While I was in NYC, Spoon and Dipity stayed in a group room at
The Best Little Cathouse in Pasadena.
First they had to get a current test showing they were FIV- and FeLV-free, but fortunately there's a snap test, so I just took them to the vet on the way to the cathouse. Since I never take them someplace at the same time, Spoon had to use the big, old carrier, which only fits in the back seat, instead of the smaller carrier, which I can put on the front passenger's side floor. If I open the top-lid, he'll just lie there the whole trip, pretty relaxed, occasionally meowing to remind me he's there. Instead, Dip got the smaller carrier on the front passenger's side, and she won't stay in the carrier if I open it, so she remained caged and complained vocally the entire trip, barely stopping to inhale for her next howl. I guess Spoon either figured he couldn't compete with her Siamese vocalizations or that he didn't really have all that much to complain about in comparison, so he stayed pretty quiet back there.
According to the paperwork, he's lost half a pound in the 6 months he's been on the diet. Well, ok, much less than I hoped for, but at least he's stopped moving in the wrong direction and reversed course a little. (
According to a study, 15% of owners of obese cats are in denial about their pets' avoid dupois. The number is 22% for dog owners, though, showing that, yes, they are even more delusional, which I'm going to extrapolate to "about life in general." No, I never thought Spoon gained 6 pounds of bone in the 5 years since I adopted him.)
Spoon in his hiding spot for the first couple days.
Fortunately, the cathouse is a fairly short drive from the vet, but there was still some major 'meser meowing. I said goodbye to my kittehs, then went to the office (my flight didn't leave until early the next morning) and immediately went to the webcam for the group room. I didn't see them. Unfortunately, the webcam is mounted on top of the wall of built-in cabinets, so there are lots of off-camera places for kitties to hide. I didn't actually catch either one until the next evening, after I got to my hotel in NYC. I thought I saw Spoon hiding in the cubbyhole in the base of a cat tree, but wasn't sure until one of the humans came in, which, of course, drew Spoon out.
Saturday morning, still no Dip sightings, although there were a couple Siamese variants who looked a lot like her, but one was pretty clearly a seal point and the other was lighter in the points, but was kind of fluffy.
Sunday afternoon, after I got back from my day about town, Spoon had moved behind the large aquarium. Still no Dip.
On Monday, Spoon was still hanging out mainly around the aquarium, and still no Dip.
Fortunately I made it back Tuesday afternoon in time to pick up my kitties. The cathouse lady confirmed that Dip had spent much of her time in the built-in cabinets, but other than being shy, she hadn't been too upset, and had been eating and all. I nearly died laughing, though, when she told me that one time when she'd gone in there, Spoon had come out of the cat tree cubbyhole, revealing that... he'd been sitting on Dippy! How that came to be, I can only wonder, but she said when he tried to get back in there, Dippy hissed at him, so he had to find a new spot. Silly kitties. They seemed happy to see me, and in fact, Dippy was in the tree cubbyhole and came out to greet me. She howled all the way back home, of course, but everything was copacetic once we got home, and they even seemed a (very little) bit more relaxed around each other. "Could be worse. There could be 6 cats here instead of 2." Yeah, they're probably not thinking that.
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