Abbie

                    

4/29/08  The change in Abbie is dramatic!  Last week she suddenly decided to emancipate herself from the bedroom.  No longer content to peer out from the doorway, Abbie made a bold dash for freedom that I did not even notice until I realized the cat sleeping on a chair downstairs was none other than Miss Abbie!  She spent the entire day in the family room with the three other cats, then joined them in "their" bedroom at mealtime as if she'd done so right from the beginning.  My daughter is thrilled that she no longer has to have a litter box in her bedroom.

3/18/08  Abbie remains a shy cat who enjoys one-on-one attention.  She still shirks away from my touch at first, but quickly leans into my hand for more strokes.  She'll roll over and ask for belly-rubs.

We discovered that she likes playing with fuzzy balls that have feathers attached to them.  She bats them around Chelsea's room; it looks like a sparrow was killed due to all the feathers on the floor.

Abbie isn't afraid of our small dog, Gator, but you can see she's not impressed by him, either!

2/26/08 On February 17th I moved Abbie from the bedroom down in our finished basement to our teenage daughter's room.  I was hoping that more direct exposure to a person would help bring Abbie out of her shell, and perhaps make her upper respiratory infection go away a bit faster.  Chelsea says that Abbie does curl up and sleep with her.  She will remain on top of the bed if I enter the room, but if she's on the pillow I placed beneath the bed she remains in hiding. 

Abbie was switched from Clavamox to Baytril on February 20th.  I'm hopeful that a two-week course of that will successfully kick the URI from her system.

We have brought Abbie downstairs to the finished basement family room a few times.  She'll curl up on our lap, but does look around curiously.  Sunday she was brave enough to hop off my lap.  She darted from hiding spot to hiding spot.  She ended up in my son's bedroom upstairs; I think she would have been right back in Chelsea's room if the door had been open.

The Good Samaritan who found Abbie read on the Siamese Cat Rescue Site that I was worried about how scared Abbie was.  She wrote to me:

She really didn't get comfortable enough to play with any of the toys we had - but when I would hold her she would cuddle pretty well, and she liked to be scratched under the chin and behind the ears.  She would let out these big sighs and her whole body would relax!  But she hadn't gotten to the point of coming to ask to be pet - I had to pick her up even though she would flinch a bit when I first picked her up.  She does like treats however - Whiskas Temptations were her favorite!  She would come out for treats with our other cats and was very good with them.  As for the dogs - there were several dogs in the alley where she lived, and the neighbor who was feeding her first had 2 boxers.  She never seemed bothered by them.
 
Anyway, I hope this helps!  Thanks so much for caring for her!  What you do for these animals is really great! God bless you for your compassion!

2/13/08 Abbie's breathing sounds much less congested now.  Very little has changed otherwise; she's still very frightened.  She doesn't run when I enter the room, but it's obvious that she wishes I wouldn't touch her.  She will relax and purr after a few, but has not reached the point where she comes to me for attention.

2/9/08 Abbie was spayed on Monday the 4th; the veterinarian noted some upper respiratory infection symptoms (mainly congestion and mild sneezing with no nasal discharge).  I met the temp foster the next evening and brought Abbie home.  I made sure the room was nice and warm with plenty of cozy places for a scared cat to hide.  She's taken advantage of the different boxes, preferring the one facing the radiator.

She is a very scared little girl.  I've been trying to put Clavamox (antibiotic) in moist food, but she doesn't eat it every meal.  I then have to pick her up and gently force the syringe between her clenched jaw.  I hate having to do this, as I'm afraid it's going to scare her even more.  Her breathing sounds much better already; I no longer hear each raspy breath as she takes it.

Yesterday was the first day she opted to stay out in the open when I entered the bedroom.  She was ready to flee if I did anything startling; I made sure I only subjected her to a soothing ear-scratching that had her purring away.

From the temporary foster 2/3/08:  Abbie was found outside as a stray in November, with her two kittens.  She ended up in the yard of a kind lady who knew she and the kittens wouldn’t survive outdoors, so she brought them in and took care of them.  She got all three to the vet and treated for their colds, and then found homes for the two kittens.  She had Abbie out in the house with her cats, and they got along just fine.  In fact, she really wanted to keep her, but her husband said that  they had enough cats and that Abbie had to find a new home as well.  She got in touch with rescue, and one of our close-by foster dad’s went to see her.  He said she’s a very sweet and friendly cat, who was up on his lap purring a short time after he got there.  We have pictures from the woman who found her, showing her holding a clearly happy cat.  So I would say she really is as sweet and friendly as everyone claims. 

 What we need to do next is get her spayed, and checked of course by the vet to make sure she’s healthy.  She looks to be a healthy cat, as she’s a good weight and has clear eyes and a nice cost (it’s slightly rough but that will clear up with good food and an indoor home).  She needs another distemper vaccine, and some worming meds (she’s had one distemper vaccine, and one worming treatment), and some time to recover from her spay.   Right now she’s scared but eating and using the litter box like a proper lady :o)  She’s really a pretty cat, if I can I will get some better pictures of her today.  She’s very nicely pointed, and a soft blue color.  Her underside is white, and the white snowshoes extend up her legs.  You can see her face in that picture, but what you can’t see is the pretty blue of her eyes.