Happy Easter! And a new family member.
Wishing you all a Happy Easter! It does feel more like Christmas, though... I've spotted the Easter Bunny in a snow mobile, hiding mince pies...
I even managed, for the first time in my life, to take a picture of a snowflake, which was kind enough to pose on my glove:
I try not to think of the party at Hobbitcon which is now probably in full swing, with everybody dancing and having fun.
BUT - but. There was at least something positive about this otherwise rather bla weekend: as I can't attend Hobbitcon, I'm here, so when the people from the animal rescue called with the surprise news that they'd bring over some of the cats from the killing station in Spain this weekend, I could tell them that they could bring Alfie along as well.
So Alfie arrived yesterday (I can't thank the two lovely drivers who transported him through half of Germany to Switzerland enough for their kindness. And on a holiday, too!) Looking at the state he is/was in, I'd say it was the highest of high times for him to leave!
Please meet Alfie. He's a lovely, lovely cat; friendly, affectionate and playful. He only weighs 2.4kg, he's got fleas, his ears were so badly infected with mites that he'd scratched them open and they were bleeding, and suffering from the snuffles big time. Snot everywhere! Luckily, we have the additional flat on the top floor, which we use as office/studio, so this was a great place for him to recover and get fit again. He arrived here after a 36 hour journey (...!) - and yet he was still in good spirits. Unbelievable. Who knows, maybe he had an inkling that this move would be for his best?
However, immediate action was required. So I rolled out of bed at 7am this morning and called my vet and told him that I got an early easter egg which needed immediate treatment. Being the neat bloke he is, he said "sure, come along with the rascal! What is he missing? A leg? His head?" He checked Alfie through, and he got three injections, salve for his eyes and treatment for his ears, and 12 hours later, he was a different cat.
He's curious, wants to explore everything, and he loves to cuddle. So whenever one of us visits him, we have to change clothes and spray them with flea-be-gone, so we don't drag the beasts into our flats. I've given all my cats frontline just to be sure, but with fleas, you never know. Tonight, however, it was a big flea graveyard upstairs, with one very happy Alfie greeting me.
I was a bit worried about feeding him - as I've written before, he's got a megaesophragus, and has to eat "top down". I had no further information whatsoever, so I assumed he had the worst case possible and fed him watered down Recovery (high calorie food) and placed his meal on my good old 1950ies step ladder - and it worked perfectly! He immediately wolfed down his food, and he seems to be used to eat this way. Even more important, he kept everything in. Phew! As my vet said: "Now this is one really cool cat!"
Alfie will have to stay in quarantine until next weekend; just to be absolutely sure he got rid of all his bugs, can gain a bit of weight and "arrive". His chronic sniffles are clearly connected to stress; now that he's calmed down, it's much, much better.
Having Alfie here now, we assume that, though it's not something you notice at first sight, he's actually a Siam-mix. There are many such mixes in Spain (bloody idiots and their fancy for "fashionable cats"), and Siam cats are the ones who are most likely to get a ME. Still, despite his decades of experience, this is the first cat with a ME our vet had on his table (it's very rare in cats, it's more of a dog's thing), and he promised he'll do a very thorough check once Alfie has fully recovered. On one part, it's professional curiosity, on the other, it's important for me to know how bad his condition is. From what I can tell now, Alfie was born with this condition, and it's not a really bad case, as I've feared. So fingers crossed he can enjoy a couple of good years here. I want him to be happy and have fun for as long as possible.
Molly originally posted this entry at http://joyful-molly.dreamwidth.org/401333.html. You can comment on LJ or DW, using OpenID.
I even managed, for the first time in my life, to take a picture of a snowflake, which was kind enough to pose on my glove:
I try not to think of the party at Hobbitcon which is now probably in full swing, with everybody dancing and having fun.
BUT - but. There was at least something positive about this otherwise rather bla weekend: as I can't attend Hobbitcon, I'm here, so when the people from the animal rescue called with the surprise news that they'd bring over some of the cats from the killing station in Spain this weekend, I could tell them that they could bring Alfie along as well.
So Alfie arrived yesterday (I can't thank the two lovely drivers who transported him through half of Germany to Switzerland enough for their kindness. And on a holiday, too!) Looking at the state he is/was in, I'd say it was the highest of high times for him to leave!
Please meet Alfie. He's a lovely, lovely cat; friendly, affectionate and playful. He only weighs 2.4kg, he's got fleas, his ears were so badly infected with mites that he'd scratched them open and they were bleeding, and suffering from the snuffles big time. Snot everywhere! Luckily, we have the additional flat on the top floor, which we use as office/studio, so this was a great place for him to recover and get fit again. He arrived here after a 36 hour journey (...!) - and yet he was still in good spirits. Unbelievable. Who knows, maybe he had an inkling that this move would be for his best?
However, immediate action was required. So I rolled out of bed at 7am this morning and called my vet and told him that I got an early easter egg which needed immediate treatment. Being the neat bloke he is, he said "sure, come along with the rascal! What is he missing? A leg? His head?" He checked Alfie through, and he got three injections, salve for his eyes and treatment for his ears, and 12 hours later, he was a different cat.
He's curious, wants to explore everything, and he loves to cuddle. So whenever one of us visits him, we have to change clothes and spray them with flea-be-gone, so we don't drag the beasts into our flats. I've given all my cats frontline just to be sure, but with fleas, you never know. Tonight, however, it was a big flea graveyard upstairs, with one very happy Alfie greeting me.
I was a bit worried about feeding him - as I've written before, he's got a megaesophragus, and has to eat "top down". I had no further information whatsoever, so I assumed he had the worst case possible and fed him watered down Recovery (high calorie food) and placed his meal on my good old 1950ies step ladder - and it worked perfectly! He immediately wolfed down his food, and he seems to be used to eat this way. Even more important, he kept everything in. Phew! As my vet said: "Now this is one really cool cat!"
Alfie will have to stay in quarantine until next weekend; just to be absolutely sure he got rid of all his bugs, can gain a bit of weight and "arrive". His chronic sniffles are clearly connected to stress; now that he's calmed down, it's much, much better.
Having Alfie here now, we assume that, though it's not something you notice at first sight, he's actually a Siam-mix. There are many such mixes in Spain (bloody idiots and their fancy for "fashionable cats"), and Siam cats are the ones who are most likely to get a ME. Still, despite his decades of experience, this is the first cat with a ME our vet had on his table (it's very rare in cats, it's more of a dog's thing), and he promised he'll do a very thorough check once Alfie has fully recovered. On one part, it's professional curiosity, on the other, it's important for me to know how bad his condition is. From what I can tell now, Alfie was born with this condition, and it's not a really bad case, as I've feared. So fingers crossed he can enjoy a couple of good years here. I want him to be happy and have fun for as long as possible.
Molly originally posted this entry at http://joyful-molly.dreamwidth.org/401333.html. You can comment on LJ or DW, using OpenID.