I saw the most weird, most unusual, and most un-Carrot-like thing the other day.
Whenever we add a new cat to a suite, we crate the new cat in the new room for two days. That way, she can adjust to the new place and get used to the other cats in a safe area, and we can make sure she’s eating OK and not getting overly stressed.
So, last week, we were adding a new cat to Carrot’s home, Suite B. Her name is Cypress, and she is a beautiful, medium-haired, grey and cream tabby with a curly tail. Cypress has been at Tabby’s Place for several years, and after a long stay in our Weight Management Suite, we were moving her to a room where there is access to food all the time. Cypress absolutely LOVES all cats, and she is always very gentle and loving to everything feline. With us humans, Cypress is a little timid, but all in all she is a very gentle soul. So when it was time for her to be released into her new room, I was not expecting what happened next…
Cypress jumped out of her cage and started to explore. Some of the bullies in the room (Spumoni, BooBoo and Faye) growled at her as she walked around. Cypress paid no attention; she has no fear of cats, as she’s lived with the worst of the worst in her time with us.
Then, suddenly, I heard a lot of very loud growling and hissing. I looked around to where it could be coming from. I watched the known bullies carefully to make sure Cypress was OK, but it wasn’t them. Still, the growling continued and was getting louder. It was Carrot!
Carrot!
Our sweet and easygoing boy who loves everyone! Carrot who makes all the tough bullies love him and play with him! Carrot ran over to Cypress, swatted at her, growled and hissed, then ran up the ramp at a million miles an hour like he had just seen a shaved bear (seriously, Google “Shaved Bear”…Terrifying!) Carrot then ran into the tunnel that connects the suite and solarium and would not come out.
Meanwhile, Cypress had no idea she had caused Carrot’s cheese to completely slide off his cracker. I have never seen Carrot act like this towards any cat. He loves everyone! I wonder what it was about our sweet and gentle Cypress that freaked him out so much?
I am happy to report that Carrot is now living happily with Cypress. He’s back to his usual peace-loving self. In the picture of Carrot in the cat tree, that’s Cypress right above him, not being terrifying.
Our boy is enjoying good health this month. He did have a brief bout of diarrhea, but that resolved quickly. There has been some discussion among our team about possibly amputating Carrot’s tail. This may sound extreme, but since Carrot has somewhat frequent diarrhea and can’t hold his tail up, it might be in his best interest to simply remove it. This will keep him cleaner and more comfortable, while protecting him from infection. As of this writing, our team is still thinking this over. Carrot has no real control over his tail, so I’m sure it would not be a huge deal to him. I will keep you posted if they decide to go ahead with the procedure.
Carrot’s good friend and fellow frat boy, Todd, was adopted this week. No worries, though; Carrot still has many good friends to play and snuggle with.
I was in the room with Carrot recently, smushing him and playing with him, when it occurred to me once again what an easy-going boy he is. He even let me put a toy fishy on his side for a photo, and he was quite happy to let me do it.
That’s all the Carrot news for now. Thank you so much for your continued support of this special boy. Carrot is happy and thriving because of your kindness.