Kettering, Ohio, 2022
Happy...Nom...Caturday...Nom, nom, nom
His Majesty Boris Wilberforce Lester, King Feline of the Lester household, seen here, is eating. This is both news and a reason to celebrate.
Boris, you see, has lost a lot of weight. A dangerous amount of weight. He went from a fat and muscular 19-lb (8.6 kg) butterball to a scrawny 11 lbs (5.5 kg) in a rather short period of time due to an inflammatory liver issue. This is not untreatable, but it can be life threatening, and it was, not least because it seriously affected his ability to eat.
When one of his young subjects, lovely little Bebe, died suddenly in late November at three and half years of age from a sudden stroke (on my lap, no less), he went off of food altogether. This made it necessary for my wife and me to force-feed him via feeding syringe several times a day.
During this period, he also temporarily lost his sense of smell (no, not from COVID), so even when he became willing to eat, he couldn't smell the food and thus would not eat it. This is apparently normal for cats: if it doesn't smell like food, it isn't food.
The two and a half weeks immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday were terrible for us all. Bebe was gone, Boris seemed to be fading, and Yoshi and Leemy were clearly depressed. On top of that, Boris and Yoshi both had to go to the emergency hospital several times (Yoshi, who is otherwise healthy and strong as an ox, has a urinary tract issue that prevents him from urinating when he is stressed, and this, too, can be life threatening).
All-in-all, it was an unhappy holiday season at the Lester household.
My wife and I had an idea that turned out to be a really good one; we adopted a new young cat. Nina Seraphina Lester is a shiny and tiny black beauty. Her entry into the fold immediately changed the household dynamic. Boris recovered some of his vigor and, apparently spontaneously (although it could have been due to the meds), recovered his sense of smell and his appetite. Yoshi and Leemy immediately showed higher spirits, and my wife and I were given some much-needed joy.
For us, the best gift we received this holiday season is what you see here: Boris is eating again. He has had a healthy-ish appetite for over two weeks now. Perhaps he was motivated by the presence of a new, young cat. Then again, it could be that Nina's appetite is infectious. She has enough appetite for a human teenager!
Whatever the reason, he has already filled out a little and is showing a renewed interest in life. Although he still has a way to go, we have new hope for him.
Photos of Nina will follow later. For now, I am content to celebrate this: knock on wood, BORIS IS EATING AGAIN!
Kettering, Ohio, 2022
Happy...Nom...Caturday...Nom, nom, nom
His Majesty Boris Wilberforce Lester, King Feline of the Lester household, seen here, is eating. This is both news and a reason to celebrate.
Boris, you see, has lost a lot of weight. A dangerous amount of weight. He went from a fat and muscular 19-lb (8.6 kg) butterball to a scrawny 11 lbs (5.5 kg) in a rather short period of time due to an inflammatory liver issue. This is not untreatable, but it can be life threatening, and it was, not least because it seriously affected his ability to eat.
When one of his young subjects, lovely little Bebe, died suddenly in late November at three and half years of age from a sudden stroke (on my lap, no less), he went off of food altogether. This made it necessary for my wife and me to force-feed him via feeding syringe several times a day.
During this period, he also temporarily lost his sense of smell (no, not from COVID), so even when he became willing to eat, he couldn't smell the food and thus would not eat it. This is apparently normal for cats: if it doesn't smell like food, it isn't food.
The two and a half weeks immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday were terrible for us all. Bebe was gone, Boris seemed to be fading, and Yoshi and Leemy were clearly depressed. On top of that, Boris and Yoshi both had to go to the emergency hospital several times (Yoshi, who is otherwise healthy and strong as an ox, has a urinary tract issue that prevents him from urinating when he is stressed, and this, too, can be life threatening).
All-in-all, it was an unhappy holiday season at the Lester household.
My wife and I had an idea that turned out to be a really good one; we adopted a new young cat. Nina Seraphina Lester is a shiny and tiny black beauty. Her entry into the fold immediately changed the household dynamic. Boris recovered some of his vigor and, apparently spontaneously (although it could have been due to the meds), recovered his sense of smell and his appetite. Yoshi and Leemy immediately showed higher spirits, and my wife and I were given some much-needed joy.
For us, the best gift we received this holiday season is what you see here: Boris is eating again. He has had a healthy-ish appetite for over two weeks now. Perhaps he was motivated by the presence of a new, young cat. Then again, it could be that Nina's appetite is infectious. She has enough appetite for a human teenager!
Whatever the reason, he has already filled out a little and is showing a renewed interest in life. Although he still has a way to go, we have new hope for him.
Photos of Nina will follow later. For now, I am content to celebrate this: knock on wood, BORIS IS EATING AGAIN!