Harriet update, back in the hospital

I took Harriet to the cats only vet this morning. She still wasn't able to
go to the bathroom since her last hospitalization on Tuesday/Wednesday. I
called the cat vet this morning and they said I could drop her off between
8:00-9:30am. It was already 8:15, and it takes me about an hour to get down
there on a normal day. This week it's been more like 90 minutes or more due
to the UN rerouting traffic all over the place. The woman who answered the
phone said she'd give me until 10:30, so I got all my stuff together and
left. Harriet got restless near the end of the ride, pushing her head
against the mesh in the carrier and pawing at the towel, trying to get out.
I'm sure she wasn't pleased when we got to the vet and she realized she was
someplace else that wasn't home.

Later that afternoon I went to the other vet to pick up copies of her
records, and brought them to the cat vet. They had neglected to include
copies of the blood tests they did back in August, but they faxed them right
over when called. The vet said he wanted to draw more blood. He said that
they didn't check her thyroid and something else, which he said they should
have done. They checked her blood pressure, which was good. The vet said
that even though she had a lot of stool inside, it didn't feel rock hard.
He said the Lactulose dose was still too low at 2ml twice a day and said
they would up it to 4ml twice a day. He said the cisapride could stay the
same for now, twice a day. Harriet was also given Baytril on Wednesday,
once daily, since she had the bloody nose. There has been no sign of
bleeding or sneezing since Tuesday, when it first appeared, so that's
something to be thankful for at least.

They told me to call back at 4:30 to check on Harriet. She still hadn't
pooped so they wanted to keep her overnight and give her another enema.
They also took more x-rays but again they showed nothing unusual. I'm to
call back tomorrow morning when the vet tech gets in to get a quick update,
and then call back after 11:30 once the vet is in to see if I can take her
back. I plan on bringing her back home with me, so I can continue to
monitor her output (or lack of) and medicate her.

The vet said that we'll try the higher dose of the Lactulose before talking
about surgery. He said that it would be very expensive and he would
recommend a specialist to do it; they wouldn't do it there. He said that
just the right amount must be removed. If too much was left in, the
constipation could continue. If too much was removed, she would be leaking
all the time. I didn't ask how expensive "expensive" meant. My boss
already spent more than $1,000 at the other place. Today I brought her in
before going to work and left a deposit on my card. My boss said to pay the
balance and he'd repay me. I'll wait awhile before asking him to do that.
If it turns out that surgery is the only option I won't even ask to be
repaid for this visit. I will even give him money every week if she needs
the surgery. I just can't afford to put a huge amount on my already almost
maxed out card. Last year my cat Tiger (14 1/2 at the time) had a breast
tumor removed and it was close to $1,000 but that was probably nothing
compared to what Harriet would have to undergo.

I feel so bad for her and I know she's worn down by all of this. Last night
when I checked on her in my bedroom, she was purring loudly. She almost
never purrs. I've heard her purr twice before at work, very low, but she
was sleepy & content at those times. Last night I could hear her from
several feet away. She still woke me up this morning by head-butting me and
chirping hello. She's been sleeping on the bed woth me instead of hising in
the armoire. Last night & this morning she ate very little. I think she's
also not drinking much, if any, water. I had given a friend my old Petmate
fountain which he never used, so I got it back from him for Harriet. I
might put that in my kitchen and move my Drinkwell into the bedroom, since
Harriet has a Drinkwell at work.

I'm hoping that this will be Harriet's last hospital visit but I really
don't feel hopeful. I do feel MUCH better about her being at this vet,
though.

--
Liz

I feel so bad for both you and Harriet Purrs that the new vet is
going to be more helpful and that the lactulose resolves this better. I
just feel so bad for you.

Elizabeth Blake wrote:

I'm hoping that this will be Harriet's last hospital visit but I really
don't feel hopeful. I do feel MUCH better about her being at this vet,
though.

Liz, this vet does sound more on top of everything. I've often thought
of going to a cats only practice but there aren't many around here and
none very convenient to where I live. It's good you have one you can
go to.

I hope they can get Harriet feeling all better again without surgery.
Your boss sounds really nice ( I can't imagine my boss spending much
more than about 10 bucks on anyone other than herself, especially an
animal). Harriet is a lucky girl to have so many people who care about
her, especially you.

I hope you can get her out Saturday and get her home with you.

Candace

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I took Harriet to the cats only vet this morning. She still wasn't able
to
go to the bathroom since her last hospitalization on Tuesday/Wednesday. I
called the cat vet this morning and they said I could drop her off between
8:00-9:30am. It was already 8:15, and it takes me about an hour to get
down
there on a normal day. This week it's been more like 90 minutes or more
due
to the UN rerouting traffic all over the place. The woman who answered
the
phone said she'd give me until 10:30, so I got all my stuff together and
left. Harriet got restless near the end of the ride, pushing her head
against the mesh in the carrier and pawing at the towel, trying to get
out.
I'm sure she wasn't pleased when we got to the vet and she realized she
was
someplace else that wasn't home.

Later that afternoon I went to the other vet to pick up copies of her
records, and brought them to the cat vet. They had neglected to include
copies of the blood tests they did back in August, but they faxed them
right
over when called. The vet said he wanted to draw more blood. He said
that
they didn't check her thyroid and something else, which he said they
should
have done. They checked her blood pressure, which was good. The vet said
that even though she had a lot of stool inside, it didn't feel rock hard.
He said the Lactulose dose was still too low at 2ml twice a day and said
they would up it to 4ml twice a day. He said the cisapride could stay the
same for now, twice a day. Harriet was also given Baytril on Wednesday,
once daily, since she had the bloody nose. There has been no sign of
bleeding or sneezing since Tuesday, when it first appeared, so that's
something to be thankful for at least.

They told me to call back at 4:30 to check on Harriet. She still hadn't
pooped so they wanted to keep her overnight and give her another enema.
They also took more x-rays but again they showed nothing unusual. I'm to
call back tomorrow morning when the vet tech gets in to get a quick
update,
and then call back after 11:30 once the vet is in to see if I can take her
back. I plan on bringing her back home with me, so I can continue to
monitor her output (or lack of) and medicate her.

The vet said that we'll try the higher dose of the Lactulose before
talking
about surgery.

Finally! I hope you *never* go back to the first vet.



He said that it would be very expensive and he would
recommend a specialist to do it; they wouldn't do it there. He said that
just the right amount must be removed. If too much was left in, the
constipation could continue. If too much was removed, she would be
leaking
all the time. I didn't ask how expensive "expensive" meant. My boss
already spent more than $1,000 at the other place. Today I brought her in
before going to work and left a deposit on my card. My boss said to pay
the
balance and he'd repay me. I'll wait awhile before asking him to do that.
If it turns out that surgery is the only option I won't even ask to be
repaid for this visit. I will even give him money every week if she needs
the surgery.


Most cats with chronic constipation can be successfully managed on lactulose
and cisapride. Give the new vet's plan a chance before you start worrying
about surgery. The doses may need to be adjusted, but I think this vet is
on the right track.

Btw, did I mention that you can have the lactulose flavored? You can also
get the cisapride compounded into a flavored suspension. This might make
medicating her a lot easier. Cats really hate the taste of lactulose and
I'd hate to see her develop an aversion to being medicated and start
associating you with that taste. If you don't can't find a compounding
pharmacy that specializes with pet formulations, let me know.


I just can't afford to put a huge amount on my already almost
maxed out card. Last year my cat Tiger (14 1/2 at the time) had a breast
tumor removed and it was close to $1,000 but that was probably nothing
compared to what Harriet would have to undergo.

I feel so bad for her and I know she's worn down by all of this. Last
night
when I checked on her in my bedroom, she was purring loudly. She almost
never purrs. I've heard her purr twice before at work, very low, but she
was sleepy & content at those times. Last night I could hear her from
several feet away. She still woke me up this morning by head-butting me
and
chirping hello. She's been sleeping on the bed woth me instead of hising
in
the armoire. Last night & this morning she ate very little. I think
she's
also not drinking much, if any, water. I had given a friend my old
Petmate
fountain which he never used, so I got it back from him for Harriet. I
might put that in my kitchen and move my Drinkwell into the bedroom, since
Harriet has a Drinkwell at work.

I'm hoping that this will be Harriet's last hospital visit but I really
don't feel hopeful. I do feel MUCH better about her being at this vet,
though.


So do I!

Keep the faith.

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
...

Most cats with chronic constipation can be successfully managed on
lactulose
and cisapride. Give the new vet's plan a chance before you start worrying
about surgery. The doses may need to be adjusted, but I think this vet is
on the right track.

Btw, did I mention that you can have the lactulose flavored? You can also
get the cisapride compounded into a flavored suspension. This might make
medicating her a lot easier. Cats really hate the taste of lactulose and
I'd hate to see her develop an aversion to being medicated and start
associating you with that taste. If you don't can't find a compounding
pharmacy that specializes with pet formulations, let me know.

Harriet really does hate the Lactulose, especially now that she has to take
so much more of it. Giving her the cisapride isn't bad, I haven't had her
spit out a single pill/capsule yet. I forgot to ask how long she should be
on the Baytril. The cat vet said the course is usually 5? 7? days. I can't
remember the number. There are still a lot of pills left in the bottle.
She's been on it since Wednesday so I'll call on Monday to find out. She
hasn't shown any signs of bleeding or sneezing since Tuesday.

The first bottle of lactulose that I got from the original vet was
completely colorless. The newer bottle (again, from the old vet) has a
slight tint to it, so I wonder if they flavored it. I'm not about to taste
the two of them to find out! I think I only used the new bottle once, when
I misplaced the first one. I gave her 4ml for the first time tonight. She
ended up spitting/drooling some out all over my bed. I set up the Drinkwell
fountain in my bedroom and thought maybe she stepped in it, or dragged her
tail through it but she was dry.

Obviously, I picked her up today. When they brought her out in her Sherpa
bag, she kept trying to get out. I opened it and she jumped out and walked
back behind the counter. It's getting harder to put her in the bag.
Tonight, on the bus coming home, she kept pawing at the mesh and crying to
get out. I unzip it and let her stick her head out, but I can't really take
her out or else other riders might complain. The first few trips she was
very quiet but I think now she wants to see what's going on.

They said she had a BM Friday around 6pm, and another this morning that was
loose. I think they use different enemas than the other place, because her
butt was pretty greasy. I remember it was the same way last year we took
her there. At the other place she came out very clean, and I don't think it
was because they took the time to bathe her. She keeps trying to clean
herself up but the taste must be pretty bad. The good thing is it's making
her drink more. Last week I didn't see her drinking any water but today at
work she was at the fountain several times.

The vet gave me some enemas and he said that if she's not going, I can try
giving her one myself before bringing her in. It says Docu-Soft Pet Enema.
He said that I should have another person to help me if I do have to use it.

She wouldn't eat at the vet's this morning. When I called in the morning,
before the doctor was in, the tech asked me what kind of food she liked to
eat. He said he would try Fancy Feast to ger her to eat. When I picked her
up at noon they said that she wouldn't eat. She did eat at work. I gave
her Wellness, and I pushed some of the dry Low residue food in it to
encourage her, and she ate everything. Tonight, at home, I did the same
things and she ate all of the dry and about half of the wet. I know she
would prefer to be at the bookstore and she does eat better there but I
can't keep track of her litter box deposits there.

She was pretty good all day but near the end she decided to stalk her
favorite prey, Carl. He was very good about it. In the past, whe she
started growling he would get very nervous and back away or call me. Today
he continued doing what he was doing and ignored her. I picked her up and
took her into my office since we would be leaving soon anyway.

This afternoon, after she ate, she headed upstairs into the store. I
followed her to see what she was doing (and to make sure she wasn't trying
to kill Carl). Right after that, a young woman came in and I heard her ask
a co-worker if Harriet was in. It was pretty funny/cute. My co-worker
pointed her out and also pointed to me, saying that I was her primary
caregiver. The woman grasped my hand and thanked me for taking such good
care of her. She said that when she was in school she would stop in every
day to visit Harriet. Now that she's graduated, she said she makes it in
about once a week. I know there are other people who come in just to see
Harriet, and who are worried when she's not there. I printed out some
pictures I took of her on my bed and the manager put them up by the cash
registers to show Harriet's fan club.

We've been home for just a few hours. She has peed in the box and I did see
some unfortunate brown spots on my bed. They warned me that she might still
be leaking. I guess I'll be doing extra laundry.

--
Liz

On 2005-09-17 20:58:08 -0500, "Elizabeth Blake"
said:

This afternoon, after she ate, she headed upstairs into the store. I
followed her to see what she was doing (and to make sure she wasn't
trying to kill Carl).
This is pretty funny!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Right after that, a young woman came in and I heard her ask a
co-worker if Harriet was in. It was pretty funny/cute. My co-worker
pointed her out and also pointed to me, saying that I was her primary
caregiver. The woman grasped my hand and thanked me for taking such
good care of her. She said that when she was in school she would stop
in every day to visit Harriet. Now that she's graduated, she said she
makes it in about once a week. I know there are other people who come
in just to see Harriet, and who are worried when she's not there. I
printed out some pictures I took of her on my bed and the manager put
them up by the cash registers to show Harriet's fan club.

Awww. That's so sweet that people are fans. I bet if she ever does need
expensive treatment, they would chip in.

Elizabeth Blake wrote:

This afternoon, after she ate, she headed upstairs into the store. I
followed her to see what she was doing (and to make sure she wasn't trying
to kill Carl). Right after that, a young woman came in and I heard her ask
a co-worker if Harriet was in. It was pretty funny/cute. My co-worker
pointed her out and also pointed to me, saying that I was her primary
caregiver. The woman grasped my hand and thanked me for taking such good
care of her. She said that when she was in school she would stop in every
day to visit Harriet. Now that she's graduated, she said she makes it in
about once a week. I know there are other people who come in just to see
Harriet, and who are worried when she's not there. I printed out some
pictures I took of her on my bed and the manager put them up by the cash
registers to show Harriet's fan club.

I'm glad Harriet is home with you. I will be thinking good thoughts
for her complete recovery.

I know that, at the few places I have gone where they have a resident
kitty, that's always my first concern when I go in and I always ask if
I don't see the cat. There's a gourmet food/sandwich shop/wine store
place close to where I live where they had a resident cat.. Her name
was Princess and she had been there for about 18 years. She was
primarily an outdoor kitty and was spayed and vetted and well-fed and
liked to hang out with people when they were eating on the patio. Once
we went and I didn't see her or her food dishes so I asked where she
was. They said she had been catnapped a couple of weeks earlier! They
said someone pulled up in a car, grabbed her and drove off. A couple
days prior to that, a well-dressed woman had been in asking questions
about Princess and her vet care and making remarks that indicated she
didn't think they were taking good enough care of her so they felt the
woman took her home to be an indoor cat. I certainly hope so and so
did they. 18 years is a long time, I'm sure Princess wondered what
became of her home...it probably wasn't ideal because of the outdoor
aspect of it (the area was close to some heavy traffic) but she always
appeared happy and content so I'm sure she enjoyed her life as it was
all she had known. Maybe it was best that she live out the rest of her
life in a safer environment but I felt bad about it all and so did the
staff. It would have been nice if the catnappers had at least called
anonymously afterwards to tell them what they had done and ease their
concerns a bit.

I still think of her every single time I go there and I look to see if
there are any food dishes around for new cats but there aren't.

Candace

Elizabeth Blake wrote:
snip

They said she had a BM Friday around 6pm, and another this morning that was
loose. I think they use different enemas than the other place, because her
butt was pretty greasy.

Probably KY. Most enemas are a mixture of a soap-like solution, KY and
water.

I remember it was the same way last year we took
her there. At the other place she came out very clean, and I don't think it
was because they took the time to bathe her. She keeps trying to clean
herself up but the taste must be pretty bad. The good thing is it's making
her drink more. Last week I didn't see her drinking any water but today at
work she was at the fountain several times.

It would be really unusual for them not to at least rinse her butt
after an enema-induced BM. It is a HUGE mess. Most vets will shampoo
at least the back half of the cat before sending them home.


The vet gave me some enemas and he said that if she's not going, I can try
giving her one myself before bringing her in. It says Docu-Soft Pet Enema.
He said that I should have another person to help me if I do have to use it.

LOL...definitely. It is a 2 or 3 person job. Not for the faint of
heart. You will probably have to do it over a sink, and wrap the front
end of her in a towel, and hold her down. Put KY all over the enema
before trying to insert it. Afterwards, confine her to a small spot
with access to a littler box (cage or bathroom) and put her on a LOT of
towels. She will need a bath afterwards.


She wouldn't eat at the vet's this morning. When I called in the morning,
before the doctor was in, the tech asked me what kind of food she liked to
eat. He said he would try Fancy Feast to ger her to eat. When I picked her
up at noon they said that she wouldn't eat. She did eat at work. I gave
her Wellness, and I pushed some of the dry Low residue food in it to
encourage her, and she ate everything. Tonight, at home, I did the same
things and she ate all of the dry and about half of the wet.

That's great news! Cats feel nauseated after enemas - many will vomit
and/or dry heave for an hour or so afterward. It's so sad to watch.
It's a great sign that she's eating again.

I know she
would prefer to be at the bookstore and she does eat better there but I
can't keep track of her litter box deposits there.

She was pretty good all day but near the end she decided to stalk her
favorite prey, Carl. He was very good about it. In the past, whe she
started growling he would get very nervous and back away or call me. Today
he continued doing what he was doing and ignored her. I picked her up and
took her into my office since we would be leaving soon anyway.

This afternoon, after she ate, she headed upstairs into the store. I
followed her to see what she was doing (and to make sure she wasn't trying
to kill Carl). Right after that, a young woman came in and I heard her ask
a co-worker if Harriet was in. It was pretty funny/cute. My co-worker
pointed her out and also pointed to me, saying that I was her primary
caregiver. The woman grasped my hand and thanked me for taking such good
care of her. She said that when she was in school she would stop in every
day to visit Harriet. Now that she's graduated, she said she makes it in
about once a week. I know there are other people who come in just to see
Harriet, and who are worried when she's not there. I printed out some
pictures I took of her on my bed and the manager put them up by the cash
registers to show Harriet's fan club.

Sweet.


We've been home for just a few hours. She has peed in the box and I did see
some unfortunate brown spots on my bed. They warned me that she might still
be leaking. I guess I'll be doing extra laundry.

It's not uncommon for them to leak quite awhile after an enema.

I hope thie is resolved soon. Sounds like she has poor muscle tone in
the colon, which is common in older cats, especially Japanese
bob-tails, Manx and Manx-wannabes (I don't know if Harriet fits this
description or not - I haven't been following every post). I hope it
resolves on its own and that she doesn't need surgery. Keep us posted.

-L.

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Phil P." wrote in message
...

Most cats with chronic constipation can be successfully managed on
lactulose
and cisapride. Give the new vet's plan a chance before you start
worrying
about surgery. The doses may need to be adjusted, but I think this vet
is
on the right track.

Btw, did I mention that you can have the lactulose flavored? You can
also
get the cisapride compounded into a flavored suspension. This might
make
medicating her a lot easier. Cats really hate the taste of lactulose
and
I'd hate to see her develop an aversion to being medicated and start
associating you with that taste. If you don't can't find a compounding
pharmacy that specializes with pet formulations, let me know.

Harriet really does hate the Lactulose, especially now that she has to
take
so much more of it.


I think you should consider having the lactulose flavored, otherwise,
there's a very strong possibility she'll develop a very strong aversion to
being medicated- which will make your job even more difficult if not
impossible- which would be disastrous for her. You might also want to get
another oral syringe and fill it with 5 ml of water and give it to her after
the lactulose to wash away the taste so it doesn't kill her appetite.


Giving her the cisapride isn't bad, I haven't had her
spit out a single pill/capsule yet. I forgot to ask how long she should
be
on the Baytril. The cat vet said the course is usually 5? 7? days. I
can't
remember the number. There are still a lot of pills left in the bottle.
She's been on it since Wednesday so I'll call on Monday to find out. She
hasn't shown any signs of bleeding or sneezing since Tuesday.

The first bottle of lactulose that I got from the original vet was
completely colorless. The newer bottle (again, from the old vet) has a
slight tint to it, so I wonder if they flavored it. I'm not about to
taste
the two of them to find out! I think I only used the new bottle once,
when
I misplaced the first one. I gave her 4ml for the first time tonight.
She
ended up spitting/drooling some out all over my bed. I set up the
Drinkwell
fountain in my bedroom and thought maybe she stepped in it, or dragged her
tail through it but she was dry.


You might get more into her if you insert the syringe in the gap between the
canine and carnassials- this way you don't have to force open her mouth.
After giving the lactulose, hold her head up a little with your palm and
stroke her throat a little and then give her the syringe of water or better
still, tuna water.




Obviously, I picked her up today. When they brought her out in her Sherpa
bag, she kept trying to get out. I opened it and she jumped out and
walked
back behind the counter. It's getting harder to put her in the bag.
Tonight, on the bus coming home, she kept pawing at the mesh and crying to
get out. I unzip it and let her stick her head out, but I can't really
take
her out or else other riders might complain. The first few trips she was
very quiet but I think now she wants to see what's going on.


You might want to put her in a ferret or rabbit figure 8 harness for the bus
ride in case she manages to escape from the bag. The figure 8s are very
thin and not as bulky as a cat harness. They cost about $5. Here's what it
looks like:
http://www.maxshouse.com/Environment...bitharness.jpg



They said she had a BM Friday around 6pm, and another this morning that
was
loose. I think they use different enemas than the other place, because
her
butt was pretty greasy.

The other place probably used only warm water.


I remember it was the same way last year we took
her there. At the other place she came out very clean, and I don't think
it
was because they took the time to bathe her. She keeps trying to clean
herself up but the taste must be pretty bad. The good thing is it's
making
her drink more. Last week I didn't see her drinking any water but today
at
work she was at the fountain several times.

The vet gave me some enemas and he said that if she's not going, I can try
giving her one myself before bringing her in. It says Docu-Soft Pet
Enema.
He said that I should have another person to help me if I do have to use
it.


The little pink syringes? I hate those things! LOL! I got "spayed" twice-
that did it. Now I use the glycerin syringes. Just make sure you wear
raincoat when you use it! LOL! Be sure to grease it up with a little KY
before inserting it.



She wouldn't eat at the vet's this morning. When I called in the morning,
before the doctor was in, the tech asked me what kind of food she liked to
eat. He said he would try Fancy Feast to ger her to eat. When I picked
her
up at noon they said that she wouldn't eat.


That's not unusual. Most cats won't eat in the clinic.


She did eat at work. I gave
her Wellness, and I pushed some of the dry Low residue food in it to
encourage her, and she ate everything. Tonight, at home, I did the same
things and she ate all of the dry and about half of the wet. I know she
would prefer to be at the bookstore and she does eat better there but I
can't keep track of her litter box deposits there.


She's eating- that's a good sign. I think the higher lactulose dose will
make a world of difference.



She was pretty good all day but near the end she decided to stalk her
favorite prey, Carl. He was very good about it. In the past, whe she
started growling he would get very nervous and back away or call me.
Today
he continued doing what he was doing and ignored her. I picked her up and
took her into my office since we would be leaving soon anyway.


Sound like her spirits are picking up. That's a good sign, too.



This afternoon, after she ate, she headed upstairs into the store. I
followed her to see what she was doing (and to make sure she wasn't trying
to kill Carl). Right after that, a young woman came in and I heard her
ask
a co-worker if Harriet was in. It was pretty funny/cute. My co-worker
pointed her out and also pointed to me, saying that I was her primary
caregiver. The woman grasped my hand and thanked me for taking such good
care of her. She said that when she was in school she would stop in every
day to visit Harriet. Now that she's graduated, she said she makes it in
about once a week. I know there are other people who come in just to see
Harriet, and who are worried when she's not there. I printed out some
pictures I took of her on my bed and the manager put them up by the cash
registers to show Harriet's fan club.


Put a jar by the cash register with a sign on it "Harriet's Vet Fund". LOL!



We've been home for just a few hours. She has peed in the box and I did
see
some unfortunate brown spots on my bed. They warned me that she might
still
be leaking. I guess I'll be doing extra laundry.

That's not unusual after an enema.

I'm so relieved (no pun intended) that you decided to take her to another
vet. Lets hope this vet gets to the bottom (pun intended) of her problem

Good luck.

Phil.

PS: When are we going to see a picture of Harriet???

"Candace" wrote in message
oups.com...

I know that, at the few places I have gone where they have a resident
kitty, that's always my first concern when I go in and I always ask if
I don't see the cat. There's a gourmet food/sandwich shop/wine store
place close to where I live where they had a resident cat.. Her name
was Princess and she had been there for about 18 years. She was
primarily an outdoor kitty and was spayed and vetted and well-fed and
liked to hang out with people when they were eating on the patio. Once
we went and I didn't see her or her food dishes so I asked where she
was. They said she had been catnapped a couple of weeks earlier! They
said someone pulled up in a car, grabbed her and drove off. A couple
days prior to that, a well-dressed woman had been in asking questions
about Princess and her vet care and making remarks that indicated she
didn't think they were taking good enough care of her so they felt the
woman took her home to be an indoor cat. I certainly hope so and so
did they. 18 years is a long time, I'm sure Princess wondered what
became of her home...it probably wasn't ideal because of the outdoor
aspect of it (the area was close to some heavy traffic) but she always
appeared happy and content so I'm sure she enjoyed her life as it was
all she had known. Maybe it was best that she live out the rest of her
life in a safer environment but I felt bad about it all and so did the
staff. It would have been nice if the catnappers had at least called
anonymously afterwards to tell them what they had done and ease their
concerns a bit.

The manager at work has always been paranoid that someone was going to
catnap Harriet. Since I work in an office dosntairs and I'm not in the
actual store much, I don't have to deal with the customers. The manager
gets nervous is anyone starts asking too many questions about her, and she'd
call down to my office and ask me to come get Harriet and take her
downstairs. I do get that some people get upset when they see a cat living
in a store or restaurant. Most people assume the cat is there simply to
catch rodents and doesn't get proper care. When we moved th the location
I'm in now, my boss said I could get 2 cats and I called various
shelters/rescue groups and told them I wanted cats for a bookstore and they
all refused. My cat at home, Tiger, was our store cat at our old location
and I took her home when I moved into my current apartment. I offered to
bring in Tiger's vet records from her time at the store to prove she was
taken care of but they didn't care. I finally went to a shelter and filled
out the forms as if I was taking them home, and that was 6.5 years ago
already.

On the other hand, I've been in countless delis where I'd see a cat for
awhile and then never see it again. Later on a different cat would be
there. I can only hope those cats *were* catnapped. I almost stole a
kitten from the deli right by work. I walked in one day and the porr thing
was compltely tangles in a plastic shopping bag that blew in the open door.
When I released her she ran off to the back so I couldn't grab her. I never
saw her againafter that day, and she was at least the third cat there in 2
years. Another smaller deli on the same block had a calico but I never
worried about her. The owners of that deli were a married couple and they
had pictures of their dogs and cats all over the place. The deli just
closed so I assume they took the calico home. I know they cared about her,
and the cat was devoted to the husband.

The vet that Harriet just went to (cats only) sometimes hosts cat adoption
days. The vet told me, the first time we ever went there, that they would
adopt out a cat to a bookstore but not to a deli, supermarket, restaurant or
places like that.

--
Liz