A SpotsBug’s World

a cat and her rat

Most children, when they are young, have a specific item to which they cling.  One they carry with them everywhere, sleep with, dine with, play outside with, take on road trips.  Sometimes its a stuffed animal, sometimes its a doll or a toy, and sometimes it’s simply a blanket.  The latter was my item of choice as a kid.  Typically the two become inseparable and if ever the two should part, screams and tears are sure to follow.

Bella and her rat

I have, however, never seen this same reaction duplicated in any other species… until now.  Bella, the gray and white feline that resides in my home, has an unhealthy attachment to a toy rat that I gave her when she was about three months old.  This little catnip-filled, tan-colored, plush toy has definitely seen better days.  It now just reminds me of the tattered velveteen rabbit with its missing eyes and whiskers, the cloth covering that’s been rubbed shiny, the long-lost tail, with punctures abound with streams of stuffing pouring out.  But no matter how ugly or smelly that thing becomes, Bella loves it.

She totes it around in her mouth all around the house, curls up to sleep with it, and even enjoys trying to provide it with food and water as evidenced by the many times I’ve had to bail the thing out of the food and water dishes.  She growls if her sister Callie tries to chase it or take it away from her.  She will even, get this, fetch this toy like a dog chasing a frisbee.  She and I have spent countless hours with me throwing and she diving after it over and over again until she becomes exhausted and, instead of bringing it back and dumping it in my lap for the millionth time, decides to carry it to a corner in preparation for a nap.

Tragedy ocurred two weeks ago when I arrived home and Bella came timidly peering around the corner of the hallway and proceeded to stare a hole through me while filling the air with the irritating shreaks of her whiny meows.  I knew something was up.  She wasn’t acting herself.  She was loud and annoying… much like one time a few months ago when she managed to drop her beloved rat into my upright piano.  Yes, that’s right, inside the piano.  She whined and cried and ran hopelessly round and round the base of the piano trying to figure out how to retrieve her precious friend.  I ended up having to dismantle a portion of my beloved instrument to save Bella’s one true love.  So I had seen this behavior before.  The difference this time was that I had no idea where she had put her rat. 

So began the search.  I searched corners and baskets, shelves and counters, bags and boxes.  I checked behind doors, and under couch cushions and furniture.  Nothing…  I thought to myself how I hoped she had not dropped it in the piano once again.  But I let the search and rescue effort take a brief hiatus to be continued another day.  Really I was hoping she would remember where she’d left it and eventually find it herself. 

But I continued to worry a little for her.  I thought maybe I accidently tossed it out with the trash or kicked it out the door and wind blew it away.  I came up with so many scenarios all the while Bella just looked lost.  Days passed and the poor thing just wasn’t the same.  The joy in her life had been vacuumed out and what was left was only a depressed, quiet shell of what she used to be.  She wasn’t eating, she wouldn’t cuddle with me.  She seemed scared of everything (totally unlike her).  I mean it was truly amazing the effect this loss was having on her. 

I tried everything.  I tried giving her special food and more treats, showing her new toys she could adopt, and spent more time with her trying to comfort her in my lap.  She wasn’t having it.  I seriously considered cracking open my 30 year old piano again to see if by some chance she had made that mistake a second time.

I was at a point where I was ready to take her to the vet and see if there was something else we could do when as luck would have it I decided to do one final sweep of the house just to make sure I didn’t miss anything the first go around.  I pulled the yardstick from the closet and took a swipe under the furniture, then the stove, then the washer and dryer… BINGO!!  The dryer had kept that smelly, unrecognizably horrific looking rat captive for nearly two weeks.  What a miracle!  The relief I felt is indescribable.  I know this sounds crazy but you animal people will understand my worry.

I came around the corner, looked at Bella, threw the rat across the den and she immediately tore across the room in such a haste of which I had never seen before.  A joyful reunion followed and she played with her rat the rest of the evening, the old Bella had returned.  It was an incredible transition and beyond my understanding of how a feline could form such a strong bond with something that she would actually grieve for it when it was gone.  All I can say is that I’m ecstatic that the cat and her rat have been reunited and balance has been restored to the household.  Surely she won’t lose this thing a third time but I’m being more proactive now with a rat check everyday when I get home.  Next project –  to figure out what to do when the rat eventually disintegrates to a small pile of old, nasty cloth and stuffing… anyone know how to sew?

2 1/2 worth having around

It’s been a long time since I provided an update on the cats.  The last time I spoke of them I had mama cat (Casey) in the back yard with her second litter and was missing the two from her first litter, Bogey and Audrey.  Well, unfortunately, sweet, timid Bogey and Audrey never returned.  It has been nearly a year since they disappeared.  I do miss them.  I spent months looking for them, taking several trips to the animal shelter, putting flyers out in the neighbors’ mailboxes, and wandering through the woods with food calling out for them.  Never a response.  I am hopeful that they are together and have happily relocated to a quieter home where someone is taking very good care of them.  Maybe I was just their stepping stone, acclimating them to domestic life and then sending them on their way to their final home.  Whatever the case, doesn’t change the fact that I would take them back in a heartbeat if they ever returned.

On a happier note, the second litter (containing four kittens) lived on my back porch for about seven weeks.  I was successful at finding the two boys a home together.  It was hard letting them ago as it is so easy to get attached to the cute little furballs.  But I knew it was best.  It just wasn’t feasible for me to keep all the kittens.  They do eventually grow up and become cats.  I was still looking for homes for the two girls when I decided that Bogey and Audrey simply weren’t coming back, so I took the opportunity and kept the two girls.  I have named them Bella and Callie.  So I am currently a house with 2 1/2 cats.  Yes I count Casey (mama cat) as a half because I think I share custody of her with another neighbor down the street.  She’ll come, stay a few days, and then go on her merry way until she’s ready to visit again.  Important note however was that this time I was able to catch her and have her spayed… no more litters for her, or me!

As for Bella and Callie, I really couldn’t ask for better cats.  Since I was able to round them up at such a young age, they are totally cool with me and anything I do or noises in the house.  Big change from Bogey and Audrey who after a year still had major issues with noises, fast movements and anything out of the ordinary.

Bella and Callie are like night and day – literally.  Bella is a fluffy, gray and white and Callie is a dark, slick tortoiseshell.  Even their temperaments are different.  Bella is calm, cuddly, sweet and Callie is high-energy, feisty, and curious.  They are both smart.  Bella has learned she can fetch her toy rat like a dog and I’ll throw it the 75 times she requires until she gets tired.  (She has misplaced this rat the last few days and so I’ve had a small break – don’t know if we’ll find it again or not).  Callie is investigative.  She wants to check out everybody and everything.  This gets her into quite a bit of trouble because it leads her to places and into things where she, as a cat, shouldn’t be… she has become very familiar with the squirt of the water bottle as disciplinary action.  Callie also has a trick of her own.  She enjoys sitting on my shoulder like a parrot often times to my detriment.  You see, claws are sharp and don’t feel so great when she loses her balance or misses my shoulder altogether.

But they are precious, furry friends and provide lots of company and entertainment.  Yes they’ve scratched up the furniture a little, I have to vacuum more frequently, food and litter can become quite costly, the litterbox sometimes creates an unpleasant odor throughout the house, but it is so worth it to have these 2 1/2 around.

UFO sightings

It’s coming up on 3 weeks since I’ve laid eyes on my precious Bogey and Audrey.  However there have been a few UFO (unidentified feline object) sightings around the neighborhood.  A couple of my neighbors have called in response to the flyers I put in their newspaper boxes saying they’ve seen a pair of black and white cats wandering around their yards.  Of course, I will not be 100% sure about this until I see them myself, but it does provide me a glimmer of hope as the days pass by.

Meanwhile, as I’m hoping they are safe, still out there and will return, I have been caring for a family of five.  Yes, that’s right – FIVE!!!!  Mama cat that brought me Bogey and Audrey has returned with a double encore.  I have four adorable kittens in a dog crate on my back porch trying to tame them so that I can find them loving homes.  This is a little bit of a double edged sword in that the more time I spend with them the sweeter they become while at the same time stealing little pieces of my heart.

With every little purr, every playful pounce, each little nap tucked into the bend of my arm I find myself struggling with the problem of becoming too attached.  I know it has become an issue when I’ve decided what names I’d call them, so here it goes: Gus, Callie, Bella, and Lincoln.

Gus

Bella

Lincoln

Callie

Common sense tells me I cannot keep them all, but the soft place in my heart that has always connected easily with our furry, four-legged friends of all shapes, sizes, and species just wants to give them the best home I possibly could.

I do think I have managed to find two of them a home with a family of three children and a dog.  I am hopeful they will be happy there and that they quickly adjust to the chaos that will be so different from my peaceful backyard.  However this still leaves two little ones and mama cat to take care of.

So goal number one is to figure out a way to get mama cat spayed this time so she can live out her days as a happy and STERILE feline.  Goal number two is to find at least one more kitten a home.  Goal number three is to convince Bogey and Audrey to come back home if they are indeed still out there.

I seriously believe that with all the activity in my yard with mama and family and the male cats that are stalking mama again, Bogey and Audrey have just decided to lay low for awhile.  Until they return I suppose I will depend on my caring neighbors’ UFO sightings to continue to provide me a little hope.