Sebastian and Company

By "and Company" I mean the rest of the crew at the shelter.

Frieda was grumpy after Little Girl tried to pet her close to her tail. She doesn't like playing "elevator butt" as we call it. Some cats love it, and raise their rumps for more scratching. Frieda doesn't like it a bit, you can only pet her around her head and neck.

Piper, who was returned last week, has settled back in. Poor guy, his adoptions just don't seem to stick. He is on medicine for an ear infection, the reason he was returned. The lady didn't want the vet bills for an ear infection. Put her on my "you are a twit" list.

The six in the big room are doing well. Grady almost got out, but was caught at the door.

Lulu has recovered from her surgery and is in with Queso and Sandy.

Mamie is still being quarantined for possible upper respiratory, but I don't know why. We haven't heard a sneeze out of her in two weeks.

Baby, who tries to take the skin off of anyone who comes near her, is loose in the back. We leave her cage open, so she can get to her food and litter, but she spends most of her time under the shelves in the storage area or under the sink, growling at everyone. Poor thing has been traumatized, and has traumatized everyone who tries to take care of her.

Then, there is Sebastian.

He is a purebred Persian, classic flat face, show animal, over eleven years old. The family that owned him and Cali, who is 9, is moving to Memphis to be with their two-year-old, who is in St, Jude's Hospital. The dad is in med school, and he and wife have been taking turns being up there. He showed Kate a picture of his boy, very proud. Child in bed, with tubes everywhere, she was shocked, but tried not to show it. Very sad situation.

It gets worse. They really didn't want to give up the cats, but had not choice under the circumstances. Moving to a place that won't take cats, and it is being provided to them while the child is ill and he is in residency. The wife has been visiting the cats when she was in town.

Sebastian breathes funny. Typical of the Persian with that face. They just don't breathe right, but it has people spooked in the rescue group. What really is a concern is that he has fluid in his abdomen, and it is full of bacterial infection.

So, do we drain fluid, give him massive antibiotics, use diuretics, and hope he gets better? Or do we take into account the fact that an older cat with health problems will almost never get adopted and go ahead and euthanize? Especially since he might not get better even with treatment?

Miss W has asked Kate to call the family, tell them we will probably euthanize, and offer to let them visit one more time. I watched him purr and eat, and think he deserves a chance. If I didn't have 5 of my own, I might take him, as he is a sweetheart, even though I have never been fond of the flat faced cats.

Kate doesn't want to do it. She wants to give him a chance.

So, what to do? I'm glad I'm not in charge of this one. I would not give up, just like I don't with kittens.


Today is:

Caps Lock Day

Full Harvest Moon

International Stuttering Awareness Day

Jidai Matsuri -- Kyoto, Japan (Festival of the Eras)

National Barber's Day

National Holiday, Vatican City

National Nut Day

St. Abercius' Day

St. Mary Salome's Day


Birthdays Today:

Brian Boitano, 1963
Jeff Goldblum, 1952
Deepak Chopra, 1946
Catherine Deveuve, 1943
Annette Funicello, 1942
Tony Roberts, 1939
Christopher Lloyd, 1938
Timothy Leary, 1920
Joan Fontaine, 1917
Curly Howard, 1903
N. C. Wyeth, 1882
Sarah Bernhardt, 1844
Franz Liszt, 1811


Anniversaries Today:
Toastmasters International founded, 1924


Today in History:

The temple of Apollo at Daphne, outside of Antioch, is destroyed in a mysterious fire, 362
Emperor Kanmu relocates Japanese capital to Heiankyo (now Kyoto), 794
Battle of the Southern Fujian Sea, Ming Dynasty wins a victory against the Dutch East India Company, 1633
Princeton University is chartered, 1746
Andre-Jacques Trim becomes the first sky diver, parachuting over Paris from a balloon, 1797
Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas, 1836
First telegraph line linking US east and west coasts is completed, 1861
First concert performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1881
World's first automobile dealer opens in London, 1897
President Hoover gives the "American system of rugged individualism" speech, 1928
The FBI ambushes Pretty Boy Floyd, 1934
First commercial flight from the mainland to Hawai'i, 1936
Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but turns down the honor, 1964
A Multi-Party Parliamentary Committee selects the design which becomes the new official Flag of Canada, 1964
The Soviet unmanned space mission Venera 9 lands on Venus, 1975
Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs, although the dye is still used in Canada, 1976
Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic Basin, making the 2005
Atlantic Hurricane Season the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record with 22 named storms, 2005
A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a National referendum held in Panama, 2006
India launches its first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, 2008