Dear Bacon sponsors,

It’s May already?!  According to my calendar, yes, it is indeed May. The days have melted together and the concept of a week seems to have almost disappeared. That’s the people side of things.  At least, for our dear Bacon, things haven’t changed.

Last month, I wrote about Bacon being blissfully unaware of the changes in the world. This month, he still is. Things have not changed too much in the world of Bacon. The trouble of finding food in which to hide his medications remains a battle. We’re still in the same place:  Bacon enjoys a flavor of delicious wet food for a few days only to suddenly turn his nose up at it. We continue to carefully log what he eats and how much he eats.

One thing has changed for Bacon. He has a new roommate! It’s good news, no worries. Sally, Bacon’s previous roomie, moved into her forever foster home with one of our staff members. The two have been inseparable for quite some time, and this pandemic wasn’t going to put an end to it! This left an open spot for a new roommate.

While we briefly considered allowing Bacon to be out in the room 24/7, as opposed to his schedule of happily snoozing during the day and roaming at night, we realized this would not be in the best interest of Bacon.  Bacon is quite the special boy, for many reasons, but in particular, the noises and commotion during the day can be too overstimulating for him. The search for a roommate was conducted and quickly concluded. Fenek was selected. Fenek is a tiny but mighty cat. He has a strong dislike for other cats and was doing poorly in his suite. In addition, Fenek recently was discovered to be diabetic. Fate played in Fenek’s favor and he made the move from a large suite to a cozy office.

Fenek is not entirely like Sally. While Sally wished nothing to do with Bacon, Fenek is quite curious. Fenek loves being away from other cats.  However, he seems to be fascinated with Bacon. Of course, Bacon is not as curious about Fenek.

It’s put a slight hiccup in Bacon’s routine, mostly for the humans involved. One of the “fun” tasks our staff has is applying a trans-dermal appetite stimulant to Bacon’s ear. This absorbs through the skin and is the only medication we don’t put in his food. Sally was always happy to leave everyone alone as they carefully opened Bacon’s mesh door and slowly applied the medication. Bacon is, as expected, not a fan of this. It requires the perfect mix of patience and hesitation to avoid Bacon’s healthy and sharp set of teeth.

Well, enter Fenek into this precarious daily event. Fenek has tried to get into Bacon’s ‘day home,’ tried to take the opportunity to sit on laps, and generally has been a troublemaker. It was quickly realized that Fenek needed to be placed in his own crate during this time, but not before Bacon got upset and bolted. One of our staff members was suddenly stuck in a very unfortunate situation. Quickly running to grab newbie Fenek, putting him in his crate, and retreating out the door from a very upset Bacon. It was quite the experience.

Bacon continues to remain uninterested in Fenek, with one exception. He was seen eyeing up Fenek’s food! Of course, when we attempted to feed him the exact same food, in true Bacon form, he walked away from it. Fenek continues to try and make friends. Why? We’re not sure. It seems Bacon is the only cat Fenek has taken any positive interest in. Perhaps it’s because Bacon is playing ‘hard to get.’ As Bacon tries to take a nap, Fenek sits in front of his door doing his own form of meowing, which sounds much more like a chirp.

Even with the introduction of a new roommate, Bacon’s world remains fairly constant. Which is good, although we really wish he’d settle on a new favorite food!

Your correspondent,
Rebecca