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ProfessorTomoe

Loudmouth's Journey Inside

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It's close to 1am, and the cats are finally getting into the mood to play. Loudmouth has his favorite toy (a fabric-covered spring) and loves to bat it around. Baker is getting jealous, but is apparently trying to get into the play aspect (I think) instead of trying to bully Loudmouth. Either that, or Loudmouth is learning to ignore Baker. I'm honestly not sure, because it's impossible to keep eyes on them all the time. They move too damned fast.

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Mrs. Prof says the cats were fighting last night ... until they ran out of energy ...

large.Both_20170828_01a.jpg

Tuckered out. Pardon the stacked laundry on the left. BTW, the thing that looks like a gun rack on the right is actually a cat tree. Loudmouth's ear looks like it's sticking up through the curved center bed of the tree. Baker's the only one of them that uses the top rack.

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55 minutes ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Tuckered out. Pardon the stacked laundry on the left. BTW, the thing that looks like a gun rack on the right is actually a cat tree. Loudmouth's ear looks like it's sticking up through the curved center bed of the tree. Baker's the only one of them that uses the top rack.

My two Burmese often had energetic wrestling matches. My wife and I called them kitfights. They ended the same way, with two tired kitties curling up to sleep. :)

Thanks for the picture. My wife will love it. :)

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1 hour ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Mrs. Prof says the cats were fighting last night ... until they ran out of energy ...

Yeah. I can tell by your photo they are mortal enemies that will not rest until the other is defeated.

Or, you know, a pair of house cats.

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7 hours ago, mlooney said:

Yeah. I can tell by your photo they are mortal enemies that will not rest until the other is defeated.

Or, you know, a pair of house cats.

Requests have been made. I merely fulfill them. BTW, the "PeeDar" device did show some odd areas where Loudmouth had gone. He's also still having the bed pee problem, but I'm trying to make sure that Mrs. Prof doesn't go to bed without giving Loudmouth the Elavil half-pill. She hates giving it to him, and I can't give it to him thanks to my back {grumblewharrgarble}.

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If you're having trouble giving a pill, there are several compounding pharmacies who can make up a flavored chewable or liquid.  They can even ship it to you at home.  I tend to prefer liquids for anything that might need an adjustment in dose.  They can flavor it like chicken, beef, tuna, etc. for pets.   There may be local ones near you who can do that; the main bug ones who ship across the country are RoadRunner, Diamondback, and Wedgewood.  You could ask your vet to check their prices for you and prescribe through whoever gives the best deal.

(ETA big not bug obviously)

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11 hours ago, mlooney said:

Yeah. I can tell by your photo they are mortal enemies that will not rest until the other is defeated.

Looks more like they aren't interested in defeating until they are rested.

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6 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Oh, remember the cat tree? The one which Baker uses the top shelf and Loudmouth uses the middle?

This gives me a mental image of a feline liquor store with fine 18-year-old Baker single malt matured in Cognac barrels on the top shelf and a more common Glenloudmouth 12-year-old on the middle.

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12 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

If you're having trouble giving a pill, there are several compounding pharmacies who can make up a flavored chewable or liquid.  They can even ship it to you at home.  I tend to prefer liquids for anything that might need an adjustment in dose.  They can flavor it like chicken, beef, tuna, etc. for pets.   There may be local ones near you who can do that; the main bug ones who ship across the country are RoadRunner, Diamondback, and Wedgewood.  You could ask your vet to check their prices for you and prescribe through whoever gives the best deal.

(ETA big not bug obviously)

Oh, she's not having real trouble, per se. She just doesn't like to do it. She claims to have forgotten it last night. Grr.

And to add extra Grr to my morning, one of the cats barfed on the carpet that keeps the chair at my music computer from rolling around. I didn't see the barf when I sat down. I didn't see it when I stood up and stepped in it with a socked-foot, either. Squish. Few messier things in a household without small children.

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Continuation from the Changing Medications thread:

Before all of the fall drama happened, this had been a wonderful cat day. I went back to the master bedroom to see if they were awake. Loudmouth spotted me from his cubicle and jumped from it, ending up on the bed. He was in nuzzle mode from the start. I've never seen him so happy.

After a nuzzle session, I checked on Baker in his hammock. He perked up, jumped down to the floor, and started doing figure 8s between my legs. At several points I was petting both cats, with nary a snarl nor complaint from either. I even switched hands to see if the scent would throw things off, but it didn't. It was kitty nirvana for a while there.

Flash forward to around 6:30 p.m. or so. I'm in the kitchen, fixing some yogurt, and here comes Loudmouth—a rare sight in that part of the house outside of feeding or watering time. He came up to me tentatively at first. I started petting him, and he let loose. It was another nuzzle session, albeit a standing up and walking around one. He let me eat my yogurt while I got in a few pets here and there.

We eventually moved into the computer room. You should all know what happened by now. He stayed near me for part of the time while I crawled to the living room. Once we reached the hall, he broke off and went to the cat room. I continued my crawl until I reached the sofa. Once there, I heard the unmistakable sound of a cat barfing.

Three times.

Mrs. Prof showed up shortly afterward. I told her to tend to Loudmouth before dealing with me. Sure enough, he'd emptied his stomach. Lord only knows why.

While I've been typing this, Baker has shown up a couple of times. He's wanted his share of the petting as well. I've given it to him, and I've let him up onto the sofa and onto one of his "squares" that he claims as his own. You should see the one he has next to Mrs. Prof. I swear, it looks like a pillow that a pampered Chihuahua would sit upon and allow its caretaker to lavish attention upon it (which she does). It takes place about 8pm whenever she's home, and it's ridiculous and cute at the same time. :D

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Addendum: for the first time ever, Loudmouth jumped up on the sofa next to me! He wanted a petting session, which I gladly gave. It went on for about five minutes or so until he heard something at the back door that made him run toward it with a growl in his throat. Still, another barrier has fallen!

EDIT: that barrier has been smashed. Loudmouth has been next to me for almost 30 minutes now, just sitting and relaxing, looking regal the whole while. I can't take a photo because I'd spook him. Drat. I wonder what'll happen when Mrs. Prof and/or Baker come in here.

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I think we've solved the mystery of where Loudmouth has been peeing. He's been going in the front bathroom's bathtub. I'll get Mrs. Prof to provide photos when possible, but she's too busy tonight and will be doing cat volunteer stuff from 6am to 9pm tomorrow in preparation for a brand-new set of stainless steel kennels that have been donated to the Garland pet adoption center.

No Loudmouth on the sofa today. Darn. I don't think he was feeling 100%. He didn't want to come out of his cubicle until way late in the afternoon.

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Loudmouth has taken the pee problem a step further.

Or, should I say #2 steps further?

Yep. Right in the bathtub, where the PeeDar showed he'd been using it as a urinal. Mrs. Prof has a rude awakening waiting for her.

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7 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Loudmouth has taken the pee problem a step further.

Or, should I say #2 steps further?

Yep. Right in the bathtub, where the PeeDar showed he'd been using it as a urinal. Mrs. Prof has a rude awakening waiting for her.

Well, you could try putting a litterbox in the tub, see if he'll consent to using it if it's in what he considers the right location.  I had friends who just kept one of their cats' litterboxes in the bathtub of the spare bathroom as a matter of course, feeling it was the best out-of-the-way spot they could find.  If he'll use it, make sure you keep it really clean for a while so it's more likely he'll go on liking it.

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18 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

Well, you could try putting a litterbox in the tub, see if he'll consent to using it if it's in what he considers the right location.  I had friends who just kept one of their cats' litterboxes in the bathtub of the spare bathroom as a matter of course, feeling it was the best out-of-the-way spot they could find.  If he'll use it, make sure you keep it really clean for a while so it's more likely he'll go on liking it.

We're going to have to do something, because he left us another #2 special overnight, just within the last two hours or so.

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On 9/1/2017 at 0:42 PM, CritterKeeper said:

Well, you could try putting a litterbox in the tub, see if he'll consent to using it if it's in what he considers the right location.

Mrs. Prof Cloroxed the living sin out of the bathtub this morning and then rinsed it out before putting a litterbox over the drain (the spot where Loudmouth's been leaving his gifts). I hope she put some litterbox attractant in there with it.

The weird part is that he's only been using the bathtub late at night/early in the morning, like between 1am and 4am. He's using a regular litterbox the rest of the time. I think.

Wish us luck.

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Meanwhile, Loudmouth just took another visit into the living room and played "rub the human's legs" again. I tried to get him to make a repeat of his jump onto the sofa, but he wasn't up for it at first. He left the room, but returned a short while later for a reprise. This time I *was* able to get him up on the sofa. He walked around a bit, marked my medicine shoebox with his face, and did a bit of nuzzling when I petted him. He didn't stay long, but every trip up he makes is worth it.

You know, he pees and poops in the wrong spots. He barfs often. And, he's FeLV+. However, if you could somehow separate all of that from him, he would be the perfect cat. He doesn't bite, he doesn't scratch, and he's friendly beyond belief.

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Speaking of barfing often, Loudmouth just pulled a 4-barfer. It hurts my back to clean those up.

Mrs. Prof is going to start a process of elimination. She's been adding L-Lysine to Loudmouth's food. That stops tonight.

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A couple more pictures. First, Loudmouth reclining:

large.Loudmouth_20170802_233407_correct_01a.jpg

Second, Loudmouth's "output" for the PeeDar in the bathtub. I'm going to try and make this hidden content:

large.PeeDar_20170831_01a.jpg

We've since put a litter box in the bathtub. It's helped with the pooping problem, but not with the peeing in the bathtub. Sigh.

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Loudmouth is not doing at all well tonight.

We came home from the hospital to find at least four large barf spots on the floor. He must have emptied his entire stomach contents. He spent the rest of the day in his bed, asleep in front of a window.

It's 10:32pm, and Mrs. Prof is making a grocery store run for some baby food and some liquid cat food. She figures he's got to get something down and keep it down tonight. I don't know if she's got doctor plans or not.

I hope this isn't the start of his FeLV+ decline. Not on the day they buried my grandmother.

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We have had an overnight improvement in Loudmouth's condition, it would seem. I woke up early, pulled up the computer, and cleared the old sinuses. Next thing I knew, Loudmouth came into the living room, looking for affection. It was back and forth on the floor for a while until he jumped up onto the sofa. He wanted petting and scratching. After a few minutes of that, he turned around and started kneading on my leg! Not even Baker has done that—he kneads against a pillow. Anyway, it was a good 4 or 5 minute kneading session until he decided to start exploring the sofa. He hit one area that he shouldn't, making me try to pick him up. Bad move. He bolted and hasn't come back. I'm going to go check on him in a second, but it was so good to see him actively affectionate again.

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Man ... take the above and quadruple it! Loudmouth has been with me practically all day long. He's not quite a lap cat, but he's close—when I was falling asleep an hour or two back, he came in here and jumped up next to my feet!

This is bonding on a level I've never had with any pet. He follows me to the kitchen. He follows me to the bathroom, for crying out loud. (No, I don't let him in.) I don't know if this is a one-day event or a permanent bond, but it's ... well, it's emotional, and I hope it lasts. I hope he stays healthy enough for it to last.

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Oh boy.

Baker woke up and came into the living room. He found Loudmouth on the sofa and was utterly perplexed as to what to do.

Loudmouth is asleep on my left side at the moment. Baker jumped up on that side and walked around behind me to my right. I tried to get him to sit down, but he decided to go off somewhere instead. I think he's eating now. Crisis averted, but cat conflict warning still in place.

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