A Boy Named Cupcake, Part One

...and actually, the boy in today's story was called Cupcake #2.  That was at first, when he was adopted by a very old lady, who had for many years owned cats, and always named them Cupcake.   Well, Cupcake didn't know it when he was a wee kitten adopted by an old grandma in the early stages of Alzheimer's ... but he would go on to be a Father of many cat generations.  I don't mean that he wasn't neutered (lol); many of us house-cats are, and he was no exception.   What I mean is, his life of survival and adventure leading eventually to a wonderful forever haven, a true home after so much tumult ... I think it makes him a symbolic forefather to us younger cats!


But let's begin at the beginning!  Unfortunately, Cupcake's first six months of life with Grandma were chaotic.  Oh, he was well-loved by his owner, and always fed and given fresh water.  Grandma had been a cat-lover and -owner for so long, the habits of caring for feline friends were well-ingrained in her memory.  Sadly, it was the more recent memories that she began to lose first (alas, Grandma was my human mom's Grandma, so I will let Mom tell her own tale of life with Grandma ... I will tell the tale of the boy named Cupcake).  But although Cupcake #2 was fed and watered and loved, Grandma was always unpredictable, given the ebb and flow of her mind.  Sometimes she would scurry in and out of the house all day long on errands Cupcake #2 knew nothing about.  Other times, she would remain inside all day, and he didn't know what the routine would be.


On Sundays, Grandma's family would come to visit.  That is when the family saw that she was in failing health, and that each week she was worse.  My mom rarely even saw Cupcake #2, because if he wasn't hiding from the strangers -- and everyone but Grandma was certainly a stranger -- Grandma was banishing him anyway (everyone in the family except my mom has bad cat allergies) with a brisk: "Cupcake, to the basement!"  She had water and toys and food and litter for him down there, but mostly it was barren, a land of cold, unfinished floor and underground and laundry smells.  It wasn't Cupcake #2's favorite place to be, but nor was being around the family.  So he would spend Sunday afternoons napping in a small patch of sunlight that slipped cautiously through the above-ground window near his basement ceiling, and lapping up some food when he awoke.  Soon enough, it would be time; the door would be opened, the scents and sounds of family would be gone, and Grandma would welcome him back upstairs into his world.  


But then It happened... well, the first It of Cupcake's young life... one day the family arrived to find that Grandma had been making a habit of either not eating at all for a whole day (forgetting to do so) and / or preparing inappropriate meals such as canned cat food for herself.  After a painful process, Grandma's family had to move her to a home where she would have help from professionals in caring for herself.  Cupcake #2 of course could not accompany her there.   Grandma's mind was slipping away so badly that she was incapable of remembering the sad parting after a time.  But Cupcake #2 was confused and saddened by it for a great while.


Some might say that the following year or so (for no one knows or can recall the exact amount of months that passed) is when Cupcake #2 became a true adult Tomcat, a "man" on his own.  He was never sure how he felt about it; being independent by nature, he was usually fine.  He remained in his home, but no one else lived there, no cats or animals of any sort, and no humans either.  On certain days, Cupcake #2 wasn't sure he liked being "independent" allll the time.  He had been domesticated, was born of a domestic house-cat mother, among domestic litter-mates.  He missed having people around, or a person at least.  He even missed having a couple of cats around, as he recalled having had when he was nestled in nursing with his brothers as a baby. 


There was The Man though.  The Man (Grandma's son, as it turned out) came every other day and put fresh, delicious food (special kinds!  treats!  new flavors!) out for Cupcake #2, replenished his water, and stayed to pet and play with him if Cupcake would allow it.  Usually, however, he did not allow it.  After all, Cupcake didn't know The Man very well, and he didn't live with him.  He appreciated the food and sustenance, but he preferred most of the time to prowl about his territory on his own.  Sometimes humans could be unpredictable, that he knew somehow, instinctively.


Thus it was for many months, Cupcake #2 and The Man sort of co-habitating and co-existing.  The Man came frequently, sometimes more than every other day, to do something with lots of papers and files and such.  He spoke on the phone and did lots of things outside in the yard.  Cupcake #2 watched all of this from behind the TV, which was warm, when The Man was inside; and he watched from a favorite bedroom window when The Man was outside.  


More than once, Cupcake #2 heard The Man say his name while talking on the telephone like Grandma used to do.  Cupcake #2 never completely liked the phone, because it always took attention away from him.  When Grandma used to talk on it, he would meow and nuzzle and leap onto her lap, with only lukewarm petting and results for his efforts.  But with The Man on the phone, and talking about HIM no less, Cupcake #2 took interest... he heard The Man asking many times what the phone thought he should do with Cupcake #2.  He heard The Man say to the telephone that he felt sad that Cupcake #2 lived alone and that his own family could not allow him to live with them and their allergies.  He even heard The Man begin to ask the phone if it knew someone good who might like to "take" Cupcake #2.  This last bit was something the meaning of which the feline puzzled for days ...


... For days until it left his mind out of necessity.  Because he had to use everything in his mind and body to survive what happened next ....

Birds and Battle Wounds

I am enjoying some extended summer days here in my part of the world!  Just before sitting down to paw this blog post, I was watching and listening intently to a very raucous bird conversation taking place right outside on my balcony!!!  Well, you can imagine that I went running, feet barely touching the floor, when I heard that!  I hunched way down behind a storage box and prowled closer and closer to the window, because of course I don't want the birds to see me first when I'm ... uh, studying them.  They sure were LOUD, and it seemed to me that one really SQUAWKY guy was holding forth with one tiny, CHIRPY one.  Hmmm ... I could not translate, but I am fascinated by birds and their language and their flippy-flappy wings and their movements in general.  One second they are in the tree and I can only hear them, then the next they come hurtling full-speed down right in front of my screen door!!!  Hmmm... I sometimes see those ads when my humans watch TV for something called Rosetta Stone... it teaches the humans other human languages... wonder whether a cat could learn a bird language?  Dog?  or ... perhaps... mouse????  

you know, so that i could converse with this little green guy (at the front/center of my picture)

 I also am really excited to report that I am feeling like a better-than-new cat since recovering from that dark, dark week when the v-e-t did dental work, my mom chased me around for TEN days with medicines that she poured into my cheek pocket two times a day, my gums hurt too much to crunch my kibbles (so they fed me tuna... hmmm not too bad, I thought I hated it in the past!) and milk and mashed-up "crunchy" food... shudder!... and I hid under the bed in my secret cave where no one can reach me with human arms (triumph!) for a couple of days ... well, it really was bad.  But NOW! I am running and playing and snuggling with Mom (somehow I sense that the v-e-t MADE her do that to me, with the medicine and stuff, so I'm not mad), and eating my favorite crunchy treats when I behave well for grooming and stuff!  I feel wonderful and spritely!  I asked Mom to take a picture of my one remaining battle wound, because that too is covering up FAST!  Long-haired cats will understand, I'm sure!  So here's me just this morning:

Check out my right paw, the one in the bottom front of the picture; do you see the chunk taken out of my otherwise-fluffy-long white fur?  That's where the you-know-who SHAVED me to insert an i.v.  I don't really know what that means and wasn't awake for it, and that's fine by me!  All I know is that last week it was pink cat skin that gave me a shiver, so I always laid with my other paw covering it.  But already it has very short, white hair (one little part of me knows what it's like to be hairless or very short-haired now, hehe) on it.  My human mom says it's fascinating to watch me grow my fur back so fast and efficiently!  I say I'd like my regular ol' paw back please.  Although, the girl cats say it makes me look sorta tough :)

****PURRRRS****to all, Dorian

It's Really Me!

Hi friends, furry and not-so-furry!  I'm happy to be back to my blog, and also to be back to reading YOUR blogs (which I'll be doing next)!  If you read my human mom's post last week (I let her be a guest-blogger in my absence), you know where I've been.  But just to re-cap, and to tell it from MY perspective ...

I guess most of you cats, and cat-parents, know already that some indoor kitties are prone to dental problems.  I am one of these, unfortunately.  I already had to have my teeth cleaned by the V-E-T a couple years ago... and then last week, I had to go THERE again, this time to get them cleaned and to get a few of 'em pulled out too!  What can I tell you?  I sure do hate to ride in the car; I complain vocally to my humans the WHOLE way there and back usually, just in case it might change their minds!  This time I was too sleepy from the medicines to complain on the way home.  In fact, I was sleepy for 2 or 3 days!  Thanks to everyone who sent comments or emails to my mom!  I think that maybe... just maybe... she needed them even more than I did!  I was okay... just mad that I had to go there, and tired, and my gums hurt where my teeth used to be... So I went under the bed and did NOT come out again for those few days!  Only to visit my litter box!


But now I am playing more, and not in pain.  It's actually better than when I had my infected teeth and irritated gums, because now I can crunch up my food.  And now I don't have that stuff going on making me feel tired and less playful!  In fact, I think I should already be eating my favorite Temptations treats (crunchy outside with soft, flavorful insides!) and my dry food!  But Mom says that for a few more days I have to take my medicine and also eat my regular food which is mushed-up with warm water.  ICK.  I think that I can do it, but only for a FEW days more!  


I hope that everyone out there has had a good week.  If any of you blogging cats or cat owners out there have ever gone through dental problems, my mom would love to hear your stories.  Me too!  I am her first pet cat, and she is the only human that I remember or have ever really known, or ever CHOSEN for myself (that part is most important!).  So we are learning about each other as we go, and I know that my mom worried about me when I was under the bed for those few days and didn't want to come out.  She didn't want to miss any signs that I wasn't reacting normally, or that I was feeling very badly.  She checked on me under there all the time!  And even though I tried to press my claws into the carpet so that no one would get me out, she pulled me outta there when it was time for medication, and when she wanted to look at my eyes and feel my cold, wet nose!  I might complain, but I do love my mom :)  And nothing makes you appreciate your humans and your own place that you live (where you have carefully marked everything with your scent!) like a day at the V-E-T place!  


***PURRRRRS*** Just-Like-New Dorian