I have two cats, Gandalf and Coyote. (Yes, he's grey. They both are.) They're brother and sister, about a year and a half old. The boy cat is very sweet and a little bit dumb--and very expensive. He has been the most problem prone cat I've ever had. In the year that I've had him, he's been lame (we have no idea what he did), constipated all the way from the front to the back (again, we have no idea what he did), and had one bastard of a urinary tract problem, costing thousands of dollars. It's a good thing we love him.
The urinary tract problem was so bad that he ended up having surgery to widen his urethra by removing extra bits (ouch!) and rerouting the exit. For the last week and a half, the poor thing has had his butt shaved poodle-style, stitches closing up the old opening and holding the new one open (and, oddly, some extras to give him a "butt tuck" on one side), has had to learn to squat like a girl, and to keep him from picking the stitches out, has had to wear a cone collar.
What have I learned from him, then?
First, a cat can single-handedly rearrange your life. Over the month he suffered from his urinary tract issues, we made, on average, 2 trips a week to the vet--over half of those trips were emergency vet trips. That meant going to work later than usual, leaving work earlier than usual, staying up later than usual, and getting up earlier than usual. One trip to the emergency vet had us coming home after 2 am. And we wouldn't have done it any other way.
Second, a cat won't get a job, no matter how much they owe you.
Third, a cat that loves to groom himself goes through various stages of grieving when he can't groom himself. I'm just as anxious for that collar to come off as he is.
Fourth, a cat with a collar shakes his head a lot. At least this one does. He shakes it so hard that he nearly knocks himself over. I wondered if his neck was sore because of this, which lead me to learning number five.
Fifth, a cat with a sore neck loves to get massaged. He nearly passes out when I massage his neck. And he smiles.
Sixth, a cat that looks pathetic will see how much he can get away with. "Mom, I'm sick. I'm going to get up on the counter and get into your food. But it's ok now because I'm sick." AAAGH! He's been a monster. Plus, the collar makes him clumsy and he knocks more shit over than usual.
Seventh, a cat with a cone on its head discovers that the covers no longer touch his face when he gets under them. Ever since he's been home, he's been sleeping under the covers with us. It's cute. Until you can't sleep because you can't move, or your afraid you'll roll over on him, or he decides he wants you to pet him (that cone hurts when he head butts you in the face), or you want some privacy.
Eighth, a kind of dumb cat isn't as dumb as he pretends to be. See point six. Also, since he can't groom himself, he's taken to making us do it. He licks our fingers and then bumps them with his nose to get us to pet his face and ears--like when he does it himself. User. Still, his own spit is the only allowable cleaner. He won't let me use the cat grooming wipes I bought specifically for this purpose.
Finally, a cat, no matter how much they cost, is worth it.
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