On Sunday, I did manage to do all my normal cooking and go to Rainbow, though I was up until past midnight. For some reason, having kittens makes everything take a lot longer. I remember when Carlos died, Howie (my teacher) said, “Anyone I know who’s been through this has been able to do only the minimum.” I think the same may be true of having kittens.
I had placed a rush Amazon order for more of the cat litter D&H are currently using, and more of the food the SPCA sent me home with, and two litter boxes with high sides. All of that came Sunday night, and on Monday I deployed one of the new litter boxes, which they seem to like fine.
Sunday night I didn’t put them in the bathroom at bedtime for the first time. They both hopped onto the bed with me and didn’t cause the slightest disturbance all night, though that appears to have been a fluke. You’re supposed to play with them before bedtime until they get tired out, but so far I haven’t discovered how long that might take. Right now they are not supposed to leap up in the air, because they were both just neutered. Maybe after they can jump up, it will be possible to tire them out a little.
On Monday morning, they both sat on my lap while I had breakfast, and they did the same Tuesday and today, though I think they are animated by different impulses:
Duckworth: “I want to be with my mommy!” (He is always the first one on my lap, flinging himself down and going right to sleep.)
Howie (the cat): “If he’s doing / having that, then I’m doing / having that.”
They are of course very interested in getting into the walk-in closet, where I am putting everything they want to chew that I don’t want them to chew—basically, everything I own is going in there piece by piece. When I open the door, Howie, who is an exceedingly determined soul, rushes in immediately. Duckworth then thinks it over and decides (as far as I can tell), “Hmm, if he’s going in there, I suppose I could do the same.” I pick Howie up and then I pick Duckworth up. By the time I get Duckworth scooped up, Howie is struggling frantically to get down: “Unhand me right now!” Meanwhile Duckworth is like, “Yay! Reunited with my mother.”
This morning, I got a text from Tom saying that the floor guys were coming in half an hour and he needed help moving the rest of the stuff out of his apartment. I knocked on his door and announced myself: “Ace Moving and Critical Oversight.” We also needed to move his snake, in its big glass cage, out of his place.
Then the workers arrived. Actually, they arrived in time to help move the couch, thank god. Then they set up an astonishing racket, exactly over my place. I closed all my windows, remembering how much dust was generated when my floors were done, and ran the fan and HEPA filter. It was great that there was such a cacophony, because once it’s over, two rampaging cats should sound like nothing to my downstairs neighbor.
Today I began taking photos of the cats and wondered why I hadn’t done this right away. Even if none is good enough to post here, I will enjoy seeing those photos later and remembering these first days. I’m sorry now that I didn’t take a picture or two the day they came home with me, and each day since then.
I think at first they both were pooping solid poop, and then one started having diarrhea, and now they both have diarrhea. I hear a sneeze maybe once a day; not sure who. I see someone scratching behind his ear once a day; not sure who. Duckworth has a pellet-like lump behind his right underarm.
I called the SPCA animal hospital to see what I should do. I left a message about 11 a.m. and hadn’t heard back by 5:30 p.m., so I called them again, meaning to leave another message, but this time someone answered and said that diarrhea in cats so young is urgent, and they should be seen very soon. However, they have no appointments available for weeks. However, I can bring them to the emergency clinic—which may entail a wait in line of up to four hours.
After bringing two cats in carriers home in a cab last week, I decided never to go anywhere again with both of them at once, unless absolutely necessary. So taking two cats to the SPCA’s emergency clinic could literally take the better part of two whole days. I was planning to get their medical care there, which I figured even with four cab trips would be cheaper than going where I took Hammett, but I am not going to spend two whole days standing in line at the emergency clinic, especially since it’s urgent, so I’ll likely be going back to my normal place, which is just three blocks away. I can walk there. Both cats remain full of energy, so neither is in dire straits, as far as I can tell, but I will take them in tomorrow, if possible.
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