Hoot

Johannah's cat is Ranger.  I have posted before about him, so I won't say much more.  However, this summer, Ranger decided to spend the majority of his time across the street in the Battle Barn.  I had decided that we were going to make him an "indoor" cat, because we were seeing less and less of him, and I worried that we might eventually see none of him.  Turns out, I was right.  While we were at Interlochen, John let him out one day and he never came back.  John saw him several times over at the barn, but the rascal wouldn't come to John.  We haven't seen him since we returned home.

I still hold out hope that Range is on a "walkabout" and will return in the Fall.  He's a scrappy thing, and I am a hopeful person.

In the meantime, John couldn't stand the fact that Hannie didn't have a cat.  He's always believed that a girl should have a cat, and having seen Hannah with a devoted friend for so many years, his heartstrings were pulled to the max.  So, it should have come as no surprise when almost two weeks ago, he walked up behind me at the computer and sheepishly announced, "We have a new friend."

I didn't have to even turn around before the protestations began.  No way were we taking on a new animal.

With the kids growing up and leaving for college, the responsibility of pet ownership has fallen squarely on my shoulders.  While it used to be that I would occasionally pitch in and scoop a litter box, or throw the ball, I'm lucky now when the girls feed the dogs every couple of nights.  With five dogs, three cats and a pond full of fish, I'm finding it rather exhausting.  So, in my mind, I was not looking to replace any of the animals.  In fact, I don't think it will be a bad day when we just have one cat or dog to keep John and me company.

With Range gone, our ranks had dwindled, and I was okay with that.  Bringing in a young cat just extended our animal babysitting years.

Turns out, John and Hannie had stopped by the Battle Barn again to look for Range (after finishing a run).  Obviously the blood wasn't flowing through their brains very well!  When Ranger once again wasn't there, they asked the farmer if they could take one of the other cats, because, you know, that's what you do.  Just pick up another one, like picking up a gallon of milk at the grocery store.

From behind John's back, he brought out the skinniest black-and-white tom cat I'd ever seen.  Hannah had picked him out from all the others because he was so friendly.  For his tiny body, he had huge eyes and huge ears.  I said he looked like an owl, and the name "Hoot" was born.

Hannah flea-dipped him that night, and he purred through the entire bath.  Too, she dewormed him right away.  I told Hannah that she needed to keep him away from our other cats until we could get him tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).  Too, I told her that if the tests came back positive for either, Hoot was going back to the Battle Barn.

For the next few days, it was my task of watching him and taking care of him while the girls were at school.  I don't like neurotic cats, and I wasn't introducing one into my house.  Fortunately, Hoot wasn't crazy at all.  In fact, he was the complete opposite.  I didn't know if it was his temperament, or lack of good nutrition, but he slept all day and night.  And when any of us picked him up, he just fell straight asleep in our laps.  In fact, he was the epitome of a "lap cat", even letting us stroke his belly!  While I couldn't deny that he was a cute, well-behaved little thing, I didn't become attached.

As we headed off to the vet's, I couldn't believe that we were thinking about taking on another animal.  Our vet bills are through the roof as it is, simply because of the quantity of animals we own.  Stray cats are always expensive up front, because they usually have had no care at all.

First thing.  The tests.  They drew blood, and waited.  Meanwhile, he got his distemper and rabies, and we set up an appointment to have him neutered.  ASAP.  Tom cat pee is the worst in regards to smell, and getting rid of that stinky litter box was a priority.  Just as we were about to leave, the vet came back in with a worried look on his face.  His first question was "Do you have other cats in your house?"

Turns out, Hoot has FIV which is contagious (FIV is the equivalent of HIV, but for felines).  It is caught through deep bites when cats fight.  While I knew it would be sad for Johannah, I knew we had an "out".  We would just put Hoot back in the Battle Barn.  He would be better off than when he came to us.  He would have his shots and would have been loved for a couple of days.

The vet, however, had different plans.  He wanted Hoot neutered for many reasons, the least of which was he wouldn't be able to spread FIV to a female cat and resulting kittens.  I looked at him incredulously.  He wanted me to neuter a cat (and pay for the neutering) when I wasn't planning on keeping the cat?  Was he crazy?

Oh no.  He had it all worked out.  He would give me a "deal".  He wouldn't charge me for the visit, nor for the rabies shot.  From what he was telling me, I would walk out of the office, owing only $73.  As a responsible pet owner, I figured I could pay that.  He even offered to take Hoot immediately, keep him overnight (gratis again) and neuter him over his lunch break the next day.

Fine.

A crazy thing happened that night.  I actually missed Hoot.  That darn cat, that I had tried so hard to keep at arm's length, had worked his way into my heart.

We picked him up the next day to the tune of $150 (I talked them down from $220), and although the vet told me that he could go straight back to the Battle Barn (with no issues with healing), I couldn't just throw him back in there.  I figured he was stressed from the visit, and probably needed some sleep.  Afterall, the assistants at the vet's had fallen in love with him and basically hadn't put him down for the 24 hours he was there.  He has just the most affectionate way about him, and they had held him constantly.

Gosh darn it, I knew it, and you probably know it now.  I couldn't get rid of him.  Just the thought of him not having his nice towel, and good nutrition made me sick, but the thought of him not snuggling down with one of us in front of the tv at night?  Nope.  It wasn't happening.

So, I don't know how this will all work.  So far, our other two cats are outside most of the time (since it's summer), so they haven't even seen much of him.  However, I can only hope that they all get along and the FIV won't be spread to them.  We continue to love him, and we can't believe how lucky we were to find such a well-behaved, friendly little cat.

Yes, Glo fell asleep like this.

In the meantime, welcome to the family HOOT!!