Conclusion to the "A Cat Named Mike" series...

Several months later, I'm finally going to tell you what happened with "A Cat Named Mike". My apologies for not doing it sooner...life got in the way, and for awhile I wasn't blogging. 

Michael in his temporary basement room.

Anyway.....We got Michael to the vet, and his liver values were high. For a few weeks, we kept Michael isolated from the other kitties. His liver values could indicate a chronic liver condition, bad food from the outdoors, or an infection.

Mike Wazowski!

Michael also had fleas and ear mites. We took care of those two through the normal means. His limp was likely caused by a misshapen growth plate when he was very little (and being kept in a confined outdoor area with his mother). 

We put him on a stable diet...no luck with the liver values. So, we tried antibiotics...

...success! 

He is now happy and healthy, and officially part of our Clowder some seven months later. He's a wonderful, well-behaved and adorable cat. He's just over a year old.

Sorry to keep you all waiting! :)

A Cat Named Mike: Part 5

Start from the Beginning: Part 1

I spent the entire next day worried about Mr. Wazowski. My labmates were sympathetic and also concerned about his welfare. In fact, I was told to text them that night with an update (an example of why these people are so awesome).

When we returned from work that night...Mike was sitting on the stairs, like always, awaiting our arrival.

Grateful to find him safe, we moved him into his new room immediately. He was nervous for all of about 15 minutes, before settling in. He immediately adopted the grateful-to-be-rescued stray personality I've encountered twice before. He was loving and so affectionate.

The following morning I called my vet, and scheduled an appointment.

A Cat Named Mike: Part 4

Part 1

Mike held out for our return, and was there Monday night waiting for us after our long weekend trip. He helped us unload the car, and then we went inside to greet our cats and have some dinner. After dinner, I fed Mike some wet food and when he was done, I took his dish inside (to avoid raccoons) and went inside to unpack and get ready for work the next day.

Several minutes later, we heard a cat fight on our porch. A big, gray long-haired cat had come on to our porch and was fighting with Mike. We yelled out the door, and the cat ran off.

It happened AGAIN just a few minutes later. This time, I chased the cat out of our yard, while Mike stayed on the porch. I promised Mike we'd get him inside that night.

Jimmy and I immediately set to work with a plan to get Mike Wazowski inside.

We set up our guest room with food, water, a litter box and a cat bed. We covered the gap between the guest room door and the rest of the basement with towels (to prevent under the door fighting). Jimmy removed the screen from the window, and the plan was to pass Mike through the window (so none of other cats would see).

I went outside to pickup Mike for the handoff and he was gone. I called for him and searched the yard. He was nowhere to be found.

I checked several more times that night, until it was time for bed.

A Cat Named Mike: Part 3

Part 1

Before I tell you whether or not the cat was there when we returned from our trip, I'm going to tell you about his name.

The Monday after the cat began residing on our porch, I told my coworkers about this. One of them happens to be a huge fan of cats, so he was very interested in the welfare of the cat.

Later that day, for work-related reasons (and if you know my job, email me and I tell you the specifics), the movie Monsters, Inc was brought up. Specifically, Boo (the most adorable cartoon toddler ever) saying "Mike Wazowski!". Boo saying "Mike Wazowski" is actually the noise my phone makes when Jimmy texts me, because we both adore the movie (and the Disney attraction!).  The movie was discussed for quite some time.

Before I left that evening, my coworker who loves cats (and Monsters, Inc) suggested I name the cat Mike Wazowski because the enthusiasm Boo has when she says that is the same enthusiasm you get when see such an adorable kitty.

That evening, we started calling him Mike. I liked my coworker's reasoning. Also, the cat was bold, charismatic, and VERY talkative. He is always in a good mood, and is very silly. He's also tiny. On top of that, Mike fits well with the other names...Miles, Fred, Meredith....we tend to name cats people names, not standard pet names.

The name stuck.

When we got home from our trip, Mike Wazowski was waiting for us on the porch.

A Cat Named Mike: Part 2

Part 1

This adorable orange visitor continued to hang out on my porch during the following days. He'd be waiting for me, looking impatient, on the stairs when I arrived home from work. He spent his evenings on the door mat in front of my front door waiting for a visit from me. And every morning when I awoke, he was there on my porch for breakfast.

The nights were getting cold, so I put out a box with some old t-shirts in it, as well as a t-shirt in the corner of the porch where he liked to sleep. He used both areas, and piled up leaves on the corner t-shirt to make a bit of a nest.

He constantly tried to get into our house anytime we opened the door. He remained skittish to noises, or quick movements. However, everyday he became increasingly more trusting and affectionate towards me....he was downright cuddly. He let me hold him for brief periods of time, and sat on my lap once.

I took some photos as best I could. It was challenging because he wanted me to snuggle with him, not photograph him. And I posted these photos on our local NextDoor to see if he was lost.

We took great care to wash our hands after every encounter with him, and he used the human dishes, not the kitty dishes, so that we prevented accidental contamination. We also made sure our cats were up to do date on flea prevention.

We continued on like this for a week, until it was time for us to leave for a long weekend trip. We thought this would be a good test...if he didn't need us during the four days we were gone, he'd move on to another home. If he was there when we returned, we'd consider adoption.

A Cat Named Mike: Part 1

Several weeks ago Jimmy and I noticed a small orange kitty had begun hanging out in our neighborhood. This isn't unusual. Outdoor cats are abundant in our rural neighborhood, and I'm sure strays are too, sadly.

At one point, we noticed the cat walked with a bit of a limp...a stiffness in one of its back legs. We felt bad for the kitty, and Jimmy suggested we take it in, only half-jokingly. I admonished him...we already have too many cats, and we're still trying to pick ourselves up from the recent rough year we've had. Besides, Lefty had had a limp...but had a loving home. It was probably just an old injury that hadn't healed properly. We moved on, not dwelling on it much.

Two weeks ago, I was outside on the porch (possibly putting a pumpkin on it). I turned towards the stairs (the main floor is a flight up), and halfway up them was that orange cat. Up close, he was smaller than I had thought, and looked quite young. He cautiously meowed at me...several times.

I slowly crouched down, and called to him. He immediately came up the stairs and begged for attention.

He spent the rest of the night on our porch. I fed him a can of wet food, and he ate the entire plate. I later followed it up with some dry food...and he ate a bit of that too. He was very skittish...flinching at the slightest movement or noise...whether it be made by me, a passing car, or squirrel in a tree.

When I woke up that morning, he was still on my porch.