What a difference

When I rescued Alex back on 9/29 I knew I was going to change his life forever. He’d been thru crap I can only imagine. He needed love and LOTS of food. I remembered wondering if I was going to have to torture him with a BATH cause he was so icky compared to what I was used to. It’d been a LONG time since I got to watch an animal transform and bloom in real time in front of my face. Sometimes, having day in, day out contact makes noticing changes harder, but not with him.

This picture was taken just a few days after I rescued him. You can’t tell how filthy he felt to me. He still felt grimey, though I’d gotten some wet wipes and they did help, I just still wasn’t happy. Fussy cat mama, I know. You can see how his rib cage still protruded a little, and how there was NO belly on that guy whatsoever. I swear he was kitten sized too!

I took this picture just a few days ago OUTSIDE, right before he trashed his harness clasp in one bite (MONSTER I swear LOL). I swear he’s gotten long as **** (at least as long as Curzon ever was if not on the verge of Nimbus). You can see he’s got plenty o’belleh now. He just LOOKS better. He looks like the young mancat that he IS. We have told him he’s too young to be handsome yet but dang it he’s cute as a bugs’ ear (and for the record, bugs bunny, not a bug). It’s probably the only reason he’s gotten away with so much of his crap LOL.

I am so forever grateful that he’s here. Maybe someday he’ll have a brofur (or maybe sisfur, not ruling it out, it’s his call) to play with. But, for now, he’s adjusting tremendously to the life of a captured, domesticating cat. He’s starting to get more confidence on the harness, and taking small walks on his own accord, and not just jogging home. He’s a long way away from being trusted off-harness, but maybe in time. Curzon needed time too, and that boy was just as glued to me as this one. Jadzia, hahahaha yeah, NO. Not ever. But luckily she had no real desire to be outside.

I want to thank every last one of you for enjoying the ride with us. I know I don’t blog as much as y’all would like – or Alex would, for that matter. But I’ve been focused on trying to enjoy these moments when I’m not yelling at him to get away from cords LOL. I guess I need a cord BOX to dome over my home office cords LOL.

A Day in the Brain of Alex

Humans are weird.
Like severely weird.
Like toxically, criminally weird.
What is it with them putting their oversized heads in cat faces and into cat bodies?
And the kisses!
And this one seems to love sticking her nose into where I JUST cleaned my furs!
Really, human?
CAN’T YOU SEE IM TRYING TO GET CLEAN!?!
And this one can’t stop at one kiss, it’s gotta be SEVEN.
Or even worse, MULTIPLES of seven!
And this thing they call “hugging” – uh NO.
I don’t like being held, squeezed, grabbed, or any of those other weird things.
And where’s all my food?
I swear! She’s rationing my food like I’m fat!
I’d like to see her try to catch me!

This is NOT the face of a FAT cat.
And back to that kissing thing…
She says to me, “there’s not much of you I WON’T kiss” and then says something about not kissing my “nether regions.”
Seriously human?
I don’t even want you kissing my FACE!
And then she says “what I said was a figure of speech.”
How in the name of Bast is speech supposed to be in a figure?
No wonder the one before me just went limp with her!
There’s no winning, there’s no understanding her…
But I’m not giving up that easy!

Curzon here.
Let me school you young whippersnapper. You hit the lottery dude. Free health care for life. TWO humans that love you beyond the moon and back (especially mama). Daddy gives the BEST scritches, pets, and rubs. You will get as much food as you NEED, because if you eat too much, you get too big, then your body starts to fall apart. You don’t want that, neither does the humans. Mama gives those hugs and kisses because that’s how humans show affection. You came from a wild, crazy previous existence, having to know when to run and when to attack. Those days of hiding under bushes and scraping around for food are over, buddy. Even if mama runs out of green papers, she’ll go without food before she lets you go hungry. And, the best part about it, if a rodent or bug comes inside, you can still hunt and kill it! Mama will give you extra treats for killing spiders, I promise! That’s her weakness. She hates them things, and it’s actually quite hilarious watching her reaction to them! Take it from me and my sister. Enjoy this life you’ve gotten buddy. Watch the birdies and the deer from warmth and safety. Mama will keep taking you outside, and perhaps with time once you learn to stay by her side or at your front door, you won’t even be getting hitched up to that torture device she calls a harness! Honestly I don’t know why you’re protesting the collar more than the harness! You really should take the time to get to know daddy better too. I know you’re a little sensitive, but a little at a time and you’ll be okay, I promise. We’re all so proud of you and the progress you’ve made in the last six months bud. I knew you’d be the perfect next cat to become part of our Clan. You’ve not proven me wrong.

Signed,
Curzon, Jadzia, Nimbus, Snowflake, Ollie, Shadow, Astro, Angel, Obnoxio, and the rest of the clan and our significant others.

Woah, there IS a whole family that came before me!? No wonder the humans always seem to know things…

SIX months!

OMG OMG OMG how can it be six months already?

Alex… my dear kitty with a dozen nicknames already, including FudgeStripe, Squishalicious, ChunkyMonkey, and TurdButt, among others (and some are NSFW words lmao).

He’s well on his way to doubling his weight in a year, and I’m so happy to see it. His appetite has gone from ravenous to (slightly) more chilled. His frame finally has some form to it, not the straight twig that he once was. There’s energy in his eyes, a desire to live, and curiosity in tons. His fur has gotten so soft and thick it’s amazing. He’s already almost Curzon sized, if not there already (and I’m not talking end-stage either!) and well on his way to getting Nimbus sized. He’s the first cat I’ve ever had that’s allowed for a harness, though the bottom chest strap has to go lol.

It ain’t all been roses. He’s given me plenty of starts and scares already. Between his breathing issues in early November to his incessant cord chomping, it has been a bit unnerving. He’s part goat, just like Curzon before him, but at least with plastic bags most of it is JUST licking like Jadzia and not full on eating. LOL He’s not a cuddlebug yet, but we’re working on it and getting there. He just is a bit antsy and he’s still not the deepest of sleepers. But with time and safety he’ll get there.

Crazy eyes

I am so glad he found his way to us. He deserves a life of staring at deer warm and safe and not in hiding outside (and yea we saw multiple deer this am).

Loss of a Legend

We are saddened by the news that our dear friend Kelly has had to say goodbye her beloved Boris, who as you all know is a Twitter LEGEND. It’s so hard to say goodbye to an icon you’ve known for so long, even harder when you’ve actually petted and kissed his big ol’ pink nose. I had hoped that after Covid, we’d be able to see each other again, but alas it was not meant to be. Until we meet again, my pal…

Nimbus Remembrance Day

This is a hard anniversary. It’s been an entire DECADE since I came home to find Nimbus all but gone in the bathroom. His mom had already said her goodbyes obviously, she knew. Curzon was still going there, still by the boy’s side until I got home. If I’d known that he was gonna make that turn for the worse that day I wouldn’t have gone to work that day. Not a chance in hell. But that’s water under the bridge. He was so miserable the shot meant to relax him perked him up. He passed away in my arms a decade ago this afternoon, and my world changed forever. We all mourned for a long time. The twins didn’t play for over a year. It took me a long time to look at his pictures.

In the decade that’s passed, his mom and uncle/dad (tho not BIOLOGICALLY his dad, both me and the CatDaddy can verify that Curzon was totally the dad figure) joined him – Curzon just 6 1/2 months ago. 2020 was not nice, in more ways than one. But just as in 2001 when I rescued the twins after losing Snowflake, it ended with a little rascal that would surely not be alive today if not for me. Alex is already as big as Curzon was length-wise, and we’ll see but it appears he’s going for Nimbus length. His arms are long enough to even surpass the boy.

Even with Alex here, I still miss the ones before, and especially Nimbus. He would have Alex under control by now! He didn’t take any crap from anyone, even us humans. Well… it depends on the “crap” we were giving him. Daddy could make him play air guitar and he just took it. If I tried it, FORGETABOUTIT lol. But when it came to medicine, naw that was me. Nimbus NEVER woke daddy up as incessantly as he did me for his medicine. It took me a LONG LONG time to break the routine of walking out with Nimbus to the kitchen at 4am/4pm for his poke and shot. Though, to be honest, it’s STILL weird not giving a cat (Curzon) a pill when I’m taking MINE. Routines…

There will be no pictures today. Maybe later. I know I haven’t been writing much lately. In time perhaps. But today I’m taking it easy, especially compared to normal Wednesday schedule.

Much thanks to Brian and his dad Terry, Sniffie’s mom Sharon, our twitter pals especially Hollie for introducing us to the insulin angel, hemmingwayscat’s Jennifer for all the work she put in to help Nimbus, shadowwhiskee’s human Val, and of course chloetoby’s Lori for putting up with me that day a decade ago. We’ve met a lot of friends afterwards, and grown much closer to others too. Vicat has been there thru the Jadzia pain and then Curzon’s antics. Thank every last one of you, named and unnamed, for all you did for the ones that came before and for the help with Alex.

Oh Alex

Oh Alex how is it you’ve already been here almost 5 months? You’ve gone from a scared, dirty, underweight little kitten to a long, lanky confident whiz kid. Your leaping skills are off the charts, your energy makes humanity jealous, and your appetite makes even ME envious! I am so thankful I laid eyes on you and knew you had to be mine. I wasn’t ready when I first saw you, but I’m not one for saying no when there’s a kitty in need and I CAN help. I’ve seen you go from scared to even jump up on your scratching post to trying to walk door casings (yes he’s tried that) and jumping up and walking on TOP of doors like it’s nothing. We’re still learning about each other, and still bonding, but I can’t wait to see how big you get and how smart you blossom into. Thank you for coming into my life when you did and, as much as I may have saved you, you have me as well. You truly are the next ManCat to carry the badge of being in the Clan.

One of the things we’ve discovered is he’s part southern cat. Why you ask? He’s not big on milk, refuses his greens, but LOVES fried chicken. He’s not even that big on actual turkey tho he’ll eat it. But fried chicken… he’ll eat half a thigh if I let him! Nutso. Now on the dairy end… like I said, no to milk (though to be fair I haven’t tried “regular” milk as, since I’m lactose intolerant, it’s all Lactaid in this house)… but he likes sour cream, especially if I’m trying to eat a burrito. We’re working on his cow finnickiness next. I wanna be able to know what he likes and doesn’t like so that, if I need to get him to eat, I know where to go to. He’s still got a ravenous teenage appetite, which, being only 2-3 years old, he IS a teenager! On Tuesday, I put down a half can of wet food down and in 5 min it was GONE. Seriously dude? He’s still growing like a weed, so I know he’s gonna have the appetite to go with it but sheesh. And he would like the snow to stop thank you very much because I keep insisting on putting him IN the snow lmao. That delicate boy crap no longer works on me lol.

As Brian and his daddy Terry always say, ADOPT don’t SHOP. There’s plenty more cats like Alex out there. Some more headstrong, some calmer, boys and girls, small and big, young and old. They ALL deserve a home to call their castle. Give that kitty a chance to thrive and you’ll find you’re thriving too. And if, like me, you’re mourning the loss of the ones that came before, I know it’s hard. But you’ll know when it’s right, and you may not be ready in your own head, but they’ll know.

Before and after

When I first met him… sick, malnourished, dirty, scared, and depressed.

Now… healthy, sassy, content, and safe FOREVER.

The best breed is rescue, especially rescue Coonies! And for those of you wondering about his chomping, he’s slowly chomping less and not as hard… cords on the other hand…. sigh. We’re working on it.

Mr. Arms

If he grows into his arms I’m gonna have a monster huge cat lol.

Four Months

So yesterday marked FOUR months since I laid eyes on this scraggly, icky, hungry kitty. In four months he’s put on 3lb, given me a scare, gotten into a lot of trouble, melted my heart, found his leapin’ legs and gotten to experience LOVE and all that comes with that. He’s slowly calming down a bit (tho don’t think that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a wild side, trust me he’s STILL wild deep down) and learning to trust us. He’s letting us pet him more before he gets nibbly, and we’re working on his tolerance for being held. Curzon believe it or not wasn’t the most happy being held when I first rescued him. We all know how THAT worked out (rag doll lmao). He is definitely his own cat, but with some of each of the previous brood: chompin’ on everything (Curzon), hatred for being even SLIGHTLY wet (Jadzia), and the run and stop at the scratching post (Nimbus). He seems to have a thing for my feet too like Curzon and Snowflake both did. He loves his whip as much as Ollie and Nimbus did. He’s QUICK on the turn, like Nimbus too. And he seems to know just WHEN I’m about to take a picture of him – just like Curzon. (I was literally writing this, saw Alex’s tail hanging off the scratching post, was like holy crap that’s a long tail, went to grab my camera, and JUST as I was extending the lens, up the tail goes… STINKER!) He’s a REAL good boy in the litterbox and would make Nimbus proud.

Alex is definitely young. There’s NO WAY he’s 5-6. Maine Coons don’t have full-on growth spurts at that age, that’s when they’re finishing up. I swear this cat has gotten HUGE since he got here. Don’t take it as me complaining. I’m SUPER EXCITED. I love big cats. He hasn’t had a chance to defend his new home from invading bugs yet but I’m sure that’ll come. We’re supposed to get another snowstorm tomorrow afternoon thru Tuesday mid morning. With him being healthier and a bit fatter now, he’s definitely getting the full plunge in this snow, and not when it’s just an inch or two. The tradition continues, whether he likes it or not. LOL (and I promise, no salt gets on kitty paws without getting cleaned off promptly and I try to make sure it doesn’t even get ON.)

I just want to end on one note. Can we please, please, PLEASE stop the hate? I don’t want to lose contact with some of you on social media because others can’t help but hate anyone that doesn’t agree or do/think/believe/whatever like they do. Please, just STOP.

Ok I lied, one last note. For once in my life, I nailed something on first try! After Alex’s allergic asthma episode at the beginning of November, my desire to find a good litter that was dust free took new importance. We both were already feeling better having the air purifiers in here (I noticed my allergies aren’t even as bad a couple weeks after Alex started improving). I’m very fond of the arm and hammer clump and seal multi cat (the red label black box). It was the ONLY thing the twins would use the last half of their lives. I kept getting it for Alex, out of habit and the fact it clumps so nicely. Well, in December I decided to try their dust-free brand (I haven’t tried the Slide because the stuff doesn’t last long enough because I have to keep the litter down to a minimum in the box or it all ends up all over the floor being flung out LMAO) and was VERY pleasantly surprised. Alex doesn’t care one bit if I change things up (which is amazing), but to not have the dust is awesome (and yes I’ve tried the lightweight when it first came out and HATED it). Alex really isn’t a picky cat, except people food. He DOES love him some sour cream though. And chicken – not turkey so much.

Alex: I don’t care what my wet food is, just give me more!
TSB: No dude, you’re over 11lb now. You gotta slow down a bit.
Alex: But MOOOMMMMM
TSB: Your heart will thank me later. CHUNKY MONKEY.

My (NOT little) Turd

Now I know y’all think by the title of this post I’m talking poop. I’m not. I have been told there’s been lots of talk about that before I got here. Mama also keeps saying that I am perfect but as stinky as Curzon. Well OF COURSE I’m perfect… (TSB: No I never said YOU were perfect. I SAID your stools were. The verdict is still out on whether you’re in NKC or the GOOD kitty club. So don’t press your luck child, because you’ve been leaning towards NKC since you got here.)

TSB: So I swore many, many years ago, when the OC (original clan) were young that I would never buy them beds because we know cats, you buy them something they’d rather have the box. Plus this place is like fleece heaven. And I never did with them. Curzon preferred daddy’s worn clothes, Jadzia much preferred either on the couch or on the bed, and Nimbus just wanted to be WITH the CatDaddy. But Alex… he’s been through so much. I want him to be spoiled. I want him to feel pampered. I want him to feel that love that the OC knew from the beginning. He never got that. So a month or so ago I got him his first bed and put his own fleece blanket in there. He loved it. I made sure it was right where he could always see if one of us moved. I want him to always feel like he’s part of the family. I didn’t get him one of those fleece box like thingies, because he’s NOT fond of being confined (though his carrier is okay). Well, Wednesday, I saw this really plushy one that I was like eh, he might. I’ll try it and save the receipt in case. Well, I pushed it up, put it down, and he was in it within a minute. STINKER.

So then it came to what to do with his first bed. Well I put it on the scratching post box (the first landing so to speak), blanket on it. We both agreed it didn’t appear that he liked that idea and we would move it next to the new bed so that he could have a front porch so to speak so that if he wanted to come out and watch tv with us (this cat LOVES tv) he could. Well, within 20 minutes of us having that discussion but not having had moved said bed yet……….

STINKER.

So now what to do? Well, I guess we’ll wait and see together. LOL