Thank you for your kind words, Melissa and Clare (sorry, not Tabitha!).
Oscar sounds like such a lovely boy, just like Leo (and Hendrix too, of course, but I get the impression you got him and Jagger as kittens, Clare?). Maybe it is because our cats had uncaring owners previously that they appreciate us all the more, and are more clingy as a result. Needless to say, I also can’t bear the thought of anything happening to Leo and I feel a pang of anxiety when I realise that he will turn 9 this year… Although he doesn’t look it in many ways - he is still very playful and agile, and really young-looking – there are moments, like when he has just woken up and he takes a few tentative steps while he is still a bit sleepy, that he looks a bit vulnerable and my heart constricts. Leo has opened a floodgate of emotions for me… He reminds me so much of my favourite cat as a child, a gorgeous tabby cat with the same clear green eyes who was just about Leo’s age when he died. I was young and clueless about cat health then and I know I didn’t take good care of him, which will haunt me until the day I die… Since I found Leo, there hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t thought about my old cat and how I wish I had done things differently… He died of pneumonia and I am convinced that had I taken him to the vet sooner, he might have pulled through. This makes me want to take the best possible care of Leo, as a way of making amends somehow…
I can’t believe how many Bengal cats like Leo and Oscar there are out there, in need of a loving home. I now know that Bengals need a lot of attention and maybe people buy them because they love the way they look but then can’t – or won’t – make the required effort to care for them properly and things don’t work out, which is terribly sad…
I know exactly how you feel about leaving your babies, Clare… I realised today that it’s a mere two and a half weeks before my holiday and my heart misses a beat whenever I think of the horrible moment when I will have to take Leo to the cattery and leave him there… I can’t bear the thought of witnessing his distress – I worry that he will feel like he’s being abandoned again – and I know I will miss him like crazy. My family live abroad and I haven’t seen my elderly parents since Christmas, but I so wish I could have them come and stay with us instead of being the one doing the travelling – and leaving my little boy behind… :-(
Which brings me to the question… How much am I supposed to feed him? I know there are guidelines on the packs of cat food, but I used to give him two pouches a day and leave some kibble out for him to free-feed on. Then, when Leo seemed to be having a few problems weeing and pooing after coming back from the cattery in early January, a vet who was covering for my usual vet told me that I should only give him wet food for a while, 3-4 pouches a day… So I did and Leo has now put on a little weight, which I think really suits him, but now I am a bit concerned that he might become overweight... He does seem to know when he’s had enough, but I know from experience that a cat who was starved in the past may have lost his sense of fullness, or may overcompensate and “stock up” for fear of more lean times ahead… Leo now weighs about 4.85kg / 10.7lbs but, as I mentioned, he is a very large cat so I think he is still within a healthy range. He has a bit of loose skin on his stomach, but I think that might be the result of losing weight too quickly when he was living rough, the way a human would do if he/she lost a large amount of weight…
Btw, Melissa, I couldn’t get through to the vet today but I will give her a call in the morning and hopefully she will agree to prescribe some NutriCalm. It would be such a massive weight off my shoulders to know that Leo wouldn’t be so traumatised by the carrier this time round… Thank you so much for your offer, nonetheless. I will keep you posted. X
P.S. I tried to attach a couple of photos, but first I was told that the files I wanted to attach were too big, then when I tried to paste them into a Word document I got a prompt saying that the docx. extension was not allowed… :-( How should I go about it? Did you post photos of your furry babies on the forum?
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