The pet

We were taking care of a 10 year old exotic shorthair “tuxedo” kitty named Bam Bam.  Like Himalayans, he has a very pushed in nose, so his respiratory system doesn’t work as easily as some of the other breeds. He sneezed when I gave him his new catnip toy! He has giant cartoon character eyes and is cute as a button!  His fur is so full, we expected him to be heavy, but he is light as a feather.  A grand 7.4 pounds, which feels like nothing compared to Alfie, the male Ragdoll in England, who weighed in at about 20 pounds.

Unfortunately Bam Bam had a run in with some wildlife in the back yard the week before we arrived.  Apparently when he was allowed out (on his harness), his favourite activity was hunting geckos.  And they think one of them got him with a claw – right in his eye.  The result was an injury, an abscess, with the need for antibiotic drops (which smelled like bananas, just like the amoxicillin I had to give my baby) twice a day, plus eye drops three times a day, and a scheduled follow up at the vet that we had to handle.  It was actually pretty easy to manage, as the pet mom showed me her techniques to get him to take the meds (which involved me down on the floor mat with the kitty confined between my knees so he can’t escape) and then give him treats afterwards. 

What happens when I give the meds?  He gives me the evil eye, swears at me a bit in cat language, then after goes running off and won’t eat his treats until I leave the kitchen!  The night of the vet visit he had actually opened his mouth wide as he was telling me off in cat language when I squirted in the antibiotics, so half of his cat conversation sounded like it was underwater, making me laugh.  For such a little guy he has a very deep voice! My daughter said he has a smoker’s voice when I sent her a little video of him “speaking” to me.

The vet assured us he was doing very well, and the abscess was shrinking nicely (she showed us with the stain and her black light, which highlighted the injured area), as it used to cover half of his left eye.  Unfortunately she wanted us to continue the antibiotics and eye drops for another week, so Bam Bam will continue to be irritated with me for the rest of the trip!  We anticipate a kitty review of "zero stars, do not recommend these sitters" – should he be the one filling out the online feedback form!  Fortunately for us, he won’t be asked to vote!

Bam Bam very much loves his pet dad best, and won’t sit on anyone else’s lap.  Sad.  I also can’t get him to purr, although he clearly enjoys me petting his head and rubbing his jawline and under his chin.  However I have been able to get him to play in the evenings with lots of good energy!  They told us that he mainly just sleeps now, which they think is because he hasn’t been feeling good with his injury.  But each day he has shown a bit more enthusiasm, which is great.  I do enjoy it when he chases me through the house, following his new toy and leaping through the air after it, landing on our bed. 

On Tuesday morning he clearly missed us (even though our door is open and he could come in and find us any time), as he started yowling at us very early – between 6 and 7am!  That was new.  He doesn’t get his food (and meds, and treats) until 8am.  So maybe he is starting to feel better now, and was attempting to summon us!

By Thursday we had figured it out.  If Bam Bam heard you use the bathroom in the night, he figured it was fair game to start calling us to come out to the living room, and try to sweet talk us into opening up the door so he can play in the screen room.  We resisted.  He tried much persuasive arguing before giving up and going to lie on his favourite chair.  In blessed silence.