Bitey is my grandcat.
I came to visit and am very relieved for a bunch of reasons. Although his mobility is greatly reduced, he gets around and seems to have lost little of his zeal for life. My kid is also handling this like a trooper. We all have an inordinate amount of feeling for Bitey and his ways.
Bitey loves being out in the backyard providing all kinds of photo ops for anyone interested in his story. Despite his current handicap, he has twice,
using upper body strength alone, pushed open the back door. This is not easy as the door is a bit sticky and swollen from recent rains. He then proceeds to drag his back half over the grass and bricks to get to a sunny spot in the grass where he hunkers down for a salad. He has two modes of dealing with his powerless back legs, either dragging them straight out in the “froggy” position or curled together to the left. Dragging this load is a bit easier in the house on the polished wood floors, however, one must also consider that getting a grip on these floors isn’t easy. Grass and dirt are much preferred.
J and The Boyfriend are keeping strong. J is doing yeoman service keeping Bites clean, fed and “expressed”. Cats pretty much take care of business when doing their business but he now needs lots of assistance. She “expresses” his pee and tries to coax out any other elements of waste. Surely Bitey has seen the trash compactor scene in Star Wars and it must remind him of that.
Sunday a.m., after his second escape, I returned him from an especially muddy area of the yard and it clearly was bath time. With un-catlike forbearance, he let J soap and suds his back half, peeking out from under her arm. I coached him in some deep breathing and he made it through like a champ. I got the drying detail and we were even able to use a hairdryer.
His reward was snuggling up with The Boyfriend under the covers. It didn’t take long for him to achieve Purrdom and he spent the day with various members of the household watching the Red Sox game and snoozing.
The atmosphere in Bitey’s house is realistic, we all know that he may never make it out of the woods but there isn’t a lot of hand wringing. J and The BF are dealing with his problems, pouring a huge amount of money and effort into his care. Bitey isn’t in pain and is still able to meet most of his cat needs—birdwatching, grass grazing, rolling in the mud and snuggling and seeking out all sources of heat. It’s a good life! Roll on, Bitey, roll on!
Eds Note: It's worth mentioning that both of my parents have made extremely generous donations towards the cost of Bitey's treatment, despite the fact that their daughter is almost, like, thirty.
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