On the Lam... and at the Vet

The kitten managed to open the door to the office and escape this morning; we heard little feet running around and three of us — Possum, too — jumped out of bed to investigate.

Kitten Watch: Possum gets most of his exercise by 

turning his head these days.

Little Mr. Wonderful (still has no name) was so excited, racing around, stretching his legs, and discovering the Cave Beneath the Sofa. We decided to let him have a half-hour of freedom since he's been cooped up since Sunday night. His parasite tests are negative and he seems quite healthy, so we were going to start letting him out tonight for a little supervised exploration.

Checking out the decor.

Possum managed to retain his composure but was aghast whenever the kitten ran up to him. He hissed a bit, as a warning, and gave a couple of light thwacks on the head when the kitten got too close. The kitten was intrigued by Possum's tail, since it's about the size of a fluffy kitten itself. Possum didn't appreciate that. The kitten fluffed himself up and tried to intimidate Possum, succeeding better than we'd expected. But mostly Possum just watched the show, while we praised him for being tolerant and splendid. The two were later seen sharing a food dish. And, unfortunately, it did seem as though Possum was showing the kitten how to eat (and make a mess) with his paws.

Caught in the act...

But it's no big deal.

Wendy saw some of the action, hissed, growled, and retired under the bed for the day with no breakfast. I feel for her. I've read that some cats don't recognize kittens as little cats. They think they are an alien species. That would be Wendy, always looking at the dark side. Although I think it's a lot of hooey, I caved and bought a bottle of Bach's Flowers Rescue Remedy. I figure that plenty of people swear by it, so maybe it's magic even if the logical side of my brain says it's bunk. I have to figure out how drops to add to a water bowl since Wendy won't eat treats. I can also rub the drops on her ear but I don't think she'd care for that.

* * *

We took Possum and Wendy for their annual wellness exam last night. They complained when we loaded them into their carriers and criticized us in the car but were otherwise well behaved. They are healthy and didn't need shots. The bill was shockingly low.

Wendy weighs 11 lbs; she lost 2 lbs. since her last exam last. I knew she was slimmer, partly from her hunger strike protesting the kitten. But she's still not sleek. I was surprised to learn that Possum lost 1.3 lbs, not that it shows. I can't find his ribs (he claims he never had any). He is down to 16.2 lbs. but needs to lose more, so his "lion paunch" won't swing like a giant pendulum as he trots around. We're going to change their diet to canned food that's high in protein and low in carbs and see if that helps; our vet says it increases some cats' metabolism and helps them slim down without feeling hungry. Finding food they will eat will be a challenge. It won't be as hard as naming this kitten however....