March 19
Gimme Shelter – But Don’t Fence Me In
Lewy came back on Tuesday and we started over.
Since we knew from earlier tests Lewy was FELV and FIV negative, my staff and I set out to determine if we had a sick cat, a lonely cat, or a truly self destructive cat.
I dewormed Lewy and put him in one of our spacious cat condos. I have a cat room where the clinic cats live. All of our clinic cats are physically healthy or in various stages of recovery – some are here temporarily for rehabilitation and some live here on a permanent basis but none pose a health threat with aggression or contagions. Ironically, they are all gray; but that’s another story.
For a full 24 hours, Lewy snubbed all food. He sulked, he curled up in the back of his condo and refused to engage. He slept in his litter box. He was giving all of us at Hoofstock serious “catt-i-tude”.
By Tuesday evening, after exhausting every possible cat illness or malady, I sat down with my six year old daughter to watch one of our favorite movies – Grease – teenage cliques at their best. Then it hit me – maybe Lewy is a social cat and needed friends – kind of like how the Pink Ladies never went alone to the bathroom.
I trotted down the stairs and into the cat room. I crossed my fingers and opened the condo door. He just stared at me. I left the door open and went back to the movie and figured when credits rolled, I’d check again.
Lewy was eating out of the general population food bowl. I left him out and went back to bed.
At 7 am Wednesday, Lewy was eating, drinking and playing with the gang in the cat room. He became playful with my staff and my daughter and by weeks’ end, he had gained a pound.
Apparently, Lewy needed an entourage. We released him last night to his new adoptive family — where I’m sure they will indulge his need to be part of a gang.
Dr. Cathy Alinovi DVM
As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Cathy treated 80% of what walked in the door — not with expensive prescriptions — but with adequate nutrition. Now retired from private practice, her commitment to pets hasn’t waned and she looks forward to impacting many more pet parents through her books, research, speaking and consulting work. Learn more at drcathyvet.com
