purr contentedly. I don't know how much longer we'll have her around, but I'm doing all I can to make sure she enjoys her life with us.
I know your pets get regular check ups, and you may have already had Velco tested for this, but you might want to have your vet test for a thyroid condition. Though her age could account for some of it, weight loss (even though she is obviously eating very well) and the hair getting matted is a sign of an thyroid imbalance. It could also be accompanied by excessive water consumption, and can effect her kidney, and eventually be accompanied by a heart murmer.
Not trying to be a know it all, but "been there, done that" with my own cat and it sounded familiar, so I thought I would pass it on. Just a thought.
Posted by: East Coast Girl | November 12, 2009 at 01:29 AM