Meet Squirrel!

tohostudios wrote:

Claude, after the old Loony Tunes cat?

Exactly. I didn’t get the joke behind that name at first cuz I was really young but once I did I have always laughed at that. Almost spelled it “Clawed”. Sometimes I do when I text my wife to ask how he is. Sometimes I call him “Clod”. You know my demented mind all too well, Toho. How’s your cats?

I actually never made that connection with the name Claude before.  I just knew that was the Loony Tunes cat's name.  That's funnier now.

My cats are doing OK except Squirrel has started sneezing a lot today.  I just had him to the vet last week because he was scratching himself a lot and now he's sneezing a lot.  Sounds like allergies.  But he doesn't have any other concerning symptoms like discharge, lethargy or lack of appetite; in fact he still keeps hassling Loosie.

Loosie has been "feeling her oats" lately, maybe because she realizes Squirrel is under the weather.  This coming February I'll have had her for 5 years (which is amazing to me; and Dec 2 will mark a year that I've had Squirrel which is also amazing, time flies) and she'll be 8 years old but she still likes to play (just not with Squirrel) and she still has the softest fur I've ever felt.

At least they are still alive and well. Time does fly, my oldest daughter has a female cat that absolutely loves people and attention but she absolutely hates other cats no matter their size.

Cats do certainly have different personalities.

I adopted Loosie from a vet's office so she was used to people and other animals and she's definitely a "people cat". When she meets a stranger she treats the person as someone who just hasn't petted her yet.

Squirrel is the complete opposite; he's worse than Tux was. I used to think Tux cowered from strangers because he'd only known me for so long. But I've only had Squirrel for a year and he's the same way; doorbell rings, he hides.

Just took Claude to get neutered and vaccinated. Never had a male cat before so do they become nicer and/or lose weight after? Claude really loves me but he’s still affectionate from a distance.

Our male cats gained weight after but the did mellow out.

They sort of mellow out but not always.  Squirrel was neutered when he was less than a year old (before I adopted him) and I can't believe he was any crazier before neutering than after; he's now 2 and still nuts.

The big thing is male cats are far less aggressive after neutering and more importantly they're much less likely to "spray".  We had an un-neutered male cat when I was a kid and trust me, you never want to smell that.  It's not just urine; there's something else in there and it's absolutely awful and impossible to get rid of.

Oh yeah, it's a special kind of stink. Probably banned in warfare.

Got a new kitten. Her name is Willow.

Congrats!

Post some pics when you get the chance.

Thanks! Gonna work with Claude on his weight as well. I’ll send pics soon.

Cool cat!