Hissy Fit

How much trouble do you think one kitty can get into in one day? It can't be that much, can it? Well, why don't we just tally it up and see, shall we?

Scruffers wanted to roam the house this morning so Heather locked me into her bedroom. But then Scruffy got scared and just stood at the door of his sanctuary. Heather sat down close by to let him know it was OK to leave, but he thought she was blocking his way. So he hissed at her and then jumped over her while continuously hissing in her direction. That move surprised her and she spilled her morning coffee all over herself (and the white carpet).

Later he decided he wanted out again but Heather hadn't locked me up. He decided he was going to barge past her and so he charged downstairs. I don't mind if Scruffy wants to check out the house, but he's going to have me meet me if we're going to share living quarters. So I ran over to greet him and he hissed and growled until I decided to take off. Heather was forced to chase me down (I didn't make it easy on her, I'll tell you that!) and lock me in her room again until Scruffers went back upstairs.

But tonight was the kicker. He was sitting lovingly on her lap when Heather pulled out the eye drops (for his kitty herpes infection!!!) and he snapped at her while in her arms. And then, after running away, he walked back over to her to smack her hand and then hid again. She waited a while and the third time she opened the eye drops and put it close to his eye he freaked. He hissed and waved his paw at her lashing out.

You know, even when Scruffers smacked her hand he only gave her a gentle high five. I know he's just trying to tell her he's scared and to back off. Heather's a little afraid of him still so she takes the warnings seriously. I think she's nervous he's going to turn on her. But even when he was angry at her tonight he only high-fived her. He's never used his nails and he's never tried to bite. I think it's a sign that he wants to be good and that he really respects people; he's just wigged. Sometimes Heather and Craig call him tweak when he gets like this. He was definitely tweak today!

Oh yeah, who's the good kitty around here? That would be moi. I'll make sure to be snuggly tonight so Heather gets the hint.

Scruffy Sees a Kitty Specialist

Not that Dr. Dight of the Skagit Animal Clinic isn't a specialist. He's just not a kitty eyeball specialist. Who would have thunk? Who would guess that it's possible to even get a degree in veterinary eyeballs, much less a steady job staring at animal eyes?

But that's who Heather and Scruffers visited on Thursday - a veterinary opthalmologist. I'm sure Scruffy liked the drive to Bellingham.... But that's not what this is about. Why I am writing is to share the good news. No, it's not that the kitty opthalmologist was free, it definitely wasn't that! So the good news is not about Heather's wallet (unless she wants to brag about how much weight it lost on Thursday).

The good news is that Scruffy shows no signs of FIP. None. His eyes are still inflamed because of a stress response. Here's the funny part: Scruffy has kitty herpes! Ha ha ha! The herpes virus is reactivated during stress, just like shingles and cold sores in humans. And boy, has he been stressed! He had the eye inflammation when Craig found him residing under our deck. It's why he never opened his eyes at all. Then he was sent to the Humane Society and he stressed even more and that led to his immune system's poor response. Hence the Upper Respiratory Infection. And then he came to live with us and he still hasn't calmed down all the way and that has caused the herpes virus to flare again and affect his eyes. So, the other good news is that once he relaxes, he should get over this stupid eye problem. And here's the kicker: to help him relax we're supposed to get catnip every day! OK, he's supposed to get it, but there's no one he can have catnip every day without me getting some too. Yay!

The bad news is that Scruffy was so malnourished that he suffered from a taurine deficiency that was causing his retinas to deteriorate. I guess the doc said the deficiency has to be pretty advanced for that to happen. Poor guy. He must have been living on his own for a really long time. In fact, the doc seemed nervous to handle him because she was sure he was completely feral. She said in all her years of practice it was really rare to see the retina deterioration from malnourishment. She didn't really want to touch him. Poor guy. I'd touch you if you'd let me. Just in a friendly kitty way.