On March 7th I took a quick glance at petfinder as I so often did (note the past tense "did"). I would pick out dogs and cats that caught my heart, show them to others and then carry on with my day. Until this adorable light orange blue eyed cat caught my attention.
Let me start by saying - I'm not a cat person. I'm a dog lover. Everyone who knows me knows that Budha is the core of my life. I loved Ziggy and Woogy, and they are certainly missed, but still...a dog person. When Budha was depressed when Tom and the cats moved I contemplated getting a cat for her (so she wouldn't be alone as much). The idea was there, but never the plan.
Okay back to the adorable light orange blue eyed cat who caught my attention. I show him to my friend, Jamie. She comes over and says "Angus? That's a stupid name, what would you name him?" I stared at the picture and then responded with a smile "Yogi".
Crap. I named it.
The next thing I knew I was at the animal shelter, looking at his little face. He was so happy he was drooling, I opened the cage, and walked right out into my arms. I said "Yogi, would you like to come home with me?" The next day (March 9th) I brought Budha to the shelter to meet Yogi, and make sure the cat was okay with her. We sat in the little room, put Yogi down, and he instantly ran over to Budha and gave her a big headbutt kiss.
The first night, he got into the ceiling tiles in the basement. He was a filthy mess when he got down. I realized he had gotten up there through a cupboard door I keep open in the winter (to circulate warm air to the pipes). I closed the door. No more dirty kitty.
Everything was wonderful! There was a week or two adjustment where Budha and Yogi had to learn how to go down the stairs in the morning without feeling threatened by each other, but they learned. Everything was wonderful for a solid month.
I failed to mention that when I got Yogi from the shelter, they informed me that he was on dewormer, and gave me one more dose to give him.
Yogi has been such a joy to have around. He is the BEST snuggler, and my favorite thing...when I put my arms out to pick him up, he reaches up to me with his front legs like a child wanting to go "uppy". It's adorable.
The second week in April I realized that, gross, he still had worms. I was so disgusted I raced him to the vet. They gave him one final dose (even after the one I gave him) of the yellow stuff for roundworm, and then an injection for tapeworm. They said he was in perfect health otherwise. That was a Friday. Friday, April 8th.
That Sunday, April 10th, I was in my bedroom getting ready to go to the gym. Yogi and Budha (whom I sometimes call Yoga and Booty :) ) came in. Yogi went under my bed, and suddenly it sounded like a full blown catfight! I waited until it sounded safe, and looked under my bed. There he was laying there stressed out, not purring, pupils huge. I took him out of there, and I checked him over and saw nothing wrong. I assumed maybe a bug bit him, or perhaps he pinched his tail or fur or something in the bed frame. Within the next 5 minutes I watched him run from his tail and I thought "What are you doing, Freak?" I picked him up, looked him over again - nothing out of the ordinary. Then I watched him run around under the dining room table, as if he was trying to shake something off of him - like he had a mousetrap on his tail or something. Then...he completely attacked his own tail, howling, growling, hissing aggressively. When he stopped, I noticed his tail looked wet. I followed him downstairs and saw that his tail was bloody. :(
It broke my heart - I had just seen my poor cat do this to himself. We snuggled that day, by night he was cleaning up his tail, and while still bothered, he seemed to get better over the next few days (tail still injured...but not attacking it anymore).
Sigh.
The last several weeks Yogi has been sleeping in the basement at night during the week, otherwise he wakes me up repeatedly between 3-4 am while he's being mischevious. On weekends he is allowed to sleep upstairs again, when there are more hours and not so early wake up times.
Within the last few days, I've watched him hiss at his tail a few times, and it's been stressing me out because I don't know why he's doing it. I honestly thought he had gotten battery acid on it after the first attack. Apparently that was not the case. Last Sunday morning I came downstairs, looked at Yogi and said "why are your feet dirty?" I went downstairs and sure enough, he had gotten that cupboard door open and had been wandering in the ceiling tiles again. Gross. Monday morning I came downstairs and HEARD him in the ceiling tiles. I went downstairs...the cupboard door was closed. Then I heard him above the basement shower, I called for him and he squeezed his body into the thin feret-like lanky shape, and slithered between a ceiling tile and the basement window. He is a crafty, agile little sucker.
Yesterday, Wednesday, his tail was really bothering him. I would like to think that he's just being stupid - but something is truly bothering him, his tail twitches, he gets low to the ground, runs away, ears are back - he just looks miserable (oh yeah - it's not fleas either).
This morning my roommate went in the basement to get his laundry, and then Yogi came up to my room. He walked in and there it was, a bloody mess of a tail. :( I did not take a picture this time, and be glad I didn't. I really really did a number on it. I went to work, called the vet - even they think this is strange but we all thought it was probably anxiety and I told them I had been researching Feliway (which is generally used for cats spraying in the house, but had read reviews about it helping "self aggression". I spend $40 on it....doesn't work. :( Not for this anyway. Talked to the vet again and made an appointment for Monday at 3:00. They said it's possible he has a swollen oil gland, or maybe he's having an allergic reaction, so it may be a while STILL before getting to the root of this. :( I spent most of the day keeping him wrapped in a blanket so he'd ignore the tail.
Well this blog certainly is getting long. I've been researching as much as I can about this. Then I decided to look by breed. Before anyone gets excited, I still don't have an answer. Yogi is a Flame point Siamese/Domestic mix. I looked at Siamese cats and found that they are prone to food allergies. I DID change Yogi's food...but after the first attack, I changed it again...I would hate to put him back on Science Diet and pay for it - OY! - but it may be worth it.
I also found that Siamese cats will follow you everywhere, always want to be the center of attention, love food, love to snuggle as often as possible, and will answer you when you talk to them. It was neat to read that because even though Yogi is a mix, it fits him to a T. "fits him to a T" - what does that mean? Anyway, he does - every room I enter, there he is. When I leave the bathroom - he's right there by the door. That made me wonder if the nighttime basement routine was stressing him out. The first attack, however, happened after a night where he was in my room. He always wants to eat, is all over me ALL the time, and when I talk to him he does look at me and always answers. :)
As far as this household is concerned, he is the greatest addition. Budha loves him, and he loves everyone. But this tail thing has to stop. He hurts himself so badly, he's in severe distress about it, it makes me sad, and I feel so helpless. Today for a moment I thought "I might have to give him up if I can't help him". But then what? He'd be worse being "left". Plus - what if the new people can't help him either, then what? So that is not an option.
Anyway, this blog was to share a little of "Yogi" and the joy he's brought...and the sadness that is felt by not being able to cure him yet. Here's hoping for less eyeliner/mascara teary smudged eyes and more snuggles for happy reasons.
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