There is a cat living in my bedroom. He's been living there for two months. This past Summer my beloved Diggory passed away. After battling renal failure, he died at the Emergency Animal Clinic before they could put him to sleep. Just like good old Diggor, he did it his way. I couldn't bear the grief I felt and the hole that he left. So, I began thinking about another cat. Not a kitten. Opie cured me of ever wanting a kitten again. A nice older cat, maybe one or two years old that would make a nice playmate for Opie. With his excess energy they could play games of chase and wrestle. How nice that would be. A friend of mine was looking for a breeder because she wanted to get a Siamese kitten. I was thinking at the same time how I would like to get a Siamese. So, I called the breeder and was told that he had a nice female seven months old that he was going to keep for breeding. But, if I wanted her he would sell her to me for $200. And, by the time my friends' kitten was ready to be taken, the female would be nine months old. I was excited about this. I was sure Opie would love her. The breeder told me that she had a brother that he had just sold and she was looking for him. So, I thought it might work out just fine. Then, I made a fatal mistake....
I went to PetsMart on a Friday to fill out an application to adopt a Siamese - just in case the shelter that works out of there had one. While I was there I looked around at the cats they had for adoption. There was a black cat in one cage that caught my eye. I've wanted a black cat for a long time. And, I began to think that maybe I could make room for a fourth cat. I tried to get closer to check him out but all of a sudden there was a flurry of people congregating in front of his cage. The cat had pooped and the shelter people ran to take him out and clean his box so he wouldn't stink up the place. So, while they were busy with his box I took the opportunity to read the rap sheet on the front of his cage. They called him "Draino". His medical record was four cards long filled out on both sides. A woman had found him as a stray and brought him to the Vet who takes in shelter cases. He was about nine months old (my Vet said he's actually about a year old). He had had a wound on his right leg and he was infested with fleas and beaten up pretty badly. I was disheartened. Even if I wanted to adopt him what would I be getting into? I had to take the application home with me so I left. The next day, Saturday, I returned with the application and while I was there I had a chance to get a good look at Draino except when I went to his cage there was a black cat in it that looked like him but the name said "Cooper". I asked the shelter person where Draino was and she said they had changed his name to Cooper because so many people were asking why they had called him Draino. The shelter people dubbed him Draino because he had so many drains put on him. She said he was all cleaned up and healed and ready to be put out for adoption. He was neutered and had all his shots. He wouldn't have to visit the Vet for another year. The only problem he had was a slight bout of diarrhea so he was on Science Diet for Sensitive Stomach. I wasn't sure that I wanted to get into that "three cats, three different diets" routine again. I had had the same problem with Diggory. So, I left. But, I couldn't get him out of my mind. On Sunday afternoon I was doing work outside in the yard all the while thinking of what I could name him. That meant that it wasn't a matter of IF I would adopt him but WHEN. A nice name, Shadow? [Guido] What?! Guido??!!! No! Ebony? [Guido] NO! Not Gueeeedo! Ummm.... [Guido] Ohhhhh! [Guido] Hmmmm [Guido] Every time I saw his face in my mind I heard "Guido". What could I do? He was Guido. So, I went and called PetsMart. By late afternoon Guido was in my basement.
He lived there for awhile but Nikki and Opie knew something was up. I needed a good way to introduce them but one day while I was going up the basement steps Guido ran up behind me and ran into the house. Opie immediately gave chase screaming and howling all the way down the stairs. I ran after them screaming at Opie. It was horrible! Opie sounded like he wanted to kill Guido. I shut the folding door to the room Guido had run in to but I couldn't let go of it or Opie would have pushed his way in. I screamed at Opie to go upstairs. He finally went. Slowly, very slowly he climbed the stairs glancing back every once in awhile, all puffed up and scary looking. I ran up the steps and shut the basement door. Now I had problems.
I had successfully switched Guido from the Science Diet to the same food I give Opie. That was a problem solved. When the nights started getting cold I moved Guido into my bedroom. As I don't have any extra rooms it was the only place I could safely keep him. It was a good thing, too. Because I began to notice he was scratching his ears a lot. I thought he might have ear mites, but it turned out to be an ear infection. Two visits to the Vet and over $200 later, he was doing fine. He and Opie managed to accidentally meet and tumble a few times since then. Then, I noticed Opie scratching his ear one night. The Vet said what Guido had was not contagious although Opie had a small amount of bacteria in his ear. Not enough to give him and ear infection. It was puzzling how it got there. I figured Opie must have picked up the bacteria when he had his claws in Guido's ears.
I had tried all the tricks of introducing the new cat, but nothing was working. Now, I added a door to my existing bedroom door. I got the bright idea of making a door from lattice. That way they could observe each other safely and get used to each other. My Aunt Madeline helped me with it. She cut the lattice which is made from vinyl. And, as we were hanging it in place wouldn't you know, Opie caught sight of the bedroom and charged the lattice door getting his head stuck in one of the holes. Next problem - how to keep Opie from getting his head stuck again. Eventually, I found some plastic molding that was being thrown out where I work and I took it home and cut it into long strips and weaved them between the holes in the lattice. It works pretty well. Opie only got his head stuck a couple more times. But, basically, it's working pretty well.
The problem now is, Opie can't come in with me at night. When I go to bed and Guido is cuddled up beside me Opie is out there taking tantrums. He gouged the side of my beautiful piesafe with his back claws jumping up on top of it so that he can knock all the things I have up there to the floor. I have a cat doll with porcelain feet wearing a pretty dress and pantaloons. I found that on the floor, the foot smashed and the pantaloons tossed across the floor (?). A false drawer on my corner hutch was pulled off and hanging by a screw. Last night I tried keeping Opie in the bedroom with me and let Guido wander the house. But, after splashing water from his bowl all over my bedroom carpet, I put Opie back out and brought Guido back in. My next mistake, I baked a cake last night for a church gathering. I wrapped it in plastic and put tinfoil over it and left it on top of the stove. This morning I found pieces of tinfoil all over the floor and an indention in the center of my cake where he stepped on it. Thank goodness, the cake was saved by the aluminum and plastic wrapping. I hope nobody noticed the crater.
My friend got her Siamese kitten. In fact, she got two of them, a brother and sister. I went to see them last weekend. They were playing together so sweetly. Then they hopped up on her lap, one on top of the other, curled up together and went to sleep. My hopes of getting a Siamese cat are dashed. It's just never going to happen. I keep telling myself, I run this household, Opie is just my pet cat, problem child that he is. What I say goes and as soon as he accepts Guido I'm taking him out of the bedroom. And that's that!
Copyright © Julie Balon
December 3, 2004
