A New Kid in Town

Meet Ziggy.  He’s the new kid in our household. Adopted from the Boulder Humane Society on Monday, he’s a 10 year old Siamese mix. Z’s a friendly and very affectionate fellow once you make his “approved” list. He hides from strangers, although he came right up to BA and I when we were introduced at the Humane Society. He likes touch, lots of petting and cuddles and he’s a head-butting sort of fellow.  Wham! He hits hard with his head.  Given that he’s not very big (8 pounds) his full force on my chin doesn’t do any damage, but it can be quite a startling event.

It’s been an adjustment for all of us.  Initially, Ziggy seemed to settle in pretty quickly at the house, and I started out feeding him the dry food he was reportedly on before he came to us, along with some wet food.  He ate some dry food, ignored the wet, so we tried some different varieties, finally finding one he liked.  Then he got sick. Vomiting and diarrhea. I’ll spare you the details, but I’m grateful that he’s a good litter box user.

Yesterday we went to the vet. Test results are still pending, but he’s doing better.  Not eating much yet, but drinking water well, and the bodily expulsions are slowing. He’s on a special diet, and he’s more active today.  He hates the car, and even more than the car, he hates the cat carrier!  Boy does that change his otherwise mellow behavior. So all cat containers are banished to the basement, and he’s pretty content upstairs.

After more than a year without a cat, it is an interesting adjustment. Fun to have a little fur-person about, more work of course, and challenging when they get sick. We shall see how this goes.  BA is delighted to have a companion in the house again.  I’m happy to have him, although since I spend less time at home, I had felt the empty house less.

We are getting to know each other, and I’m sure there will be more to come in the future.   And some good news–the vet called while I was writing. Ziggy’s labs are normal, so probably some combination of stress and food reaction. Phew!  Once again, welcome Ziggy! I do hope this will be a good forever home for you.