Posts in category The Animals

Yawning

Dec17
2007 Kristi Written by Kristi

The last several days have been busy.  Rob hurt his back again while bringing in firewood.  He spent most of the weekend curled up on the couch with the heating pad.  I felt bad that he was so miserable and moving around like an 80 year old man.  I didn’t sleep well all weekend and kept waking up on Saturday.  The one day I have to sleep in and I was awake at 7am!

One positive thing in all of this?  I learned how to do Tuck’s meds.  Tuck has always had this “I barely tolerate you” thing with me, especially when I would visit Orlando.  But now, Tuck thinks I’m pretty fun.  Who knew?  Maybe he’s got bigger fish to fry with the dog around but right now, he hasn’t hissed, scratched or given me his attitudinal tail swish.  With Rob not able to get down on the floor, I had to do the meds.  I spent the better part of October and November slightly freaked out at the prospect of giving that cat medication.  Rob kept assuring me it was easy, Tuck cooperated, etc.  Yeah, I always thought, that cat worships the ground you walk on.  I am the interloper.  But Tuck did cooperate, didn’t scratch me and yeah, it was easy.  I guess it helps that he’s done medication 2 times a day for 3 years.  He’s a pro. 

The love-hate relationship between the cats and Samson continues.  I think Sam has been a bit neglected the last week or so.  He’s definitely feeling a loss of his place as the number one guy in the house.  Tuck hisses at him daily, Ruca disappears when he comes within 10 feet of her and the whole office being a cat sanctuary?  Yeah, he’s not having that.  At least he’s not being destructo dog. 

Posted in Everyday Life

The Last Day

Dec06
2007 Kristi Written by Kristi

Today is the last day we’ll be apart.  Rob gets on a plane tomorrow with the cats.  This last week has been the worst of it so far.  We’re both exhausted, emotionally, mentally, physically.  Rob has been sleeping on his parents’ sofa for the last few nights after his furniture was picked up by Salvation Army.  The cleaning of the apartment has taken forever.  As weary as I feel today, it’s worse for him. 

There have been times when I’ve felt guilty about Rob being the one to move.  I’ve had my fair share of long distance romances and always, they involved me being the one who would have to move.  Not this time though.  But the guilt lingers.  Is it fair to take him away from his family and friends? 

I know the cats will be a bit upset by this whole process and Samson will have to adjust to having them around.  We installed a radio controlled dog door on Tuesday so the cats can’t get out but Samson can.  He’s not so sure about this new door.  It beeps at him and it’s a bit heavier than our previous one.  So far, he’ll go out the door but doesn’t want to come back in.  Not fun at 2am!

 

Posted in Travel

Tuck At The Vet

Nov29
2007 Rob Written by Rob

Okay, look. I know the cat’s got an attitude. He’s always had an attitude, but see, he completely digs on me and he always has, ever since he insisted that I take him home from the Hillsborough Humane Society in 2001.

Kristi thinks Tuck hates her, just because he doesn’t love up on her the way Ruca does. He’s drawn blood a couple times. I assure her that he just doesn’t know her yet, that he’s quite social once he gets to know someone.

Then mornings like this blow all that carefully-woven PR straight to hell.

I had to take the kids into the shop this morning for shots and travel documentation. They’re going to be in the checked baggage hold of a United 757 next Friday, making an eight-hour trek with me across the United States so that I can finally be reunited for good with my lady love. To make it more interesting, Tuck’s been fighting leukemia since 2005, has a spleen roughly the size of Kansas, and has been on low-dose chemo since he was diagnosed.

The guy’s always grumpy about the vet. Having your butt shaved for a bone marrow sample does that to a cat.

Anyway, so I put them together in a single big carrier (first time I’ve ever done that, and the last) and hauled them to the Cat Hospital in Altamonte. By the time we got in for our appointment, Tuck was already hissing and growling at Ruca and being pretty insistent on being out of the carrier.

When he finally did get out, he was a holy terror. At least two techs and one vet came away with bandaged flesh wounds; he was nothing but a big ball of hiss, claw and teeth the whole while, until a tech finally had enough and shoved him back in the carrier. Then when Ruca was being put back in, she instead made a mad dash down the hallway, sending me and two techs chasing her down to the tackle. The last thing she wanted was to be put back in the carrier with her highly irritated brother.

Like I keep telling people, he’s super-sweet around me. But Snowshoes tend to bond with a single person, and I’m obviously that person. Tuck rarely hisses or scratches at me, unless I’m intentionally trying to tease him.

But boy, he was a mean, cantankerous old man today with everyone else.

Can’t wait to see how well he flies!

Posted in Everyday Life

Tuck and Ruca

Nov07
2007 Rob Written by Rob

A big part of the December move hilarity is going to revolve around bringing two cats into the house with Samson. Kind of a Brady Bunch situation; I’ve had Tucker and Veruca for going on eight years now, and they can be a handful just on their own. But flying them to California and chucking them into close quarters with a big honkin’ dog oughta make for a good story.

I’ll admit, seeing Samson in person gave me pause at first. He’s a big boy; if he wants to go somewhere, that’s where he goes. The cats have speed, manueverability, small size and jumping ability in their favor, but it may take them a while to figure that out. We also still have to figure out how best to manage the dog door, because Tuck and Ruca are both indoor cats and are going to stay that way. So we’re either going to have to install an electronic door for Samson or ensure that the dog door is blocked whenever the cats are free to roam.

When I was in Modesto, there was a moment when Samson was out in the front yard and a kitten went strolling by. He’d never seen her before, and so Kristi and I both were like, how’s he going to react? Chase? Bark? What?

We watched as Samson very gently played with the kitten, nudging her slightly with his nose while she rolled on her back to play with his nose with her paws. She eventually moved on, and Samson let her be.

That’s when I knew he’d be fine with the cats. They’ll be a bit stressed out (“What the heck are YOU?!”) but Samson won’t hurt them. He might get a nose full of Tuck claws on occasion, though.

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