Alex Stuff

Alex has discovered that the coolest place in the house for day-time napping in the doorway to our spare bedroom

Last Tuesday was a full day for Alex, the cat I serve. He had this third trip to see his vet since he and I were reunited. He has been scratching or licking—neither the vet nor I am sure which—his skin. His beautiful coat is torn away and there are gashes in various stages of healing on his neck, head, and back.

Tuesday the vet ran five more tests on him, with negative results. She still doesn’t know what’s behind his tearing at himself, although a lot has been ruled out. He received several shots during this trip to the vet plus antibiotics, which I give him twice a day.

Another concern I had about my little fellow is that he seemed to me to be “off his food.” He was eating much less than I have ever known him to eat and he hardly touches his water. That was of special concern because, without air conditioning—repair is financially not feasible since the repair estimate is almost $3,000.00—the temperature inside our house seldom drops below 80 (F).

However, I must have been mistaken about Alex not eating. Tuesday he weighed in at the vet’s at 10.2 pounds. That’s well above the 9.4 pounds he weighed just a few week’s ago.

In the days since Alex’s vet visit I have noted that he is eating (although he’s as picky about his food as ever), although I can’t confirm he is drinking water. He doesn’t act ill, although I have noticed him at times still licking his coat very hard. (The vet told me that a cat’s rough tongue can do as much damage to a coat as its claws).

When Alex and I returned from the vet visit, I captured the little bugger, held him in my arms as I would hold a baby, and tried to get the dropper of antibiotic into his mouth. I didn’t hold him tightly enough: he jumped from my arms onto my desk and literally cleared everything off of it (and onto the floor) before I recaptured him and was able to get the medicine into his mouth. Since then I’ve had no trouble administering the medicine. Alex seems to like its taste!

Tuesday night we had one more adventure. About midnight, Alex and I were cooling off on our front porch when some revelers a few houses away set off a series of firecrackers. Alex jumped from the porch and ran across the street (without looking either way) and disappeared behind a house. I remained on the porch with the door open, calling him. During a short break in the firecracker noise, Alex ran back across the street, straight through the door into the house, and hid under the kitchen table. I followed him inside, sat at the table, he jumped into my arms, and I held my dear friend until the merrymakers decided to stop setting off all those BANGS!