The kitten, as I routinely call him because he is the youngest cat, is not doing so well. He’s got a lot of drippy, goopy eye stuff going on. What the normal vet has been giving him hasn’t worked, so he’s headed to the cat ophthalmologist next week.
Poor kitty. He still remains sweet, despite his malady.
As other writers have observed, welcoming a pet into your life gives you companionship and also regular reminders about the life span. My two cats, ages sixteen and twelve, have both entered the elderly stage. And it’s the younger one who isn’t doing very well with this phase of life.
While Sentinel has been aging more or less gracefully (he’s taken prednisone for years to help with his vomiting) Antares has catapulted himself into some sort of herpes thing that has left him sickly and sad and in need of a lot of expensive medication. Plus, he has to start medication for his thyroid.
Having sick cats isn’t fun. Hopefully these medications will have him feeling better soon.
While Sentinel has not cottoned to the cat door, Antares has figured out that he can be an outdoor kitty by just pushing through it.
While he doesn’t spend a ton of time on the catio, he does go out every night, and there are even times during the day when I will find him keeping an eye on the front sidewalk.
He might spend more time there when it gets warmer outside.
Side note. The concrete turns green like that every winter. We could spray it off, but why bother? It goes away when things warm up.
Ikea advertised this cat cave insert for their standard bookcase and soon after I learned about it, I bought one.
This brings the hideyholes the cats have to three: this, plus a tent I bought from Ikea years ago, plus a plush sided tent that Matt’s mom gave me because her cat wasn’t interested.
Reporting from the future I can say that Sentinel uses the plush sided tent multiple times per day, they both go into the Ikea tent when they need to blow off steam, and they almost never use this hideaway.
I took some time over the Thanksgiving weekend to add shelves to the catio.
And now we can call that project done!
Except not, because the shelves aren’t wide enough for the cats to sit comfortably on. So I might get some boards and add them to the top. Or I might not, because the don’t seem to like to climb when out on the catio.
A quick check in with the cats who live at the Orange Door.
Antares is quite good at hiding his nose. It’s very cute.
Sentinel is looking more and more like an old kitty every day.
I love how a sun bath shows off Sentinel’s brown/red fur.
And I love how Antares remains ever vigilant of danger.
Sentinel and Antares have lived together for nearly a decade now, and I’m still not sure if they like each other. They don’t hate each other, as their skirmishes are few and far between. And they will often curl together to sleep for some period of time before one of the gets bored and wanders off, or gets annoyed and pushy.
This picture came about because Sentinel was sleeping in the windowsill and Antares got in his face. Is this a picture of Sentinel holding his ground in the face of Antares pushiness? Or are they happy to be sharing the same space?
In the middle of an otherwise uneventful June night, I was slumbering away when suddenly, there was a terrible crash. It was the cat perch falling to the ground, taking with it a surprised Sentinel.
I ordered a new cat perch the next morning, but then my grammar class started and I had no time to install it when it arrived. However, the work for my grammar class is now finished, and the cat perch has been installed.
I’m quite happy with the quality of this cat perch, bought from the Vertical Cat. It cost double the price of the cheap thing I bought from a big box pet store, but I think the quality is probably quadruple.
And now, pictures of me bribing the cats to explore their new perch.
Without being coaxed by treats, they are not so into the perch. I think they remember the other one falling, but hopefully this one will be accepted eventually.
It’s a sunny summer day, but both cats are only interested in their heated pads. And keeping an eye on me.
