Day 141: Update on Greyson

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 141: Update on Greyson

Quite a few people showed concern for Greyson after my post of a few days ago ‘The Day Greyson Scared us Half to Death’ https://underthetorontosun.blogspot.com/2018/09/day-139-day-greyson-scared-us-half-to.html

Readers asked if he was okay now and if we knew what the problem had been. At the time, I said that he was totally fine. After I fed him with me finger and next with a spoon, he started eating by himself and several times visited his plate. It was a total mystery. At 6:00 p.m. it looked like we had to take him to the emergency room, at 9:00 he was eating and at 10:00 p.m. he was playing. I thought that was the end of that, but I was wrong.

While on Monday he seemed totally fine and back to his old self, on Tuesday morning he again refused his breakfast. He slept a lot and didn’t look well at all. I decided not to wait. I called the animal hospital for an appointment and my favorite doctor could see Greyson at 4:40 p.m.

To cut a long story short, Greyson was diagnosed with an infection but without doing bloodwork (which the doctor didn’t think was necessary) he wasn’t sure whether it was a viral or bacterial infection. So, the doctor said that Greyson should be better by Friday, if not we should come back and start him on antibiotics. In the meantime, he send us home with Nutri-Lys and Royal Canin Recovery.

Since Greyson also had an eye infection, the vet scanned his eye for an ulcer and also checked his mouth. In both cases the diagnosis was negative.

Back home we gave Greyson the Royal Canin food and the prescribed dosage of Nutri-Lys which is supposed to strengthen his immune system. He loved both.

Today, 3 days later, Greyson is truly back to his old self. His eye is still a bit cloudy but much better then it was on Tuesday. His appetite is back and his whole persona indicates that he’s feeling much better.

Just how much better I experienced first hand this morning. Greyson clambered onto my bed and started chasing an imaginary fly. He raced around the duvet and the fact that I was still under it didn’t seem to bother him in the least. He ran around my legs, over my legs, over my shoulders, around my head and at one point across my face. Continuing to sleep was clearly out of the question.

When he got tired he took a short pause and then went for round two. This time he added a little extra though. Instead of merely racing around my bed, he now started jumping. He resembled jumping beans in a pot or popcorn kernels in a bag. When he saw that I was awake he came to give me kisses and Greyson's kisses are not to be under estimated. Unlike other cats who merely kiss their owners with a gentle touch of their nose, Greyson pushes his whole snout at various places of my face. And he doesn't do this gentle either, no he puts force behind his kisses. Alright, I guess it was time to get up.

In the kitchen Gabriel, Charlotte, Holly, Halley and Greyson gathered around me. It was time for breakfast. Greyson first ate his serving of Royal Canin Recovery and having finished that plate he moved on to what the others were eating. A little later he went back for seconds. That kitten has an appetite you wouldn’t believe.

After playtime with Halley, Greyson along with the rest of the gang went to sleep. Not lying down because he’s not feeling well, but having a proper cat nap. 

Cat lovers know the difference.

Day 9: Animals. Pick an animal and write about it

Day 9: Animals. Pick an animal and write about it.

How about I write not just about one animal, but about four of them? My four cats.

Mickey

Mickey is the eldest and was my parents' cat. When mom died and dad decided to move into a retirement home, a home had to be found for Mickey. I didn’t even try to find a home for him because I knew nothing and nobody would be good enough. Mickey would come to Canada with me. Not only would he be loved and be safe, my dad would have peace of mind that his cat would be happy for the rest of his life.

Mickey adjusted from day one. While he used to be an only child, now he had the company of other cats and assumed the role of papa cat.

Charlotte

Charlotte was born an accident. A couple adopted two cats, they assumed that both were male, but apparently, they didn’t look very closely because sometime later one of the cats was pregnant. Family and friends adopted the kittens, but one kitten stayed behind. The couple was about to contact a cat rescue organization when I showed up. After that, there was no need to contact the organization. I took one look at the kitten and decided that she would live with me.

Despite the love and care Charlotte received, she is a scary cat. Afraid of the vacuum cleaner, afraid of the wind, terrified of thunder, and of a number of other things. You could say that she’s afraid of her own shadow.

Gabriel

Gabriel was born to a breeder of Ragdolls. In principle, I don’t approve of designer cats. Thousands of cats are waiting to be adopted and often lose their life because nobody wants them. So why go spending $1,000 or more on a purebred cat? Not that I did. By pure chance, I came across an ad online of a breeder who finished with the breeding business. When I talked to him he said that he was keeping his cats, but that from now on they would only be pets. However, he did have a kitten left that he couldn’t place. Did I want it? Did I want it! I went over to his place like a bow from an arrow and when I saw the kitten I wondered why nobody wanted this adorable little thing. “He’s not perfect,” the breeder said. “He’s ….” I didn’t hear the rest because I was already cuddling the little one.

Gabriel is a bit of an aloof cat and only wants to be cuddled when it suits him, and only when our hands are clean. I'm not kidding, when I reach for him, he pulls back and sniffs my hand. When he's done sniffing he'll present his cheek. He's very sweet though, every night, around 10:30 he'll jump next to Dieter in the chair and demand to be petted. He looks at Dieter and cries, something that sounds like "Mayo!"

Holly

Holly is the baby of the family. I went down to the management office of our condo building one day and walked in on a conversation that someone had dumped a box of kittens on a ground floor balcony. The woman who had taken the kittens in was looking for good homes for them. Within 24 hours all the kittens had found homes, one of them mine. I took one look at this little fuzzball and decided she could live with us. She received a bath upon arrival, was taken to the vet and declared in perfect health.

Holly's nickname is Ms. Pepperpot. While she's a sweet cat, she does have a bit of a temper. She's very vocal, and growls and even hisses. She hisses especially when she's kissed. For some reason, she doesn't like that.

In addition to these four cats, I am a fundraiser for the Toronto Cat Rescue shelter cats. Every year, for the past ten years I take part in the organization’s Bowl-a-thon. We raise funds for the cats and kittens and then all get together for an afternoon of bowling. This year we raised just under $25,000. Should you wish to adopt a cat or kitten or make a donation, the website is:  https://torontocatrescue.ca/

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Will you help?

Asking people for money is never easy. But where it comes to cats’ well-being I have no scruples. So, once a year I ask everyone I know, and even some I don’t know, for a donation to the Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-ton fundraiser. I’m not asking for much, $1, $2, whatever people want to give (although donations of $20 or more get a tax receipt). Now I can imagine that some people might think, “Why should I care, there are homeless cats in my neighborhood.” And you would be right, why should you care.” If you’re supporting a local cat shelter, I think that’s wonderful, homeless cats can use all the help they can get. But if you think about it, if you’re already donating to one cat shelter, why not one more? A little donation is not going to break the bank. I’m not selling tickets that cost $100, $50 or even $25 a piece, I’m asking for a donation you’re comfortable with, even if it’s only $1. If twenty people give $1, that makes $20 and those $20 pay for twenty cans or more of food. Let me tell you a bit more about the Toronto Cat Rescue. This cat shelter is not a regular shelter where cats sit in cages and are euthanized when nobody wants them. The shelter isn’t even a shelter as such, but a series of foster homes where cats and kittens end up, waiting to be adopted. Not that just anyone can adopt a cat. Adoptive parents are screened so the kitties go to a really loving home. In the meantime the cats and kittens who are housed at these foster homes need food and are spayed/neutered to prevent pregnancies and more homeless cats. All this costs money, and that’s where the donations come in. http://savecatsfromthegutter.com/about-tcr/ For twelve years the Toronto Cat Rescue has been raising funds for their kitties and personally I’ve been involved for ten years. In the beginning there were only about six teams and we raised only $3,000, but over the years the fundraiser has grown and now we’re aiming at raising $20,000. Several large organizations donate prices to the Bowl-a-ton and several individuals reward supporters with their own gifts. Personally I give everyone who donates the choice between one of these hand colored pictures. All the person has to do is contact me atconny.manero@gmail.com, specify the amount donated and tell me the picture of his/her preference, and it will be emailed to them. So what’d you think ... can you spare a dollar or two to support the kitties who need your help? It doesn’t matter if you’re not from Toronto, in the past, donations have been received from Dallas, New York, Last Vegas, Chicago, St. Louis, Sidney, Perth, Dublin, Zermat, Bonn, Lyon, Toulouse, and more. You can donate through my PayPal account atconny.manero@gmail.com or throughhttps://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-cat-rescue/bowlathon/team/grumpycats/ For inspiration, please view a few pictures from last year's event. 0 Comments Leave a Reply.