Sealy goes home, Josie arrives!

We took Sealy Booth back to the shelter today. He passed his exam with flying colors and we found out some good news--he's already been adopted. Apparently him becoming healthy was all that was between him and his forever home.

While there, we found out they had just had another cat diagnosed with a URI and wanted to send her into foster. So we picked Josie up and brought her home. We had to leave her in the crate long enough to vacuum and she had no bowls for a little bit while we cleaned them, but she's now settled into the cat room. More info and pictures tomorrow--Sealy gets the picture today.

Face pets, please..

This is a picture I had given up every getting. We've had that pipe-cleaning-looking-device for over a year and a half now and the entirety of the interaction cats have had with it is: ignore, bite, or (in the case of one kitten somehow) stand on top of.

Sealy knew what it was for immediately. If we aren't petting his face or running the laser pointer he's often rubbing his face on it. Hooray! It's nice to see something finally work.

We've had a lot of guests the last few days and Sealy has gotten attention from a variety of different adults. I am pleased to report he likes all of them. This is a very sweet cat.

No more wet food

Sealy marked another step in being healthy yesterday. We stopped giving him wet food.

When a cat is congested it doesn't smell as well. Being unable to smell food can result in a cat not eating, so for the very congested cats we give them some wet food to make sure they eat.

In Sealy's case, it turned out to be an unfounded fear. Even when he sounded like he was breathing underwater his appetite for dry food was just fine. Not that he didn't appreciate the wet food--especially since I gave it to him right after the nasty tasting medicine--but he probably didn't need it.

We finished off the opened can, but since he was both getting better and having no issues eating, we stopped the wet food. There is no reason to give him all the extra calories or spend the extra money on wet food when the cat does not need it.

Sealy goes back to the shelter on Sunday for a checkup. I expect him to stay since he seems to be healthy again. Look for one more post (and I will have a picture for it) then.

Sometimes, improvement is clear

Most cats we foster with URIs are about the same through the entire time in behavior. Most are also mild URIs.

Others are more dramatic as medicine and time do their magic. Sealy had a nasty cold when he came, and it's quite clear he's feeling better. He's stopped sounding like he's breathing water when he purrs. He's found his energy. He runs about. He wants to play. It's a lot harder to tire him out with the laser pointer. He's ready to go again much sooner.

He's still very friendly and will sit and cuddle, but play time has had to be added into the mix as well. He's also started vocalizing more. His meows are still quiet, but they are more frequent.

It's nice to have clear feedback that he's feeling better.

Laser pointer fun

Sealy has adjusted well to his surroundings. He lurks near the door perking up if we come by--we might come in and pay attention to him!

He's not so happy about being put in his carrying box once a day to sit on the counter while we shower. The steam helps clear his congestion and he does sound better at the end--his mournful meows go from stuffed up to clear by the end of the shower.

We discovered he is a cat who likes laser pointers. He wasn't very interested in string, but the laser pointer dot--that's worth chasing!

Sealy Booth arrives

Yesterday afternoon we picked up a large black cat named Sealy Booth. He has what the vet calls an Upper Respiratory Infection (or URI) and what the rest of us call a cold. A pretty bad one, too; he sneezes and is very flemmy. URIs involve two types of medicine twice a day for at least a week--one of them cats universally agree tastes horrible!

This is an incredibly friendly cat. Most cats when we open the crate on arrival wander about. Some come out quickly, some cautiously. Some explore rapidly, some carefully, some hide under the futon for a while. Sealy looked around perfunctorily....then started head butting our hands until we pet him.