Ella & Bubba

We have our other kitty, but I can't post any pictures because s/he's hiding somewhere. I think it's a boy and not a girl, but I am not sure because the cat was not altogether comfortable being handled. S/he did purr for me while I was holding him though. He's not feral, just in a new place and afraid. I'm just going to wait it out unless Ella has other ideas when she comes back in. Ella pretended she didn't see the new cat and refused to even look at him/her. She knows s/he's here though because Ella has hissed at me several times, and refused to take a treat, just so I wouldn't miss the fact that she was unhappy. I still think they'll be friends once they get used to one another.

 

The new cat's eye was running some so I was cleaning that up. S/he was a barn cat, but not wild. When I reached for some ointment, s/he escaped and went behind a bookcase. I figured it was better to allow some privacy than to try to dig him/her out. Right now, Ella is outside pouting but if I don't find the new cat by then, I'm sure that Ella will, at some point, go looking for the stranger. I am pleased that she chose to ignore the new cat and take her anger out on me, so I am fairly confident that no one will be hurt, except maybe me.

 

For some reason, Michelle does not want me to name him Bubba if, as I suspect, it's a boy. I have him in a cage until we can get him (or her) checked out by the vet, and either spayed or neutered, just in case s/he has something that could be transferable to Ella, and to give them a chance to get to know one another without all the hissing. Interestingly, when faced with the kitten, Ella looks at me and hisses and has not yet acted aggressively toward the kitten, or me, for that matter, if I set the epithets aside.

 

This is Bubba. He's a bit scraggly right now, but give him a few weeks on premium food and clear up the tear stains, and he'll be respectable.

 

If you do not see an “upside down exclamation point” under the tail, it is a boy. My mom always soaked matted eyes with warm milk, and then wiped them clean.

 

I know all about that but, at his/her age, it's not so easy to tell. I think it's a boy but I'm not certain.

 

It appears that getting to a vet is not an easy task. Our dumb-ass Democrat governor had the veterinary offices closed, and then all but closed, so I haven't been able to find a vet who could take this kitty in any sooner than three weeks. Most of the veterinary offices have answering machines saying that they are either busy or that we have called after hours. Then the message gives their hours and it's not after hours at all, but no one answers and no one returns messages. The veterinary clinic that we have taken our cats to for the past fifteen years wouldn't even schedule an appointment, saying they were booked up for the foreseeable future. My guess is that they are probably charging twice as much and providing half the service, too.

I can't keep him in a cage for three weeks or more so I guess I am going to have to become a veterinarian. My concern is that his eyes are watering and he sneezes sometimes, and I don't want Ella to catch whatever he has. So I am going to have to do whatever I can to build up his immune system so that maybe he can fight it himself. I have some antimicrobial stuff that should clear up the eyes if it's the normal eye problems that cats get.

He was born to a barn cat, which should give him a good immune system, but they have had him in a cage for a few weeks, after he had been weaned, and were feeding him Meow Mix and stuff that's not nearly as nutritious as the stuff he'll be eating now, so maybe he'll be able to fight it off on his own.

He has a good appetite. I was worried about that because he wouldn't eat yesterday, but he was probably too scared to eat. Today, he's eaten a can of premium food by himself, which is more than Ella eats. Of course, Ella also eats kibble and this little guy hasn't eaten any kibble yet. He has gotten over his fear of me. I took him out of the cage today and fixed up a place in the downstairs bathroom but instead of closing a door, I put up a barricade that I didn't think he'd be able to get over. In the bathroom, he was throwing cat toys up in the air and having a great time, so I left him there. About ten minutes later, he is in my office wanting me to pick him up. After making his grand escape, he came to me to be held. After that, I couldn't bring myself to lock him up in the bathroom again. Right now, I don't know where he is but he's in my office somewhere. I hear him knocking stuff over every now and then.

Ella is outside. She's still angry with me. I got the blame apparently, not my wife. She's not mad at my wife, but she hisses at me. If I change my shirt and wash my hands, she's okay but when she smells the other cat on me, she's angry. However, she doesn't seem to be at all aggressive toward the other cat. She won't even look at him.

 

Yeah, he's using the litter box, which is good since he's eaten nearly two cans of premium cat food already today. I was able to get a vet appointment for Monday. Despite telling us on the phone that there wouldn't be anything open for at least three weeks, after I left a note on the vet's Facebook page, something opened up for Monday. They'll do a wellness check, and take care of whatever it is that's wrong with him.

Bubba is slowly expanding his horizons. Right now, he has my office, the downstairs bathroom, and the laundry room, which is where the litter boxes are. He moves between these rooms and every now and then, he'll go out to the rec room, then come running back like the devil is chasing him.

Meanwhile, Ella, who was the sole reason we decided to get another cat, is still mad at me. She has been outside most of the day. I make her come in every hour or so but she wants to go right back out again. I go out and sit with her outside periodically. Sometimes, she seems to forget that she's mad at me for a while, then she remembers and I get a hiss. No violence, though. Even while she's hissing at me, I can hug her. I don't think she's ever hissed at me before yesterday and that's about all I get from her now.