Average Jane

Average Jane Accidentally Cleans Her Floors

Today on my lunch break, I noticed that my cat Trillian was being fairly active, so I looked to make sure her favorite toy, the Turbo Scratcher, was out where she could play with it. Trillian is a senior cat and has recently started taking pain medication for her arthritis, so I want her to be able to have some fun whenever she can.

The Turbo Scratcher was missing the ball that goes in the track, no doubt pried out at some juncture by Moose, our young chaos demon of a cat. It takes force to get the ball loose, but he's strong and determined.

Naturally, I started looking under various pieces of furniture to find the ball. I felt reasonably confident that I would find it pretty quickly because, really, where could it go? I was so young and naive then.

First I moved the sofa, which I apparently hadn't done in a while. I found a LOT of cat toys, including what was once a catnip-stuffed canvas banana but had become nothing but an empty peel. There were some dog toys under there, too, but no spinny ball.

I got out the dust mop because once I was aware of the sheer volume of cat hair under there, I couldn't just slide the couch back and pretend ignorance.

One of the "toys" under the sofa was a round lip balm that the cats had long ago stolen to bat around. I put it into the track of the toy, but Trillian gave it a couple of halfhearted bats and made it clear that it was not an acceptable alternative to the correct ball.

Next, I moved on to the rattan cabinet that sits by the window and is a popular cat perch. It partially covers the HVAC return for the living room and there were enough cat hair tufts festooning the grate that I put the dust mop aside and went to get the ShopVac. Down below the grate I found three neon-tinted toy mice that looked as though they'd fallen in more or less immediately after the cats received them. I vacuumed the grate, the duct and the back of the cabinet thoroughly and made sure to hold the mice firmly and get the dust bunnies off of them as well.

The clock was ticking, but I really wanted to get Trillian set up with her toy while she was in the mood for it, so I applied the dust mop beneath both beds to see what I could retrieve. I discovered that Dottie had torn up an entire paper towel under my bed, but my efforts only shook loose a couple of toys.

After work, I resumed my quest and went to retrieve the toy stash that gathers beneath the built-in towel cabinet in the bathroom. For some reason, it was designed to be open underneath, even though it's several feet deep and there's no way to see or reach under there. I put a sock over the nozzle of the ShopVac to get the small, light items out first and then removed it to suction onto anything larger. The good news is that I found a bunch of cat toys. The bad news is that the ball was not among them.

My floors were mostly swept, so that was good. But I was running out of places to look for the ball and I knew deep in my heart that if I ordered a replacement one, the original would turn up immediately.

Then I remembered that I hadn't moved my living room chair. As soon as I slid it just a little, I spotted something blue and round caught in the power strip behind the chair. EUREKA! It was the ball I'd been searching for all afternoon.

I put it back in the Turbo Scratcher and gave it a good spin, but Trillian had long since gone off somewhere to take a nap. But it's ready for her next play session as long as Moose doesn't step in again.

Average Jane Names Her Basement Cat

Once we had our new cat friend's neuter and microchip appointment on the vet's schedule, we were in a race against time to give him an actual name for the paperwork. Nature stepped in to give us a nudge by way of putting THREE POUNDS of additional cat mass on him over the span of a little more than a month.

It became clear that he was heading in the direction of gigantic, so I threw out Moose as an idea and it stuck.  Not only does "Moose" describe his probable final form, but it squeezes in a pop culture tie-in so he fits in with the rest of our gang (Xena, Trillian, Dr. Jones, Kaylee and Dottie). 

For those who don't watch Supernatural, Moose was a nickname given to one of the main characters by a demon. It's a long story.

So anyway, Moose came through his surgery and brushed it off like nothing happened. The vet was stunned at how much larger he was since the last time she'd seen him. Checking my calendar, the appointment I made for him on November 8th referred to him as "black kitten" and now he looks like a full grown man. Except that his feet are enormous, so it's safe to say he has more growing to do.

Moose still lives in the basement, but we've been bringing him up to mingle with the general population every day. Dr. Jones is pretty much fine with him. Dottie is in heaven to have her favorite play buddy upstairs. Trillian and Xena are generally filled with hate, so their crabby opinions don't count.

He's a little hesitant to stay upstairs for long periods of time, but I think he'll get over that soon because he's clearly bored. I can tell because he's been exploring the upper shelves in the basement and liberating various objects to play with.

Over the past two days, he's performed surgery on the plastic bag that holds a bunch of my Christmas decorations and started removing items from it one by one. First it was the front door wreath with the wreath hanger still on it. I took the hint and hung up the wreath where it belonged. The next day there was a stocking and another wreath on the floor, so I hung them on the fireplace mantel and the other side of the door, respectively. It's like he's an Icelandic Yule Cat who ended up shilling for Christmas instead of stalking children's closets.

All in all, Moose is a very soft, gentle, sweet guy and I'm looking forward to having him integrated fully into the household. I certainly wasn't looking to add another cat to our menagerie, but he's a good one.

Average Jane's Basement Cat Update

Okay, he hasn't arisen from the depths yet, but we're getting closer. He's met most of the other cats through the baby gate with only a mild amount of hissing from them.

Most importantly, he and Dottie have completely hit it off. We've started letting the dog into the basement for short spells, which for both of them means WRESTLING MATCH! They roughhouse very vigorously, but clearly willingly. The dog's tail never stops wagging, even when the cat is biting her on the butt. The cat gets pinned pretty easily, but pops up, backs off a step, then charges right back in.

We could really give him the run of the house any time, but because I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner next week, I think I'm going to hold off until after all that chaos subsides. We'll have enough going on with people in the house triggering Dottie's worst chihuahua impulses to guard me from the dangerous strangers who should never have been allowed in.

And no, he doesn't have a name yet. We still keep referring to him as Basement Cat or Downstairs Cat. I'm thinking of making his neuter appointment for the day after Thanksgiving, so that gives us a week to settle on something. I would be 100% on board with actually naming him Basement Cat because it would be completely on brand for me to name a pet after an Internet meme. I imagine we'll ultimately give him more of a traditional name, though. 

If you haven't been following this story from the beginning, you can find the background here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Average Jane's Stray Cat Update

I haven't talked about our stray cat friend lately, so here's what's up. 

Last weekend, I made an appointment to have him tested for FIV and FeLV. He came up negative, which is great news. An FIV diagnosis used to mean that a cat would be quarantined from healthy cats for a lifetime. Today, that's no longer the case, but it's just good to know that he doesn't have the virus. FeLV is a death sentence, so it's especially good news that he doesn't have that one.

Once his tests came back, I went ahead and got him vaccinated for rabies and everything else he was due for. The vet agreed with me that he's 6 or 7 months old. 

He still needs to be neutered, but there's no huge hurry on that. My vet's office gave me a quote to have him neutered and microchipped and it was quite expensive, so I may just take him to the humane society and have them do it.

We got our baby gate back from our neighbors, who no longer needed it now that their "puppy" is several years old. He's met the dog and a couple of the cats through it without incident. The next step is to bring him upstairs for further meet-and-greets through the gate.

Does he have a name? No. All of the vet's office paperwork calls him "TBD," so every email about him says something like, "Here's your cost estimate for TBD's neuter." I almost feel like we should name him Thibodaux now. But honestly, we keep trying to think of names but nothing is sticking.

He's obviously very active when we're not watching. He mauled two of my alpaca wool dryer balls to the point where I don't think they're salvageable. I'm sure they made great toys. He seems to be spending time on one of my laundry tables, but it's the one that's covered with stuff I was going to get rid of anyway, so no harm, no foul.

For now, we both visit him numerous times a day to pet him and bring him food and water. We'd still like to move him upstairs, but we're taking it slow to make sure none of the other cats lodge a strenuous objection. At this point, we can take all the time we need, so we'll make sure to do everything slowly and carefully. As I said before, we'll see what happens.

Average Jane's Rescue Cat Update

Despite numerous online posts and daily searches for lost kitten listings that might match up, there's no sign that anyone is searching for the kitty we captured last week.

I called the vet's office and made an appointment to get our kitten friend combo tested and vaccinated tomorrow so he has a chance at escaping the confines of the laundry room at some point.

Whenever he hears one of us coming down the basement stairs, he meets us at the door. If it turns out he's healthy, it seems unfair to keep him cooped up when he's obviously aware that there are fun activities happening elsewhere in the house without him.

The week of ample food and the leisure to groom himself has transformed him into a handsome, fluffy lad. He's cloud-soft and purrs loudly when petted.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but he's really very small. There's a lot of contrast between his little head and his big paws. I still stand by my estimate of ~6 months, but we'll get the vet's opinion tomorrow.

The dog is obsessed with him and whines on the other side of the door when I'm downstairs. The cat doesn't seem scared and he seems to enjoy batting Dottie's paws under the door. The thought that they might get along is intriguing, but Dottie is awfully rambunctious so they'd need to be closely monitored.

We don't have a comprehensive plan for the kitty right now beyond springing him from the basement and looking for a warmer part of the house where he can go. I gave away the baby gate we used to introduce Izzy to the rest of the pets several years ago, but maybe I can borrow one from someone.

I'm still resisting the idea of keeping him, so we haven't given him a name or even a nickname. As I've said all along, we'll see what happens!

 

Average Jane and the Friendly Feral Kitten?

Plot twist! 

When I was putting up "found" ads for the cat, I did a quick glance to check whether we were dealing with a male or a female, and my fleeting impression was "neutered male." Today, I finally took a closer look and thought, "Wait a minute."

Yes, now I think that he is NOT neutered after all. Smöl, but intact.

Obviously, that could change everything, because if there's no one out there who invested in neuter surgery for him, the likelihood that he's just an especially friendly feral kitten is much higher.

I'm going to keep the ads up (with notes about the new observation), but this piece of information means I need to give some thought to next steps that do not involve someone stepping forward to retrieve him.

I am a long-time volunteer with an animal rescue group, so there's a strong possibility that they would be willing to bring him into their program as long as I can foster him until he can be put in front of potential adopters. I'd need to get him tested for FIV/FeLV (also known as a "combo test") and cleared, which I could probably have done this weekend.

Of course, my husband and I have repeatedly sworn that we aren't going to add any more cats to the household (we're currently at "one too many," down from "three too many" early last year). However, I can see that the spouse is getting smitten by our little visitor already, so time will be of the essence in making a decision.

In the meantime, he still appears to be content hanging out in our basement. I've been bringing him some of the cat toys I can't put on the floor in the main part of the house lest they be chewed up by the dog. He seems happy with those and spends most of his time chilling out in the cat bed we gave him.

There's no need to make any quick decisions, but I'm glad he's no longer out in the cold, scavenging for every meal.

Average Jane Visits the Vet

This morning I got up early to go to my nephew's school and judge a forensics tournament and this afternoon I had election worker training, but I figured I could squeeze in a trip to the vet for our mystery kitty in between.

After rating seven extemporaneous presentations about various topics around the state of our union, I headed home and called the vet's office to make sure I could bring the kitty in for a quick microchip scan without an appointment.

They agreed that would be fine, so I cleaned out a cat carrier and loaded up our kitty friend, who was not a fan of being confined again or riding in the car.

After a thorough scan, it was clear that this cat has no chip. I found that very disappointing because it would have made things SO much easier. A 2012 survey on lost pets (which appears to be the first and only survey of its kind) found that 25% of lost cats never make it back home, compared to 7% of lost dogs. That's even more reason to microchip your cats, in case anyone's on the fence about it.

So on to Plan B: post the cat on various lost pet forums online. As I was writing out the posts, I realized I wasn't 100% sure that the cat we'd been referring to as "she" was actually female. After some buffer time to let the kitty get over the car ride and vet visit ordeal, I went back downstairs for a quick check. 

Turns out, we're dealing with a neutered male. I think he's just barely past kitten age - maybe 6 months or so. He has good-sized feet, so his current smallness is probably a combination of youth and recent food scarcity.

So far there have been lots of shares of the posts, but no nibbles re: ownership. Several people have suggested that I make some flyers to post around the apartment complexes nearby, which I will try to do tomorrow. 

In the meantime, he's safe and warm in our basement. I brought down a few toys and I noticed that he's tucked one of the catnip ones into the cat bed he's claimed for himself. He's finally eaten his fill to the point where he isn't snarfing down every morsel as soon as it's presented. I refilled his water, so he's fine to hang out as long as necessary to find his people.

If that doesn't happen after a reasonable time, I have resources to help him find a new home. But I hope we can get him back where he belongs, because he's so sweet and friendly that I'm sure someone misses him.

Average Jane Catches A Stray Cat

For the first time since the summer of 2014, we have captured a cat that was hanging around some businesses and looked like it needed help. My husband is the one who spotted her (and the last one - he has a good eye for cats in distress). He had spent time the previous two nights trying to lure her with food and gain her trust, but she was understandably skittish.

Tonight we bought a 50¢ can of cat food and went together to see what we could do. I actually brought my live trap, but she was relaxed enough that she let us both pet her while she was eating. When she was about halfway through the can of food, I scooped her up and put her in my car without incident.

She wasn't thrilled with the car ride, but that just translated into some meowing. She actually climbed onto the seat and rode in the dog's elevated car seat most of the way home. 

Once I pulled into the garage, I turned off the car and we petted her to make sure she was calm enough to catch again and bring into the house. Because the dog and the other cats are so nosy, I wanted to bring her in through the back basement door, so I put her into one of the cat carriers that was already in the garage.

We set her up with a choice of cat beds, the rest of her can of food, some dry food, a bowl of water, and a litter box. 

I have a pretty busy day tomorrow, but I'll squeeze in some time to take her to my vet to be scanned for a microchip. She is so friendly that she must be someone's pet, so I hope we can get her back to her family.

Average Jane's New Kitty BFF

Earlier this year I predicted – correctly, as it sadly turned out – that this would be a year in which we lost three of our pets. Toby left us in August and we had to help Velvet pass on the day after Thanksgiving. It's been really, really hard.

We are now down to four cats, which I realize sounds like a lot, but not when you'd once gotten used to having seven pets running around. Kaylee still lives up in the recording studio/TV room by herself, and we have Xena, Dr. Jones and Trillian in the main part of the house.

Xena and Kaylee are my husband's kitty wives. Xena will sit on my lap while I'm on my laptop, but it's mostly because she wants to be ready to steal my chair when I get up. 

Dr. Jones is everyone's buddy and he's always up for some petting or a game of fetch, but he spends most of his time guarding the kitchen against mice and lying on the floor vents to keep warm.

Surprisingly, Trillian (a.k.a. Tiny) has come to the fore as my new snuggling pal. She has taken to ambushing me when I turn in at night and demanding that I pet her. But only so much! Because the Snapping Tortie has strict limits.

Once I'm asleep, she'll curl up on my right shoulder and purr against the side of my face. It was awkward at first, especially that time when the foxes in the back yard started barking and freaked her out, waking me all the way up in the middle of the night. However, she's getting better at easing in gently and staying asleep for a reasonable amount of time.

It's always impossible to predict how the inter-feline dynamics in the household will shift when there's a change. Xena and Trillian still hate each others' guts, but they have a carefully choreographed system for taking turns spending time with the humans.

I would really love to get another dog someday, but I can't really afford it – and I also think the cats are enjoying things the way they are. For now, I'm spending as much time as I can with all the cats and watching how their personalities continue to develop. In fact, Trillian is on the back of the chair right above me now. I think I'll pet her for a bit before I go to work.

Average Jane Works from Home

Today, Dr. Jones and the other cats helped me work all day. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning and when I got to my office, there were no parking spaces in any of the lots. I decided that the universe wanted me to spend the day writing from my living room chair. 

It was quiet and I got a lot of stuff done, despite the fact that the cats took turns being on my lap at all times.

How do you feel about working remotely when you could be working in an office?