Silly Wimsey story...

[badgerpup]

Things I learned from Wimsey Whyte-Cat last night:

~ Promace^TM (a kitty tranquilizer) doesn't neccesarily tranquilize your cat.
(He just got restless and prowly...and then he peed on some clean towels because I would NOT let him go ouside while under the influence of a tranquilizer).

~ Promace^TM takes more than the 1.5 hours it says on the label to kick in...at least, it does for Wimsey. More like 3.5 hours.

~ Wimsey doesn't NEED a tranquilizer to tolerate a bath anyway (read: I haz no scratches or wounds from this escapade :wow:).
He's a good-natured, well-behaved, mellow boy who puts up with a LOT of shit from me ...because he trusts me.
(Found this out when the Promace^TM kicked in about half an hour AFTER we'd finished the bath. That's when his eyes got all glassy and the floor started being silly with him).

~ Wimsey is positively LUMINESCENT once his fur dries...
so bright in the sun it hurts to look at him and he positively GLOWS in the shade...and I can't find the camera! :banghead:

~ His coat is can't-stop-petting-it soft...
but he's still shedding like crazy. :shrug:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I really enjoy your cat stories.

I'd write about my Gang of Fur, too, but they sleep all the time. I can't seem to come up with interesting material about sleeping cats.

But please keep your stories coming....

[Mz Pip]

2. Funny!

Here's my cat tranquilizer story. We had a cat, Gilbey, and we took him on vacation with us. He howled all the way to the house, for the first day and a half when we were there and then howled all the way home - 4 hours each way. I tried taking him out of the carrier and holding him; putting him in the carrier with his buddy. Nothing worked.

So the next time we went to our cabin, I asked the vet for kitty tranquilizers. I gave him the recommended dosage, put him in the carrier and off we went. He was definitely stoned. His inner eyelids were closed and he was drooling. Quite attractive. I figured he'd sleep the whole trip.

Wrong. He still howled. Though this time it was a sort of stoned kind of howl. I gave him another dose. He got more stoned and kept on howling. Both ways, just like the first time.

Needless to say we never took him up to the cabin again.

[badgerpup]

3. They do get vocal, don't they...just like humans.

:hide:
My old alpha cat Misha (who currently resides by the Bridge) used to have bouts of 'psychogenic alopecia'...
which meant he'd get a notion and lick himself raw...and then lick the sore spot to feel better...a vicious cycle. He was so miserable one night I gave him a tranquilizer to get him to STOP LICKING until I could get him to the vet next morning.

He did stop licking...but then this very vocal, opinionated, leather-lunged kitty sang me a song all about the birds, the bees, how much he loved his mom...and pretty much anything else he could think of. :crazy:

Tranking cats is a crapshoot. You may get a tranquilized furball...or you may get a bewildered, frightened, YOWLY kitty who doesn't understand why his head feels all weird, his legs don't work right, and gravity keeps playing tricks on him.

Talk about "Your mileage may vary"...:shrug:

[Curmudgeoness]

4. LOL, I can relate. When I moved from Houston to PA

(25 hours drive), I had two cats. I got tranquilizers and used them the first day. Neither cat slept, and both cried but it was a very sad cry. The second day I said screw the drugs and just dealt with the crying. And there was crying. So, for 25 hours, I put up with it (in stereo) and there was no other option. Just keep on driving and hope you don't go insane before you get to your destination!

[badgerpup]

5. When I moved from CA to MT...

I had my cat Jasmine (aka Fuzz) along with. Didn't have a carrier, so she hid under the seat and for about an hour kept asking if we were dead yet. LOUDLY.

After a while, she realized that we probably weren't in danger of imminent demise, so she got up on the seat next to me and started looking out the passenger side window. Then she started kibbitzing me on my driving; "Slow down! Turn left! There's a cow!" but that was a major improvement from "MYAAAAaooowwww? (Are we dead yet?)"

The second day she had the drill down and just watched the scenery. I realize it's not azackly the safest thing, but the stress level and yowliness seems to go down if the cats get to ride free.
Only time they get to do this with me is if we are on our way home from the vet with no stops planned.
They relax enough to the point that when we get home instead of exiting the car at lightspeed, it's sometimes a case of "Oh, we're home? Do I HAFTA get out now?"

But then, I have weird cats...:crazy::yoiks:

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I have always wanted cats who would ride in a car like sane cats.

But I have never tried the free-riding. I keep thinking that the cat will hide somewhere in the car that I will never find.

You are VERY lucky that your cat did shut up! I wouldn't have minded a back seat driver to stop the "are we dead yet" screams.