Peter Zippi Fund: October 2010 Archives
Annie the Cat wasn't acting right.
all quite non-specific; and how can you know with cats? But anything from a body trauma I didn't know about to systemic illness were possibilities.
Subdued. Hunched up and curled up. Withdrawn. Listless. Not eating right. No interest in lapping water from the bathroom sink faucet. Her usual gregarious "meows," suddenly faint, weak. Whiny.
Her body language and behavior last week just seemed so different. She was just not the perky, interactive, happy cat I knew.
I know a lot more about dogs than I do cats. I waited and watched for a couple days, she still seemed "off" her game. So I googled "when to take a cat to the vet." I sent emails to a couple cat-owning friends, including Dolly from the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals in Hermosa Beach who matched me up with Annie a year ago. Give it another day or two, she said.
I waited as Dolly wisely advised.
The uncharacteristic low-key behavior continued, and so eventually, I just instinctively felt she should be seen, especially with the weekend coming up (pet ER bills are frightening, as I'm sure y'all know).
So I made an appointment at the end of the week with my veterinarian office, Centinela Animal Hospital in Inglewood.
Annie was none too happy about being put in her carrier and riding in the car.
Funny how dogs LOVE to ride ANYWHERE. A ride in the car? Wheeeee!
Cats? She yowled and whined the entire way and literally gave me the stink eye from behind the door of her carrier.
Dr. Lara Orme agreed that Annie looked like she felt, well, "punky," or something. But it was
all quite non-specific; and how can you know with cats? But anything from a body trauma I didn't know about to systemic illness were possibilities. I went ahead and told them to do the X-rays and blood work since I'd managed to get her in to the office -- and I didn't want to go through that melodrama again.
The next day we had the results -- she was just fine. Nothing was amiss on any of the tests (although she was dehydrated and in need of her monthly flea treatment).
And now, a few days later, she's completely back to normal, acting like her happy, outgoing self. She's drinking from the bathroom faucet again, one of her favorite routines as I get ready for work. She's running and purring and rubbing against my face.
Sigh.
I'm relieved, of course, that she's fine. I've grown rather fond of her.
But my finances took a hit for a "She's OK" diagnosis.
And Annie? Well, she is still kind of mad about the whole carrier thing, for sure -- on top of being forced to ride in the car.
Horror of horrors for a cat, apparently.
It was a year ago today that I brought Annie the Cat home for the first time.
A "dog person," I hadn't intended on adopting a cat. But we've had rodent issues in our neighborhood so I'd asked Dolly Rhamy of the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals -- when I ran into her at the Torrance First Lutheran Church's Blessing of the Animals last September -- about the possibility of finding a cat who was a good hunter and would be OK with dogs.
In a couple weeks, she called. They had just the cat. The so-called "Friendly Feral" who was among a feral cat colony hanging out around the Carson Animal Shelter.
I remember going to the shelter after work on Oct. 5 and walking toward the back of the property, where Dolly said Annie was sure to appear. Sure enough, here comes this black and white cat, rubbing up against my purse which I'd laid down on the ground.
A shelter worker smiled when he saw her coming out from the bushes. They clearly were familiar with her. I told him I'd like to adopt her, so he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, put her in a cage & entered her into the county's official system.
The following Saturday, on Oct. 10, 2009, I came to pick her up, not knowing what we were in for.
Annie didn't know what she was in for, either. (Above, Annie awaits in her carrier in the back of my Jeep, along with my new "cat supplies," as I prepared to bring her home.)
The rest, as they say, is history.
That's Annie above, tonight, resting and very much at home on the back of the sofa.
Thanks to Dolly & Peter Zippi. And to my childhood friend, Shirley, the "Cat Diva," who first introduced me to Dolly.
It's pretty much worked out extremely well for all concerned.
Except for the lizards and rodents, that is.
The dogs are OK with the cat, although Tess still will fixate her border collie herding 'eye' on Annie ("Border Kitty" I call her, since she is a perfect black-and-white match for Tess) when it's the dogs' dinner time. OUT of the kitchen, Tess says.
Annie? Well, I'd say she's quite content with her new home.
We think we'll keep her.
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.