Changing Dynamics
Within the past nearly 3 weeks, there have been some major changes in my cat population. One of them was the death of Garfield. When he was around, if he saw Tiger anywhere near, he would either chase him off, or just give him a Look and Tiger would be on his way out. I think this was due to the fact that Tiger had become a potential rival, and though Garfield was sick he wasn’t about to let another male take his place. Tiger began to spend less and less time around our apartment, and several times I found him in the next cul-de-sac. If I called him, he would follow me back to eat, but if Garfield showed up, he would leave again. Shortly after Garfield’s death, Tiger began to spend more time near my apartment, and now there is rarely a morning or evening when he doesn’t come by to have some of the food I set out.
The other changes have come about due to the spays. Not only have I spayed Mama Cat, now Splotchy Junior has been spayed too. When I released Splotchy Junior yesterday after bringing her back from the vet, Mama Cat was clearly disturbed. She slunk away and didn’t spend as much time near my door as she had been spending the last few days. Then this morning when I brought out a can of food, Splotchy Junior appeared looking and feeling much better than yesterday and with a big appetite. Mama Cat came by but when she stopped to smell her daughter, she hissed at her and moved away. I don’t know if that was due to Mama Cat’s hormone levels dropping after her surgery last week (I don’t know how long it takes), or if it was due to Splotchy Junior’s smells from the animal hospital. This evening Mama Cat also hissed at Baby Boy, who has not yet been neutered, so I’m leaning toward the theory that it has something to do with dropping hormone levels. But the hospital smells may be part of it too. Tiger, who previously got along rather well with Mama Cat, has chased her a couple of times, and today he looked like he wanted to chase Splotchy Junior as well. Perhaps he is no longer recognizing them as potential mates and therefore sees them as threats to his position. I don’t know.
I do know that the dynamics of this small population will continue to change as I keep spaying and neutering. I hope it won’t cause too many problems between the cats. I’d hate to be the cause of those problems, but on the other hand I think I’d rather that they didn’t get along so well, than have them reproduce constantly. I keep telling myself that I’m doing the right thing by getting them all fixed, but being the worrier that I am, I will always be concerned about the effects of my actions.
As I mentioned, Splotchy Junior got spayed yesterday. On Tuesday, I brought her inside to put her in the carrier without realizing how afraid she would be of being indoors. Once inside, she jumped out of my arms and then ran toward one of the large living room windows. She then jumped up and against the window several times, trying to get outside. I was afraid she would knock herself out in the process. Finally I managed to hold her down and picked her up by the scruff of her neck so she couldn’t get away. Tim and I managed to put her in the carrier and took her to the vet. She howled a few times and when we got to the vet, she was panting. She was clearly very stressed out. When they transferred her from our carrier into their kennel, she scratched them. I felt terrible putting her in such a stressful situation.
Yesterday, the doctor called me toward the end of my lunch break to let me know that Splotchy Junior would be ready for me to pick up this afternoon. She had done well through surgery, and was also negative for leukemia. Unlike Mama Cat, who had been a lot more docile, she would not be spending the night there. They didn’t want to keep her overnight because once she woke up from the anesthetic they probably wouldn’t be able to handle her. He also told me that she’d gotten out of the kennel overnight and that morning they had found her wandering around the hospital. How she got out, I have no idea. To catch her, they had to trap her in a net. I’m glad they found her and caught her—if she had escaped the building who knows what might have happened to her.
After work I drove over there and picked her up. She was in their carrier, which they let me borrow to bring her home. During the ride home she dozed off and so when I set the carrier outside my apartment, she didn’t come out at first. I petted her a little and when she awoke and found the carrier open, she bolted. Still being under the effects of the anesthetic, her legs didn’t work properly and she fell over. That seemed to freak her out even more and so she kept trying to run. She figured out how to move and staggered about a bit, then bolted to the other side of the parking lot.
Given her lack of coordination, I was worried that she would get hit by a car. I stayed out in the parking lot for nearly an hour, keeping an eye on her until she made her way back to my door. By then she had calmed down a bit and seemed to have better control over her limbs. It was getting dark and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to watch over her much if she hid under cars, but the fact that she came back to my door and was somewhat interested in the food seemed like a good sign. I came back out a few hours later and she came to the door and started to eat. She also let me pet her and looked more alert.
This morning she was the first cat to show up for breakfast and, as I mentioned earlier, was very interested in the wet food I had. She had a good appetite. She also came by for dinner this evening and seemed almost back to normal. I looked at her stitches and they looked pretty good, though I wasn’t able to get such a close look at them. I’m glad they used dissolvable stitches on her because it would have been very hard not only to put her in a carrier to got to the vet again, but also to hold her down long enough for them to remove the stitches in a manner that would be safe for her and the staff.
It’s an adventure and I never know what each new day will bring. Tomorrow I need to make an appointment to get another cat fixed next week. I wonder how the relationships between the cats will continue to change, but I do know one thing: my strays will not be producing any more homeless kittens. At least that is comforting.
The other changes have come about due to the spays. Not only have I spayed Mama Cat, now Splotchy Junior has been spayed too. When I released Splotchy Junior yesterday after bringing her back from the vet, Mama Cat was clearly disturbed. She slunk away and didn’t spend as much time near my door as she had been spending the last few days. Then this morning when I brought out a can of food, Splotchy Junior appeared looking and feeling much better than yesterday and with a big appetite. Mama Cat came by but when she stopped to smell her daughter, she hissed at her and moved away. I don’t know if that was due to Mama Cat’s hormone levels dropping after her surgery last week (I don’t know how long it takes), or if it was due to Splotchy Junior’s smells from the animal hospital. This evening Mama Cat also hissed at Baby Boy, who has not yet been neutered, so I’m leaning toward the theory that it has something to do with dropping hormone levels. But the hospital smells may be part of it too. Tiger, who previously got along rather well with Mama Cat, has chased her a couple of times, and today he looked like he wanted to chase Splotchy Junior as well. Perhaps he is no longer recognizing them as potential mates and therefore sees them as threats to his position. I don’t know.
I do know that the dynamics of this small population will continue to change as I keep spaying and neutering. I hope it won’t cause too many problems between the cats. I’d hate to be the cause of those problems, but on the other hand I think I’d rather that they didn’t get along so well, than have them reproduce constantly. I keep telling myself that I’m doing the right thing by getting them all fixed, but being the worrier that I am, I will always be concerned about the effects of my actions.
As I mentioned, Splotchy Junior got spayed yesterday. On Tuesday, I brought her inside to put her in the carrier without realizing how afraid she would be of being indoors. Once inside, she jumped out of my arms and then ran toward one of the large living room windows. She then jumped up and against the window several times, trying to get outside. I was afraid she would knock herself out in the process. Finally I managed to hold her down and picked her up by the scruff of her neck so she couldn’t get away. Tim and I managed to put her in the carrier and took her to the vet. She howled a few times and when we got to the vet, she was panting. She was clearly very stressed out. When they transferred her from our carrier into their kennel, she scratched them. I felt terrible putting her in such a stressful situation.
Yesterday, the doctor called me toward the end of my lunch break to let me know that Splotchy Junior would be ready for me to pick up this afternoon. She had done well through surgery, and was also negative for leukemia. Unlike Mama Cat, who had been a lot more docile, she would not be spending the night there. They didn’t want to keep her overnight because once she woke up from the anesthetic they probably wouldn’t be able to handle her. He also told me that she’d gotten out of the kennel overnight and that morning they had found her wandering around the hospital. How she got out, I have no idea. To catch her, they had to trap her in a net. I’m glad they found her and caught her—if she had escaped the building who knows what might have happened to her.
After work I drove over there and picked her up. She was in their carrier, which they let me borrow to bring her home. During the ride home she dozed off and so when I set the carrier outside my apartment, she didn’t come out at first. I petted her a little and when she awoke and found the carrier open, she bolted. Still being under the effects of the anesthetic, her legs didn’t work properly and she fell over. That seemed to freak her out even more and so she kept trying to run. She figured out how to move and staggered about a bit, then bolted to the other side of the parking lot.
Given her lack of coordination, I was worried that she would get hit by a car. I stayed out in the parking lot for nearly an hour, keeping an eye on her until she made her way back to my door. By then she had calmed down a bit and seemed to have better control over her limbs. It was getting dark and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to watch over her much if she hid under cars, but the fact that she came back to my door and was somewhat interested in the food seemed like a good sign. I came back out a few hours later and she came to the door and started to eat. She also let me pet her and looked more alert.
This morning she was the first cat to show up for breakfast and, as I mentioned earlier, was very interested in the wet food I had. She had a good appetite. She also came by for dinner this evening and seemed almost back to normal. I looked at her stitches and they looked pretty good, though I wasn’t able to get such a close look at them. I’m glad they used dissolvable stitches on her because it would have been very hard not only to put her in a carrier to got to the vet again, but also to hold her down long enough for them to remove the stitches in a manner that would be safe for her and the staff.
It’s an adventure and I never know what each new day will bring. Tomorrow I need to make an appointment to get another cat fixed next week. I wonder how the relationships between the cats will continue to change, but I do know one thing: my strays will not be producing any more homeless kittens. At least that is comforting.
posted by Ana at 21:52
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