How's home life, Buster?

Many long-time visitors to the Moore House will remember a large white cat who terrorized intruders on his space.  The story of his adoption by Maureen can be found here, and I asked Maureen to update us on his life as a cat with a home of his own.

Maureen says:

Buster is still a loving, entertaining big ball of white purrrrr.  He is at my side every moment I am home and still happily greets me at the door when I come in.

“My mom says I can sit on the kitchen table anytime I want to!”

We eat and play together but Buster is in full control when it comes time to decide what time we go to sleep at night. The purchase of an automatic feeder has helped me with getting some sleep as Buster never seemed to adjust after the first time change once he arrived in my home from the sanctuary.  His 5:00am feeding soon turned into 4:15am and with mom not being a morning person…well, the feeder works!

“Looks like she needs to use the computer…I’ll just nap a little bit longer”

A few challenges came up in 2015 for Buster - the most difficult being dental issues.   After a trip to the vet, it was discovered Buster had severe gum disease most likely caused by many broken teeth which had never been tended to. His doctor prescribed medicine and home we went with high hopes and an empty wallet.  Instruction was 3 full syringes before each meal  for 3 weeks.  It took two weeks to realize there was more medicine being sprayed all over my kitchen than in Buster’s mouth - Buster wasn’t buying it. Plan “B” came soon, the doctor decided to remove all of Buster’s teeth.  I didn’t want to see him in pain any more. It was a lengthy complicated operation but a huge success. Buster is now toothless and happy! He does of course still have his fangs and incisors to maintain his wild mountain-cat appearance.

Wild mountain-cat experience

Buster’s second challenge was when I decided to go on vacation for 3 weeks. In a perfect cat world Buster would have renewed his passport and come with me but alas, he is a home boy and is only happy surrounded by his smells and his stuff.  My only choice then was to enlist the help of a full time babysitter. Thanks to my nephew Kyle approving to move in with Buster during my absence, everything was going to be okay – so we thought!  I said good-bye to my baby and left him eating some patè and purring. 

When Kyle arrived later that evening with his bags – out of the closet came a beast bearing teeth (all 4 of them) and some sharp claws many cat sanctuary people may remember. Kyle having a black belt in martial arts believed he had a chance.  I never did find out how long it took Buster to corral Kyle towards the door snarling and snapping at him, but he eventually left – backing out of my place holding two of Buster’s scratch pads against his legs for protection. Buster then spent his first night alone in his home.

Ruler of the Ottoman Empire

The next morning at 4:30am Buster Comforter Extraordinaire Christine shows up to help (Kyle’s mom). Buster allowed her to stay because of course, hunger had set in AND he does not like to be alone.  Success after 48hrs though -a friendship with Kyle was forged through trust, Carbonara sauce and Netflix for the following 3 weeks.  Buster even became a pillow lap-cat with Kyle – something he has never done with me.

Otter paws when he thinks nobody is looking

 I, of course, received a very cool reception from Buster once arriving home. He nestled up to Kyle when I tried to get him to come to me, sigh. But after a few days we were back to normal.  Buster seems to have a 48hr adjustment thing going on.  I am not planning any vacations away from home soon!

Blog & pictures by Maureen LaHaise

Adoptable? - or not? - Part 3: the Health Problems

Like any human population, our Sanctuary cats run from fit-and-healthy, never-had-a-sick-day-in-my-life cats, to those who constantly seem to reappear in med cages for antibiotics or TLC. Just like humans, they pass their germs from one to another, and the current batch of colds reminds us that humans may have a flu-vaccine, but nobody has solved the problem of the common cold – in either humans or felines.
Because RAPS is a no-kill organization, we do all in our power to keep our cats going as long as they are happy. Kidney disease and  thyroid problems are the most common ongoing conditions in an aging cat population, but any cat that is still interested in life, and especially in food handouts, is treated and kept pain-free as long as possible.
However, anyone taking on one of our aging felines is likely guaranteeing themselves some serious vet bills, and a greater degree of care and attention than many healthy cats need.

Noonie - PH

The more manageable health problems are largely the cats that carry the feline AIDS and feline leukemia virus. Many of these cats are well loved by volunteers – their health issues mean that they need to be separated from the general population, but they don’t mean that the cats can’t be visited and loved, with basic cleanliness precautions for the sake of the cats themselves. Some of these might be technically adoptable, but with warnings and restrictions. For more about FIV cats see HERE

Tanner - MW

Cats with feline AIDS can live full lives, and live together – the AIDS virus is transmitted through biting, and with neutered cats that get on amicably, it’s not an issue. The cats, however, should have no access to outdoors, both for their own protection and for the protection of any other cat they might encounter.

Bella's innocent face disguises bad bathroom habits - MW

If you take a leukemia cat into your home, you’re taking in possible heartache – we never know how long they will live after diagnosis. Some cats, like Bella,  have lived with it for several years; others don’t last long because their immune systems are severely compromised. Because the leukemia virus is transmitted in saliva, they should have absolutely no contact with any leukemia-free cats, and must never be allowed outside.
For more about FeLV cats, see  HERE 

Merlin - MW

Merlin was one of our leukemia cats who got adopted out. A big, seemingly healthy cat, he’s proved himself a bit of a bully with the other cats, but loves human attention. Unfortunately his adopter was not able to manage the security issue, and Merlin made his escape. A leukemia cat on the loose is a danger to other healthy cats, and RAPS staff had to swing into action and go out to trap him, returning him to the safety of his Sanctuary home. 

Whiskas Gideon - MW

Med staff Leslie tells me that we’re willing to adopt fully tame AIDS and leukemia cats (not semi-ferals) to dedicated indoor homes that already have other cats with the disease, or to people with big hearts who have no other cats, and who'd like to take care of such a cat for whatever lifespan he/she may have. They need to have the financial resources to pay for bloodwork and antibiotics when infections occur. A home visit may be necessary in these cases to assess the escape risks; for instance, an apartment is usually going to be safer than a home that opens on to the great outdoors.
But the most important factor (and with any other tame cat that is considered for adoption) is the happiness of the cat in question. If it is comfortable with its fellow-inmates at the Sanctuary, and interacts well with them, it may be best left in place. If it is more of a loner, and obviously prefers human company, then it may well be a candidate for adoption. That’s one reason that many of the adoptions from the Sanctuary in fact go to volunteers – those are the people that spend the most time with the cats in question, and build a bond that can survive what may be a difficult transfer, in a way that no casual visitor can – see last week’s story on how Buster has gone home.

Buster - MW

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Phaedra Hardman and Michele Wright

Buster

I was a little nervous about meeting Buster after reading the sign on the door to his private, no-other-cats-allowed room at the sanctuary: "very upset, aggressive 10-year-old male." Many cats are upset to find themselves suddenly in a shelter, but it seems that Buster had the aggression before that -- it was the reason he was surrendered.

Fortunately, another note has been added to the sign on Buster's door, saying that he can be nice and does enjoy a few pats.... provided they're just around his head and not done for too long.

He did indeed enjoy a few pats from me and purred when I held out my hand for him to rub his face against. I wasn't sure what he'd think of my big camera, so to be safe I held it out for him to inspect before trying to take his photo. He responded by rubbing his face against the lens while continuing to purr.

Apparently he doesn't much like the smell of other cats on his visitors. I was a bit nervous, then, when he hopped down from his bed, and started sniffing my ankles and feet with great intensity. Luckily, he wasn't overly offended by whoever he smelled there, and so I was spared the angry growling.