Rufus

Fuzzy Pachuco

tonight's cats

The Mooch's fur

The Mooch's coat is silky soft and luxurious - very very shiny.  She is so proud of it, presenting it about the place.  There has been times when it's gotten even mangey - like when she was pregnant.  She was ragged during that time, hated it.  Hated having kittens to look after too - she used to put them in my bed at night and run off.  And she always tried to run off when they were trying to get some milks.  Now she is in her prime.

Rufus has been eating more and seems to be getting a bit more robust.  I have given up on the urine sample.  I decided it's unlikely that she has diabetes - she hasn't been drinking that much and its only from the excitement of having her own special glass I think, which has never happened before.  I will monitor her progress.

All of the above

Why is she in the Bin?

Pachuco and Rufus

Who's out there Moochy?

The Mooch

When I look at the Mooch, I see a human soul.  Is it visible to anyone else I wonder?  She was really angry at birds on the grass.  She did that thing where they open their mouths and do a silent miaow, like a silent scream.  She was cursing the birds under her breath.

The Mooch

nigh night pachuco

Eating and Rain

It's raining a lot so all the cats are eating inside, their three different types of meals.  Pachuco ate his Whiskas pilchards and whiting over by the fridge and got quite a lot of it on the floor, which Lewis had to clean up with a tissue.  Rufus ate her tiny tin of Dine behind the cupboards, safe from Pachuco's jealousy.  She also got some on the floor and I cleaned it up that time.  The Mooch stuck to the normal feeding arena, choosing some Optimum crunchies over her usual egg-in-a-bowl.  She's been off those eggs lately - leaving prime free range eggs to go to waste, drying up discarded in her tiny bowl.  So I have decided no more eggs for a few days.  Everyone is sick in the house, apart from Amy.  So we will all be around to pamper the cats all day tomorrow - one person per cat.  I will bags the Mooch, because her coat is so lustrous from all the eggs and it feels soft to the touch.  It might be a great day to try and get a urine sample.

Covered in Katz

Tonight all the cats are here on my bed, as well as all the Alex Katz books I got out from the library.  I'm covered in Kats.  Rufus is sleeping on top of Pachuco's back.  The Mooch is keeping her distance at the end of the bed.  I have topped up Rufus's water on the bedside table.  

Also, I am no longer giving Pachuco his Chinese herbs, but his sneezing is so much better!  Maybe he won't need them any more.

The Urine Sample

We decided to try and get that home urine sample on Saturday for Rufus to test for the diabetes.  I locked her in my bedroom because she had been there sleeping all night and I thought it was only a matter of time.  I made a litter tray for her out of a plastic basket and some ripped up plastic bag.  She was terrified to go near it.  When I was having a shower, Lewis came running through shouting for me because Rufus had spewed and pooped in my room, but no sample.  I cleaned it all up and then shut her in the bathroom with some food and water and she stayed there for hours drinking water but no sample!  Finally as soon as I went out, she did it, but on a small rug.  Lewis tried to extract it, and took it to the vets but they said it was probably too dirty.  So back to square one.  

More on the spewing

I think what happened was that Rufus had spent the evening snacking on crunchies and then, when I came home with specially purchased and promised small cans of fancy feast or dine, she went overboard on them on top of the already undigested crunchies.  The crunchies have expanded and forced their way out of the cat stomach causing spews.  

Rufus is sitting here next to me on the couch in front of the heater now watching lateline.  She is very thin.  But then she is a very small cat.  I think before Sardinia died I would never have worried about a few spews but now I am just desperate for the cats to have the best time possible and never get sick.  I used to wish all the time that I could leave and go to live in another country, but I would never leave them now.  They are very special cats and it's important that I am here to look after them at all times.  Who is looking after all the animals?  Sometimes I get really sad for the birds that get cold in the winter, or all the creatures that get treated cruelly by humans.  I have been traumatised by Chinese Animal Cruelty videos on You Tube for weeks, crying for the little foxes.  Who will look out for them?  They are so small.  It's not their fault.  I makes me want to do anything for the cats.  They are my top priority now, but I used to resent being the single mother of four cats.  I was only a teen when I got the Mooch and Pachuco and I didn't realise what I would be in for.  It was a big responsibility and I think I neglected them for a few years, but they never held it against me.  They just love and love.  And I will travel home from anywhere just to feed them a snack if they are hungry.

All the cats - even little Sardinia who has now died

Last night

It was so cold last night so Pachuco and the Mooch both snuggled in under the covers so happy to be warm.  They slept there all night, and Rufus joined us all in the morning, but wouldn't get under.  Pachuco miaowed and miaowed early in the morning for everyone to please wake up.  But no one wanted to.  Rufus jumped up onto the mantlepiece above the bed to drink a glass of water.  The Mooch was curled up very far down in the bed.

Rufus just spewed up

Rufus was sitting on the couch watching Gordon Ramsey when she started miaowing very loudly.  She jumped onto the floor and did three huge vomits.  Two on the hallway rug and one out in the kitchen.  Earlier on she had eaten two small cans of dine or fancy feast.  She barely ever eats anything - I don't think the conditions are right for her to eat.  She favors her own dish, but Pachuco always comes and nudges in, he's worried about missing out - even though he has the same food on his dish.  

I am worried that Rufus is sick!  She has been drinking water from a glass (she is doing it right now!), but not huge amounts.  I took her to the vet because we had decided to give her more affection each day and this resulted in her killing and eating a mouse every night.  I was worried that the mice and rats were poisoning her and that it was why she wanted to drink the water.  The vet suggested diabetes and tried to get a urine sample by stabbing her with a needle in the bladder realm. It was a terrible experience for all and no sample was achieved, making it all useless.  He sent me home with a syringe to get my own sample from a litter tray, but how am I supposed to tell which cat wee is which?  When there are so many cats! I just want her to be happy, but she won't come under the covers at night, instead prefers to be out in the cold 10 degree night.  She used to be different.

She is a tiny waif of a thing, probably weighs about 500g.  Light as a feather.  But she is an adult cat of 7 years.  It is our goal to make her as fat as the Mooch, by providing her with the ideal conditions and tastiest snacks for eating.  We decided it tonight, but it hasn't gotten off to a very good start with all this spewing.  I'm not even sure how all that food could fit in her stomach.  Maybe she just got excited and ate too much.  It is a real worry.