Dear Friend of Tux,

Some cats are food-motivated. Tux is comfort-motivated.

Some cats jump at the invitation to play. Tux is master of his own schedule.

Some cats are lap cats. Tux prefers pets and proximity.

As we, his dearest friends, well know, Tux is not simply “some” cat. Tux is an elderly gentleman cat, who plans to age with grace and intention.

By feline standards, Tux is elderly as he is not yet twenty (as Jane Austin’s characters might say).

For an elderly feline, Tux is doing quite well medically as his heart disease and his blood work remain stable. He naps most of the day and doesn’t move around the room as often as he once did, but he still enjoys a good stretch and scratch on the post as he moves about the Community Room.

Have you ever heard someone involved in veterinary medicine say something like, “Fluffy is ADR?” If so, you may have asked what they meant by that. Perhaps you didn’t want to ask and silently waited for an explanation of this horrible illness known as ADR. I want to share a little bit of veterinary insight and humor with you today. The term ADR simply means “ain’t doin’ right.” We use it to describe an animal that is acting “off” when there is no easy way to say what seems amiss. When a cat at Tabby’s Place is behaving or presenting differently from their own personal “normal” and that behavior has us concerned, we say the cat is ADR.

Over the last few weeks, there have been several notes of “Tux ADR” from the staff. There were notes that Tux was not eating and notes that Tux seemed tired. I grew quite concerned. So concerned that I spent one of my work-from-home Wednesdays, not at home, but at Tabby’s Place, and not in my office, but in the Community Room where I could keep a very close eye on Tux.

I promise you, that I watched him with hawk-like precision.

What I observed was Tux prioritizing comfort over all else. Over the hours that I sat with him, Tux ate a few nibbles at a time, between cat naps filled with kitty dreams. He made one morning visit to the litter box, stopped for a post scratch, made a short investigation of potential napping spots, and settled into the bed he started in when I arrived in the morning.

After so many reports of Tux barely eating anything, I was immensely relieved when I learned that his weight was stable. He hadn’t lost any weight in the last two weeks, so he was clearly eating.

Tux does not enjoy dining on demand. Tux eats when he wants to eat and what he wants to eat. Remember, Tux would prefer to lavish in a sunbeam or a cozy bed rather than devour a fresh tray of pate or meaty bits. Tux has always preferred kibble over wet food and prefers grazing over gorging. Tux snacks when he feels like snacking.

While I know that Tux is aging and the day will come when my heart will be comforted by his purr for the last time, that time is not right now. Tux would like all to know, for the record, that he is not ADR, he is simply doin’ Tux at nearly twenty. I can only hope to age with a fraction of his grace and intention.

Your correspondent,
Lisa