"First Day in Captivity"

Well, as expected it was a very long night. She hardly ever left me. Just to get a drink or meow loudly in my ear asking to go out. Tonight I'll get some sleep... I hope.

We got up a little early so we could get her room all arranged. I was thinking of putting flowers and a fruit basket as a welcome gift like they do at the finer hotels, but decided that might be a little much. After all, it's only for 4 days and she'll have great company at night. So, Bruce and I are ready to walk out the door to go to work and that means it's time to put here into the bathroom... ah.. hotel room for the day. Worked just fine... picked her up, carried her in, put her by her food and she started eating. Said good bye, closed the door and walked out to work with a heavy heart.

10 hours later...We arrive home and I go flying to the bathroom to see how my baby made it through the day. She was no worse for wear. I opened the door and she didn't bolt out, she just walked out calmly and of course went immediately to the front door with her usualy meow to be let out. We did find that she has pulled Bruce's shirt from a hook on the back of the bathroom door and pulled it over into her bed. Guess she wanted a little Bruce smell so she didn't feel so alone. I still can't figure out how she was able to get it off the hook! She's a tricky little kitty. I think we still have a lot to learn about cats.

Of course, when it was time for bed... there she was again. As close to me as she could get. I'm beginning to wonder if this is payback for her extended vacation. Well, tomorrow will be her second day in captivity... we'll see what she remembers from today. Will she hide right before it's time for us to leave for work? Will she remember? Only time will tell.

She's Home!

She's home!!!!!!!!!! I must confess, I did call and check on her while she was vacationing. I still can't believe how much I missed this little creature. From the looks of things, I think she was glad to be home also. Of course, the first thing she wanted was to go outside... right to the door with a good healthy meow. Now, how do you tell the little thing "I'm so glad you're home, it's good to see you, and NO you can't go outside for 5 more days! It's gonna be rough.

Now the other fear we have will definitely become a reality... the infamous litter box!!! Up until this point, it was used only in emergencies and there has NEVER been any "large deposits" if you get my drift. Well, I know she can't hold it for 5 days... but my hope is she will know how to use it when she needs it. Scary.

Tonight was a little tough because she wanted to be close. If she had been any closer to me she would have been behind me! I'm sitting in a recliner and she jumps up (nothing wrong with her jumper) and sits on my chest... yes my chest... not the normal lap cat. She decides that this is where she will spend the night. It doesn't matter that I can't breathe and that as she does her kneeding thing that her nails are going into SKIN not material! OUCH! I try moving her down to my lap, but over the course of 30 minutes she has wiggled her way back up. So, OK, we'll accept this for the night. Who needs sleep anyway. Tomorrow is another day... I can sleep then.

Tomorrow will be her first day being locked in the bathroom during the day with all the comforts of home... food, water, kitty litter box. We really can't give her run of the house because there's too many places she can get in trouble. Check in tomorrow to see how things turn out.

The Big Day!!!

The vet called!!! She told me all went well with the surgery and that Callie is awake, eating and using the litterbox! She's had all her vaccinations, and they will start the worming medicine tomorrow (for that I am VERY thankful). Then, she's basically on a vacation at the Gresham Animal Hospital Resort until next monday. We decided to make this a luxury stay for her so that she would have staff to see to all her needs during the day as she recuperates (since we're gone almost 12 hours a day at work) That seems like a very long time to be kittyless. Who would think that dog people could become such cat people!!!!!

The Night Before the Big Day!

OK... so the big day has arrived (or should I say evening) and we have to take Callie for her surgery and extended vacation. Of course she is just fine and has no idea what is in store for her, but I on the other hand am a wreck! OK, getting her into the much larger, new improved kitty box works out just fine. No ear shattering cries, just a few mews. We get there, tell them why were here, and they say "Oh, ok... I'll get someone to take her back". After a few minutes of waiting... a tech comes and away my little kitty goes! My heart sank a little, but I know she's in good hands. Now... the waiting. Surgery is tomorrow morning and they said they would call when done. Oh, it's going to be a loooooooooooong night????

First Trip to the Vet

Were we betrayed by all my cat owning friends or... was it a rite of passage? Being a dog owner all our lives did not help prepare us for Callie's first trip to the vet! When you have a dog you just say "Want to go for a ride?" Then, clip on the leash and away you go. It takes them a few minutes before they go into the uncontrollable shakes as they finally realize that this is no fun trip. But... even then, when you get to the vet, you just drag them along and into the office where even the biggest and meanest Rottweiler sits there shaking. With cats, it's a little different. First of all, you have to catch the cat. My youngest sister has been a vet tech for many years and tell me there has been many a surgery canceled because the owner couldn't catch the patient!! So, you know they won't come when you call, you have to go to them. Next you have to put them in a box! They are nicely called Kitty Carriers but I now know them as a fishing tackle box with holes!!! I had NO idea! A friend of ours lent us one. I hadn't seen it since Bruce was the one to bring it home and it was stored in the garage. So the day comes to use this "box" (now referred to by me as the cat iron maiden) for our first trip to the vet for a checkup. Bruce brought it in and I was horrified! "You’re going to put my kitty in there!?" Now, she is a small cat, but I felt like we were cramming an 800 pound tiger into a shoebox! And kitty cries? Oh, be still my heart! I thought I was going to die before we got her there. First thing I'm going to ask for at the vet is if they sell larger cat boxes (and they did... and I bought one immediately) I also reminded them that if they take her out of the box, they have to get her back in!!! I'm beginning to think this trip was much more stressful on me than the cat.

So, we made it to the exam room. Now the room has two doors... one to the outside hallway, one to the inside corridor. I'm panicking... how are we going to get this cat out of the box? When we open it, she will bolt!!! Have to make sure both doors are closed... there will be no escape!!! In comes our vet tech, a very sweet young lady (I must take time to say that EVERYONE at Gresham Animal Hospital is fantastic). Now I'm worried... we have to let the cat out of the box. I'm ready for her escape (no one else seems very concerned). We slowly open the box and... she sits there! There is no running, there is no attempt for escape, there is just a cat sitting there saying "Hello, may I help you?" Well, there are now 2 techs talking to and looking over Cali who is just eating up all the attention, and me... who is standing there absolutely STUNNED that she is still in the box! This is NOT the same cat that I brought from home... it can't be... that cat would have been out the door in just seconds. We finally had to pick her up and remove her from the box. Then the awful words... "And now I'll take her in the back to get a stool sample and then bring her back." What... they are going to open one of the doors to the room... this can't be good. Callie will finally shake off her disguise of a purrrrrrrrrrfect kitty and bolt. I'll never see her again. But no! They pick her up, tuck her under their arm and away they go with Callie waving goodbye saying "See ya Mom... I'll be back soon."

I took these few moments to take some deep breaths and get ready for whatever else would be coming my way next. And then... she returns. No worse for wear, still looking somewhat happy. She sits on the counter and comes over to lean on me. Then the Doctor arrives to do the exam. He checks ears, eyes, mouth, general kitty body... you know she got "the works". We find out she is free from FIV (Kitty AIDS) and Kitty Leukemia and she is in very good general health. One small problem is she does have round worms, but this is easily taken care of. She is also pregnant (which we suspected due to her being an outdoor cat) and we will have her spayed next week. (I know... it's heart wrenching for me to, but to bring more small kitties into the world with possibly nowhere live hurts my heart also).

Now all that's left to do is make our appointments, pay for this first visit and scariest thing of all... gotta get her BACK IN THE BOX! There is a little panic in my heart... can this be done... will she finally show what she's really like? She is gently lifted up and lowered in the the new, improved and MUCH bigger cardboard kitty carrier with no problem at all. You can actually hear her saying "Bye... I enjoyed the visit... I'll be back next week." Not one cry on the way home. Wonder what's really on her mind... what will happen when we get her home and open the box? And it was not exciting at all. We got home, opened the box and she sat for a moment or two and then out she came like nothing happened. She looked like she just came back from a day at the spa! I on the other hand was a wreck and just glad to be back home and alive!

So, Surgery is planned for Tuesday and then she will be vacationing with them until the following Monday. We felt this might be best since we're not home during the day and she must be confined for up to 2 weeks. This way we know she is well cared for. She will also be wormed during her stay as well as having all her shots. Poor little thing will be hit from every angle. Now the only worry will be... can I live through this next adventure. Check back soon to find out.

The Daily Grind

OK, so it's been awhile... ok, ok it's been over a month but sooooooooooo much has happened! Bruce and I have just about completed our training and Cali seem to think we've done well. She does remind us if we miss something like... the water dish is empty, the food dish is near empty, where is my cat toy. You know, the simple things of life. We have learned when she says jump, we ask how high!! I think that we've explained to her very often that we were really dog people and she needs to give us a break as we try to learn the "ways of cat". But, she has actually conceded to "play dog" a little. You know what kind of luck you have when you try to call the cat to come to you. They give you this stare saying "Are you talking to me?" Well, after 15 years of having a dog we got use to whistling for her to come so at times, we forget and have whistled for Cali! (oh the shame) but... she comes to the whistle!!! We'll see how long this lasts.

We are finally on a sort of schedule. We leave the house for work in the morning (all of us, cats have jobs too) and go about our business of the day. Then, when the day is over and Bruce and I finally get to come home, there she is... sitting and waiting to be let back in. Sometimes she is very upset that we've take so long to get home (cats don't do overtime you see, they have other staff to stay over when their work is done). So it's into the house where the food and water bowls are immediately checked for fullness. Then it's dinner for everyone and then a little relaxing. Around 8pm Cali goes out for a little "night life" and is usually back at around 11pm... but there are the nights where she doesn't return. When I get up the next morning before anything else, I check outside and I'm usually greeted with a grumpy meow. In she comes for a little breakfast and then a quick nap before it's time for work again. Things are going well!!!

The Holiday Times

Well, the holidays are over and it looks like Callie has us very well trained. We've learned that the litterbox at this point is just a decoration. She lets us know when it's time to go out... like at 4am when the meowing starts, or like just last night at 1am. After reminding her that I will NOT be getting up again to let her in until 6am, she just gives me the "yeah, right" look and disappears into the darkness. Oh, I also got the stink eye for not giving her a little food when I let her out.

At around 4:30am, I could hear the low meows asking to come back in. I was determined NOT to get back up. Then, just minutes later, she let out a meow that would rock the world just outside my window!!! Scared me to death!!! This one was follow by another few softer meows so I know she was just fine and that I (after getting my heart to slow back down) would stick to my guns and NOT get up to let her in until 5am when I normally get up.

I guess we're still learning how each other works. We've learned that when she goes out in the morning, don't expect her back until later in the day. She has kitty work that must be done and nothing will keep her from it. Actually, we think she goes to kitty day care to be pampered by someone else. But around 5 or 6pm, she back to greet us. Unfortunately, she never tell us where she's been. It will take a little time, but we are learning about each other.