Mary Louise Eklund

Tag: Red

  • Meet Mr. Red

    Meet Mr. Red

    red

    In the introduction of my furry family members we are now to the last of the clowder – Mr. Red. His full name is Puss Red but like his brother he prefers his last name. He may be the last feline covered but not the least by any means. He’s physically the largest now. Like many of us as we age the spread sits in… he was once a lean lanky Tom for most of his prime but as chronic kidney insufficiency set in so did the spread. He’s now a hefty kitty. I just say he’s a lotta kitty lovin’! Also I’ve taken to shouting thunder, Thunder, THUNDER-BUTT HO! as he runs down the stairs. Our personal tribute to Lion-O and the Thundercats .   Mike likes to use the Donkey line from Shrek 3 “Whoa that’s a whole lotta kitty! Can we keep ‘im?”  Either way Red has a big butt we can’t deny!

    He’s always been the outgoing but insecure one.  Kinda reminds me of the characters that swagger once safety has been established by the real heroes.  Except they are lovable and well meaning chickens that long to be macho.   That’s my Red.  He ‘s not the gentletom his brother is because he tries so darn hard and is so anxious to be the ONE!  He wants to but dang it’s scary.  As a result of this personality he often gets into trouble – he does naughty things to get attention.  If there’s a crash in another room I guarn-damn-tee-ya it’ll be red walking out with tail high looking all surprised.  What?  Did you hear that?  What happened?  I was being good in that room and suddenly A CRASH!

    "Are you beading? Can you pet me? Do you love beads more than me?"
    “Are you beading? Can you pet me? Do you love beads more than me?”

    Also he’s always had a disposition to eat anything.  That’s why his nickname is Mr.  I-Eat-IT!  He has a penchant for chewing through earbud wires and crunching up the buds.  We have to keep those safely tucked away in drawers, pockets, purses, or brief cases when not in use.  He’s actually had dental surgery due to this quirk. He cracked a tooth and wedged a piece of black plastic in the crack when crunching up a bud.  A few hundred dollars later we had a drunk kitty with a still partially numb mouth staggering into the kitchen trying to steal gushy doggie food.  The problem that had him yowl in frustration was the dang food wouldn’t stay in his numbed mouth!  Rappy just said “Ew all my gushy food has cat slobber on it!”

    For all his faults and quirks Red is a lover just like his brother.  He loved to cuddle, purr, and be petted.  He’s not a lap cat as much as a next to you cat.  Which is okay given the thunderbutt status.  Except here you know quirky tom has to have his own twist to this – he wants to lick your hands and face like a dog.  I kid you not he’s a not a kitty kisser with head butts like most cats – he’s licker kisser.  Sure it feel strange with that rough tongue and I try to discourage it or let it be my fingers.  However, fall asleep and your nose is his for the kissing.  You’ve not startled awake until you’ve had a sandpaper tongue dragged across your nose!

    Also he’s the only cat I’ve ever know with a diagnosed mental illness.   He took to tearing all his hair out on his belly.  Took him to the vet and had all kind of tests run – finally nothing physically wrong.  We began to see that he did it when a family member was gone for a few nights.  It was his new stress reaction!  As the vet said “He’s either psychotic, neurotic, or demented.  Without being able to question him I can’t tell you which it is.”  The answer is mild sedation if it gets bad.  We chose to just love love him through it as long as it was cosmetic fur damage and now harming his own skin.  When someone is gone we take special time to reassure Red he’s loved and safe.  Still even then when I was gone a week he de-pants-ed himself. So we have to watch him and do lots of reassuring.

    Sure Red is a bit odd and needs some extra care but he’s a sweetheart.  He tries to do his best and live a fun life but he’s such a fretter.  I do adore him and his antics.  He’s always sweet just trying to please you and be the alpha tom his gentlemanly brother is.  I just wish he could understand I love him as he is (except maybe minus the earbud munching but I’ll take it if it has to come with him).  He’s worth putting earbuds in drawers, doing daily pill sessions, take extra time to reassure him he’s okay & loved.  His antics and cuddles make it all worth him being my kitty boy with more kitty for the lovin’!

    Until next time!

  • Meet The Furry Boys

    Meet The Furry Boys

    Honestly my furry boys each deserve their own post.  They are two distinctive personalities.  Still they share the same origin story of how they came to be part of our family.  So despite being two fine feline fellas they will get three posts.  One on their origin story and one each on their unique personalities.

    It all started when I struck up a friendship with a single mom of seven where I used to work.  She was younger than me and had this weight of responsibility on her shoulders.  Long story short through a series of tragic happenings she wound up being the sole parent of these kids ranging in age from 19 to 5.  She was working hard as were the older kids to make ends meet.  Then an better opportunity happened – except the job was in California. I was asked to foster her two cats until she got settled there.  Then the plan was to send them out to the family. I couldn’t say no.

    Who spilled the catnip? Don't care dude just enjoy until mom cleans it up!
    Who spilled the catnip? Don’t care dude just enjoy until mom cleans it up!

    That’s how two 1 year old cats named Puss and Boots came to be part of our household.  They had become part of her household due to her finding them.  You see P&B came in a shipment of radioactive waste to a processing facility.  When they were discovered due to their mewling they were quickly rescued by the workers one of which being the single mom.  The kitties were dubbed Puss and Boots as they moved through the decontamination process. My friend was the one in charge of the process.  Once complete the decision was to the pound with them or to a home.  Being like me unable to turn away that cute needy kitten face – the two came home to the crowded house with seven kids.

    Now they were in our home with us, Mo, and Belle (an elderly golden lab).  I have to say the furry boys were shy at first staying in the basement and work room.  We didn’t push just made the main floor available  to them when they wanted.  Puss (aka Blue) was the first to come up and meet us all.  Within a week he was at home, it took Boots (aka Red) a few more weeks due to the dog but he came around.

    We’d had them for some time and gotten a few checks from my friend for the expenses of the boys.  Then the letter came that she just couldn’t take them back.  The expense of getting them out there and managing that was more than she could do with her large family.  She guessed they’d have to go to the pound any way.

    Oh no!  They’d been in our home and become part of our family during the months between.  There was no way I’d ship them off to an uncertain future.  These were my furry boys!  So I let her know they were a part of our family now and we’d be more than happy to keep them.  She was relieved they’d found a forever home.

    Thus they were ours and got collars with names on them and our address as contact information.  Back in those days they looked very much alike so the quickest way to tell them apart from a distance was by their collar color.  Boots had a blue collar and Puss had a red one.  Eventually as they grew into manly feline maturity and out of the long legged gawky stage the no longer looked cutesy like Puss and Boots names so they came to be called Blue and Red.  More manly nicknames that suited their maturity and their new collars for beefy necks bore the names Mr. Puss Blue and Mr. Red Boots  to recognize that they were indeed full grown cats.

    "Sorry Bro only room for one now that middle age spread has set in."
    “Sorry Bro only room for one now that middle age spread has set in.”

    The two were always and still are best buddies.  Early on they would always travel in the same carrier to the vet.  You couldn’t take one without the other going too or both would wail themselves sick for the missing brother.  I guess when you’d been through what they had been through but always had your brother at your side – separation even for a check up at the doctor’s is traumatic.  They eventually grew out of it and prefer the full carrier for the more full bodies of the mature feline.

    Today they are edging into senior citizen territory.  Still they are active healthy cats.  They still romp together and groom each other.  They talk to one another and me.  They curl up and sleep together but it takes the couch or a bed for it the chair is just too cramped for two to doze comfortably.  Blue is definitely the leader, the Alpha of the clowder.  Red is the mischievousness follower.  As I said at the start each is his own feline. I’ll tell you more about each in their own post.

    Until Next Time!