Anachostic

A few updates on the newest member of the pride.  Last Saturday, a thin, hungry cat came to the house and was taken in.  Now that I’ve had the opportunity to have said cat checked out by the vet, some more details have come to light.

First, the cat is much less female than originally thought.  This actually was not established by the vet.  But let’s step back a moment.  First off, I didn’t want to name this cat because I didn’t really know if I’d be keeping him.  As his name was not defined, I called him NULL, and that name started growing on me.  My colleagues agreed NULL is a fitting name for a black cat.

So, come the day of the vet appointment, NULL was placed into a carrier and we began our trip.  Before even getting out of the driveway, he unleashed a deep, guttural howl of displeasure.  And he kept it up the whole way there.  So, NULL does not travel well.

Once in the exam room, the vet assistant took NULL to the table and I heard yet another new sound, growling.  And the growling got worse and stronger the more he got examined.  After the guy left to do some treatment planning, I held a very angry NULL and tried to get him to calm down.  At one point I thought I’d get bit as he bared his teeth at me, but in a few minutes, he did settle down and resumed purring and head-butting.

Then the doc came back in and it started over again.  Before they took him back for the battery of shots, I asked if we could scan for a microchip.  To all of our surprise, there was one.  I said I still wanted him brought up to standard, so they took him in back.

While I waited, the receptionist brought out a paper with the contact information for the chip registry.  The next thing of great interest was that NULL was not as young as assumed.  The chip was last updated 11/24/2013, probably the time of adoption.  So, I have a 9 year old cat on my hands.

The vet brought NULL back and said he tried to eat everyone while he was being treated.  I paid the $300 for all the work and went home.  I’m not sure I’m going to return to that vet.  They had taken over the practice of the vet I’d been to for many years and well, I’m just not impressed.

So back home, I call the microchip registry.  They confirmed that I have a black domestic shorthair, yes.  And they tell me, "His name is Chunk."  So first of all, he’s a boy, which was unknown at that time (because the vet took me at my assumption and didn’t verify). And next, "Chunk?"  Whatever.

The rep said the record had a privacy hold on it so she couldn’t give me the owner’s info, but if I would release my info, they would contact the owner and tell them how to contact me.  I agreed and I’m now waiting.  To be honest, I think I have a new cat.  I don’t think someone just loses a cat after 9 years.  I don’t think a cat just runs away from home after 9 years, especially one as loving and clingy as this one.  I am pretty sure the owners will not contact me.

So how is NULL doing?  Very happy.  Now understanding he’s an old boy, his behavior makes a lot more sense.  He loves nothing more than to sit on your chest and get in your face.  But the saddest part is seeing how much he lost.  He knows what a treat bag is.  He knows the word "dinner".  He found the cat toy box up on a shelf and picked out a catnip toy and went insane over it.  He’s a very experienced cat who used to have all these things and ended up homeless.

But things are going to get better for him.