HotCat.org

I found a spot of blood on the floor yesterday, and thoughts raced through my mind. The source, I don’t know…But it’s cause for concern. I’m even unsure from which cat it came, but my guess is Eartha, who, on Saturday night yacked up a bunch of times, possibly to eject a hairball. We are still unsure whether Eartha was spayed or not, the record is mixed and our vet couldn’t find the scar but she said that’s not unusual for cats spayed very young.

Eartha’s going to the vet this AM for a checkup and blood test, hopefully it’s something minor like her period or ulcers or something.

The thought of Eartha having something more serious, plus the general thoughts of a visit to the vet makes me recall our ordeal with Lulu.

I have been catching up with the Science Talk podcast (Scientific American’s weekly podcast) and they have an excellent chat with Chip Walter, author of “Thumbs, Toes, and Tears“, much of which discusses crying and what makes us human. Very interesting episode. Article available in Scientific American’s Nov. 2006 issue, and available online via their digital service (to which I am subscribed, very cool…I print off a copy 2-up, double-sided for plane trips.)

From the summary:

But nothing is quite as strange as human crying. It does not seem odd to us, of course. We do it often enough ourselves and witness someone else doing it nearly every day. According to one study of more than 300 men and women conducted in 1980s at the University of Minnesota, women cry five times a month or so and men about once every four weeks. And the first thing a baby does when it enters the world is bawl to let everyone know it has arrived healthy and whole. It is not the howling itself that makes our crying unusual; it is the tears that go along with it. Other animals may whimper, moan and wail, but none sheds tears of emotion–not even our closest primate cousins. Apes do have tear ducts, as do other animals, but their job extends only to ocular housecleaning, to bathe and heal the eyes. But in our case, at some point long ago, one of our ancestors evolved a neuronal connection between the gland that generates tears and the parts of the brain that feel, sense and express deep emotion

So on Sunday, we decided to adopt a second cat. It’s probably as much for us as for June, as we are used to having two cats in the house and we were worried June would be bored stiff when we’re gone all day.

We visited the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority, which has a brand new building (opened in Nov, 2006) that I had been wanting to check out. Wow, what an amazing facility they have there! Lots of room for the cats, no cages, cats sharing each room (except for the one or two cats that were anti-social.) We fell in love immediately with one cat, and we decided to adopt her.

We also visited the Humane Society, but weren’t seriously looking ’cause we had definitely fell for Eartha. The Humane Society seriously needs a new facility, their current one is kinda sad nowadays. We donated $500 to the Humane Society in memory of Lulu, hopefully they’ll put it to good use! SVACA was amazingly empty of people, only one other group of folks while we were there both times. But I’m sure once word gets out, the SVACA will get enough traffic to adopt out their animals. SVACA is no-kill (once the animals reach the adoption area, and assuming the animal doesn’t succumb to illness) which is nice, we’ll see if they can maintain their capacity or if they get overwhelmed.

Eartha is an 8-year-old girl, 10#4oz and very very healthy (we took her yesterday for a checkup and absolutely no problems, except for some dandruff, teeth and ears look perfect.) We guess she was spayed as a kitten, ’cause the SVACA thought they saw a scar but our vet couldn’t find it

Eartha and June have yet to become accustomed to each other’s presence. 14+ days is suggested for introductions, so while we’re giving them opportunities to see each other and smell each other’s scents, as soon as hissing begins or one cat is scared, we close the door that separates them. It’s hard, June and Lulu got along the day June came home, but 8-year-old cats are more set in their ways.

We miss you greatly, you “quiet and shy” cat (the description given to her by the Humane Society) who was extremely social and outgoing and vocalized everything. I’ll miss your social nibbles to get my attention, your constant need to be on our lap, your rambunctous curiousity, your love of playing in cardboard boxes and paper wrapping, your frequent running top-speed around the house.

We are sure June misses you, too. Sucks that she’s going to be alone when Megan and I are at work or on travel, but perhaps she’ll be ok with that, it was always a love-hate relationship between you and June.

Your loss has been extremely painful, far too sudden and early, 8 years was not enough time.