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Foraging 101-Infographic

Visit "Swag for Humans" tab for a full size poster available for your clinic, shelter or rescue!

Foraging-women’s short sleeve t-shirt-full color cat

Your typical 100% cotton t-shirt (except for Heather Grey, Dark Heather Grey, Heather Green, and Heather Blue colors that contain polyester). Pre-shrunk to make sure your size is maintained throughout several washes, and a classic fit.

• 100% combed ringspun cotton
• Heather Grey is 90% combed ringspun cotton and 10% polyester
• Dark Heather Grey, Heather Green, and Heather Blue are 35% combed ringspun cotton and 65% polyester
• Fabric weight: 4.3 oz/yd² (145.8 g/m²)
• 30 singles
• Classic semi-contoured silhouette with side seam
• Tear-away label
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Seamed collarette
• Double-needle stitched sleeves and bottom hem
• Blank product sourced from Honduras, Haiti, or Nicaragua

Fluffy

Fluffy, Fluffernutter, Flufferschteen, Schteen, Butters, you name it, we called him pretty much anything but Fluffy. Still cannot believe we had a cat named Fluffy. But here goes…

I knew Fluffy for a looooong time. I was his hair stylist for many years! He came to see me at my previous clinic as well as the one where I work now. He and his litter mate were both patients. Fluffy was grossly obese. If I remember correctly, he was 29.25# the day he was relinquished to us (to me-basically). He would get lion cuts a few times a year and in-between the clients were encouraged to bring him in for sanitary shaves because this cat had not seen his own rear in years! This rarely happened. He was always so caked with feces and dried urine over his prepuce and anus. It was so sad, and he was so itchy not being able to satiate the itch and effectively groom himself.

The day he was relinquished.

Fluffy and his brother Reginald were super sweet cats. Both were huge but Fluffy was spectacular! It always bothered me that Reginald got a “real” name. They never really wanted to keep Fluffy, and I guess that showed in the lack of originality. Both cats were indoor/outdoor, and I recall that Reginald ate some lilies outside the home one day. Odd because they had been planted and blooming there his entire life, but this one spring he decided to munch on them needless to say we treated him for acute kidney failure and he lived!!! He is the ONLY cat that I have known that has had Lillie poisoning that lived, the only one! It was remarkable.

Relinquishment day before photos.

One of his first few days home, really wish this pic was lighter!

Still caged at the clinic here. Wondering why he has to forage for his food.

I never thought the day would come, but one day I got the dreaded call. Fluffy was urinating outside of the litter box and they were going to have none of that. He also scratched on the furniture. I tried. I tried to help and educate, but the things Fluffy needed to be successful were not going to be provided. Let me tell you this cat did not have a “behavior problem” this cat had a “humans problem”!!! He was completely set up to fail. Grossly obese, feces matted to his rear on the regular and would anyone like to guess how big this cats litter box was???? It was 8 ½ x 11!!!! It was one of those tiny pans we use in a cage at the clinic for the day if a cat is dropped off. He wasn’t “eliminating outside the box” it was all a case of simple logistics and he was simply over shooting the pan. He was IN THE BOX, it is just that his pee and poop were going over the side because he was well, GIANT!

I love this photo of him.

Anyone want to take a guess as to where this cat’s scratching post was located and what it looked like? It was in the basement right next to the litter box, and it was about 18 inches tall. The end! Bring him to me, there is nothing wrong with this delicious, scrumptious muffin except that he lives in YOUR house and you refuse to meet his environmental needs!

Big boys club! Hitch, Fluffy and Bears.

Fluffernutter was perfect in every freakin’ way! This cat had nothing wrong with his urine, he used the boxes provided perfectly right up until the day he died and he was so sweet. I am a BIG fan of spaying and neutering but OMG if he and Peaches could have had kittens. One can dream.

Look at how well he fit in!

First on the agenda, weight loss! I will say that he is the first cat (at the time) that bit holes in his foraging toy instead of manipulating them as intended to acquire the food. He was a brute and we thought it was hilarious but he did eventually get the concept and stopped chewing them up like a puppy. When G.G. and Crusty came home that one Thanksgiving week, so did Schteen, and well, he stayed too. They were all just so easy and happy and grateful. How could we not? Plus, I had loved him for so long. I was glad he was mine, finally.

He was not small.

The largest cat we have ever had.

Butters made it to 19# without even doing anything drastic. We opened four 5.5oz cans of wet food twice a day at that juncture in our feline husbandry, and much of that was Hill’s w/d, a weight loss food. Then, all his dry was in food puzzles and not bowls, voila, he lost weight, the healthy way and without frustration and he also became an indoor only cat which for most that would have resulted in weight gain, but not when they are working for their dry food, enriched and playing etc. Makes a difference when one does not rely on any one thing to achieve that weight loss.

Look at that sweet face, he can pee on my floor anytime!

I absolutley love this photo!

We made a half-hearted attempt to make him a full-figured spokes cat for Revolution, the plus size, back the day, he did not become rich and famous, but it was fun. He got to try out our cat stroller and he loved it. So often I am told, “oh, he doesn’t play” and I just love it when I get them home and comfortable, and they actually start to enjoy playtime. That was true for all three of these clinic cats, despite being older, got them all playing. We also continued to maintain his linocut regularly, it helped him “feel” thinner! Ha!

Zoetis really missed the boat with this spokesmodel!

Hanging with his PWC peeps in the sun.

Strollin'!

Cozy time Schteen!

Stunning little guy.

Fierce killer.

Fluffernutter did succumb to cancer and was taken from us far too soon. We tried very hard to save his life, but he had something really weird that we were never able to precisely diagnose, and it made him terribly anemic and weak. Sad to see for such a big, tough guy, but he was always a sweet little teddy bear on the inside.

We never really called him Fluffy; we don’t think he cared.

Playing!!

At least he was happy here for a while, loved and accepted.

Foraging cat sticker-purple

These stickers are printed on durable, high opacity adhesive vinyl which makes them perfect for regular use, as well as for covering other stickers or paint. The high-quality vinyl ensures there are no bubbles when applying the stickers.

• High opacity film that’s impossible to see through
• Fast and easy bubble-free application
• Durable vinyl, perfect for indoor use
• 95µ density

Don’t forget to clean the surface before applying the sticker.

Foraging cat sticker-blue

• High opacity film that’s impossible to see through
• Fast and easy bubble-free application
• Durable vinyl, perfect for indoor use
• 95µ density

Don’t forget to clean the surface before applying the sticker.

Foraging cat sticker-full color

• High opacity film that’s impossible to see through
• Fast and easy bubble-free application
• Durable vinyl, perfect for indoor use
• 95µ density

Don’t forget to clean the surface before applying the sticker.

Foraging cat sticker-green

• High opacity film that’s impossible to see through
• Fast and easy bubble-free application
• Durable vinyl, perfect for indoor use
• 95µ density

Don’t forget to clean the surface before applying the sticker.

Mr. Seymour Crusty

One of his cleanest and most handsome pics

Don’t laugh, but Crusty was found with a Fritos bag on his head! We affectionately referred to this as him being an “original forager”, bringing a real life meaning to what we know to be all about toys and enrichment at our house. He was foraging for his life. I’m sure licking the contents out of the bag was delicious!

G.G. and Crusty, "Early bird special at Denny's"

A local rescue woman brought him to see us at the office because he was a such a mess she didn’t want to take him to one of her many “regular vets”, Crust needed cat people! Let’s see if I can recall his myriad of issues, a mouth full of horrible teeth which resulted in full mouth extractions, he was FIV+, he had Pododermatitis on all four feet, a condition seen with FIV+ cats and interestingly more common in male cats as well. He had the Feline Herpes Virus, no surprise when you look at his pics and runny eyes and nose. His body was covered in scars. You can see in all of his photos, even at his most handsome and with hair styling by Moi, he looks a bit motheaten and splotchy. Feet chronically stained from his eye discharge, and well, he was old, old as crust! This is how he got the name, old and crusty, but then we didn’t want his name to be too derogatory, so we added the “Mr.” and “Seymour” and see, now his name was fancy and fun!

Supervising Yukon's Laser treatments.

This pic taken while still living the life of a clinic cat.

Snuggled up to Yukon's bloomers!

Remarkable interest in dogs after life on the street.

This cat was something else. Super timid with people at first, he was a “cats’ cat” and that became ever so much more evident as he healed and we introduced him to G.G. They made the cutest little senior citizen couple! He was not exactly adoptable. I mean, to the right individual, but he needed to be with other cats and with a whole host of medical issue we were not exactly advertising to place him. He became a staple at the clinic, and he was even ok with dogs. I brought Yukon, our German Shepard up for cold laser therapy pretty regularly for a while, and you can see that Crust happily nestled into the tail fur and supervised my treatments!

After dinner activities at the senior center with GG and Crust!

Peek-a-boo Crusty!

He, along with G.G. and Fluffy (I know!), were the three clinic cats I brought home that one Thanksgiving week and never brought them back. To see them blossom in a home, enjoy the fireplace, sofa, screened porch and to sleep in our bed, how could I possible return them to clinic life at their age? Now clinic cats were not exactly destitute at our practice, they lived the lap of luxury compared to most, but it was still a “harder” environment. No rugs, no soft furnishings, no bed or human to sleep with and they deserved that.

He was a "classic" kinda guy!

Strollin' Crust!

Crusty fully took advantage of all of the amenities! He really settled in, let his guard down and played a lot for a senior cat with medical problems. He even got to go for stroller walks! A far cry from fighting for his life on the street. He practically lived out on the screen porch and being a cat’s cat, he had SO MANY friends here. I have always found males to be a bit more easy going and accepting of others and this could not have been more true in our home. We had an overwhelming number of boys and he could often be found in the cuddle puddle. In preparing for this post, I was reminded of many videos of he and Hitch wrestling together, grooming each other, lots of mutual grooming. He was in heaven!

Makes one wonder what he thought of all of this?

Cuddle puddle

Still choosing to hang out with his clinic cat friends.

Cuddle train.

Cuddle puddle.

Boys club!

He and Vader became buds too.

Screen porch time!

While he was living with us, he also developed diabetes (Yay! He became my THIRD diabetic cat AT THE SAME TIME!) likely subsequent to the steroids used to treat his pododermatitis. He also developed heart disease and chronic kidney disease. So his laundry list of medications and treatments grew.

We love how much he played here!

Killing blue mouse toy!

I have no idea how old Crust was, we guessed maybe 15 years or so. Who knows how old he was when he passed. He’s one of those cats with lots of secrets we will never know. I got the call while I was at work, Jake came home from work and found Mr. Seymour Crusty had passed away. He looked to have fallen asleep quite peacefully in a soft, fuzzy, plush bed. His little heart just gave out. We understood this might happen but we always hope to be with them to help them leave us and be there to say our goodbyes. It doesn’t happen often, but at the time he was the second cat we found deceased and did not plan for. This is never a good feeling. Looking back on all of the photos and videos though helps us know we did right by him. He had a nice retirement here with us. We have no regrets. We like to think he enjoyed our snacks more than Frito crumbs!

He loved the sun, as most senior cats do.

Classic photo of him, just a wee bit of snot coming from his nose!

G.G.

G.G. at the clinic, right by the door, greeting everyone.

G.G. was originally named Gabrielle, but to us she was always G.G. or just simply, Geeg! Gabrielle was cute but a bit too formal for her once we got to know her. Boy oh boy, sometimes those oldies but goodies come along, and you don’t know them for very long, but they really stick with you, this could not be more true than with our little Geeg!

Gabrielle lived the first 17 years of her life as an outdoor only cat and lived outside of a local daycare center. She had kittens, made it through cold winters, blistering hot Georgia summers, survived the parking lot, and was exposed to loads of children but then the day came where the daycare facility was set to close and G.G. would no longer have someone to care for her. I do not recall why the individual that cared for her all these years could not keep her, but I feel like it was a situation where the husband said “no” to bringing her home. She was 17 years old when she came to us and became our clinic cat.

Asking for lap time from Jake, a.k.a. buttering him up.

Becoming an indoor only cat did not seem to be a bothersome lifestyle change for Geeg, in fact, I think she was like, “Finally, I’ve been waiting so damn long for someone to bring me in!” She would sit at the door to the clinic and look out the window but never tried to escape, she could’ve cared less. We could hold the door open, and clients would freak that she might get out and she would just sit there, like “Nope, I’m good, take your time”. Being a clinic cat with us was not all that bad. Her medical needs were met, she was immediately put on heartworm and flea prevention, started being treated for arthritis and kidney disease, you name it, we would do it. These were not “blood donor cats” that lived in cages, they were family; they were not even up for adoption because we took care of them like they were ours and we were attached.

G.G. and Mr. Seymour Crusty at the clinic.

On the exam table at the clinic, posing. She could still jump!

Geeg, Fluff and Crust chillin' in a sunbeam!

Over the years the clinic cat family grew, and she had a few gentleman callers that moved in too, Mr. Seymour Crusty and Fluffy! You’ll hear their stories next! But Little Geeg was AMAZING!! She was a super sweet greeter cat, we used her for medicating lessons because she was such a compliant little lady, she had a hilarious personality and even let the kids that visited the clinic pet her and faun all over her. She was BEYOND patient. I guess all those years on the streets living among the hustle and bustle really does help make some of these cats some of the coolest. They are not quite the same when they grow up in the little bubble that is our homes, no life experience!

Playing doctor. Look at how patient she was with them!

We thought at 17 she might be a short-term commitment, but the months passed, and she kept on ticking. Clinic life was not bad to them, we had plenty of snacks, soft cushy bedding, heating pads, toys and she still played-oh you bet! But it wasn’t a home, and it was “hard” meaning that all of the surfaces are so hard. Hard floors, no carpet, soft bedding but no couch or armchair, no fireplace, none of those little luxuries. Every year for Thanksgiving our clinic would close for the week and the staff would take turns coming in to care for the three clinic cats. One year the doctor decided to travel so only two of us were left to share this responsibility. I decided that I would bring them home for the week, set them up in a room and allow them to be in a home and cozy and in turn make my life easier. Twenty-six mile commuting ONE WAY for 25 years, well let’s just say I’m WAY over it. I was over it back then, really over it now. It really ruined the “week off”, but alas, I drive for ethics.

Sunning Geeg!

Not dead, I swear, happy, relaxied in the sun!

These guys were just so chill, and so easy-going, that well, by the end of the week they were loose in the house, and no one cared! They were sleeping on dog beds by the fire, totally cool with our three large dogs, which was impressive and integrating with the cats quite nicely. Anyone want to guess what happened next? Well, we had no clinic cats after that week, I adopted all three of them! Who here is surprised, no one! I just couldn’t bring them back!

Enjoying the screened porch!

Screen porch time with her main squeeze, Mr. Crusty!

Geeg reminded us of the senior citizens that walk Lenox mall. She would make laps around our kitchen bar like “old folks at the mall”. And we’d say that to her, “You doin’ laps at Lenox again, G.G.?” It was so cute, like she was getting in her steps. She was 19 years old when I committed to her, so she was on a laundry list of umpteen number of meds and SQ fluids of course, appetite stimulants and junky cat food. So, while she totally learned to forage (that’s right naysayers-19 years old and learned to forage) she had ”room service” in her special purple bathroom. She was so in routine she would bolt ahead of us knowing it was time for her Fancy Feast! We would let her eat her junk food and then let her back out and she was quite content with this routine.

This is what we mean when we say, "Googly!"

Cat Stoller! That's right, great activity for seniors!

She was what Jake and I call, “googly”. Scrumptious little square muzzle and big googly eyeballs that always made her look so freakin’ cute. She also reminded us of our sweet, dear, Mammas (Asia) and swear they could have been sisters. I have a lot of terrible photos of G.G. because she never stopped moving. I have blurry side by side pics with Mammas, and all kinds of pics with half her face cut off. There are only a few good ones in this post! She was impossible to photograph. She only left us with our memories.

She lived her for 11 months. We let her go one month shy of what was estimated to be her 20^th birthday. I barely knew her three years but I gotta tell ya, she gave us a very special three years. I have video of her foraging, playing with wand toys, cuddling with the other cats. She came here to retire but she lived it up! It was my pleasure Gegeers! Glad we had the chance to know you! Once again, we were the lucky ones.

Finally, a soft sofa! She waited her whole life for this.

Enjoying the screen porch. No more fighting for her life, just relaxing watching birds.

Ferorcious Geeg! Complete with spooky spiders on her collar.

Tortie train!

Look at that little lady!

Wheels!

Take one look at the pics and you will see the reason for her name. Not at all striving for inappropriate but I will share that my mother used to call handicapped parking spaces wheelie cap spaces when I was a little kid. Here is the story of our delightful, Wheeliecappers! Yes, I pluralize everything, I don’t know why.

Wheels was yet another cat rescued by my former employer at the cat only vet. She found her on the side of the road on her way to or from work, I can’t recall. At the time, Wheels was a four-month-old feral, calico kitten who had been hit by a car, so obviously she brought her to the clinic to get all fixed up. Little did we know that she was not fixable, well, at least not all the way.

After a thorough exam, which Wheels pushed through but was completely baffled by all the touching, and x-rays, we learned that her back was broken. We could have euthanized her, but we didn’t, she was so full of life and healthy in every other way. This clinic had seen many miracles, we had about 45-65 clinic cats at any given time, it was the land of misfit toys where all the broken came to play. So, we decided to see if time would help and if Wheels would regain some degree of strength and ability to walk and eliminate on her own. This gave the staff lots of time to get attached to her so clearly this was the final decision. We were keeping her!

On a condo at the clinic, we put her up there so she could survey the land.

Testing out her new wheels and her new cart at the clinic.

I took care of Wheels a lot. I became very attached to her very quickly. I may not have the desire to have human babies, but as Jake sweetly said to me one day, when he was up at the clinic and we were both assisting with an emergency C-section, “You have maternal instincts, you just use them for animals!” All the staff had to learn how to express her bladder and help her defecate, but I was always the best at it. Little did I know this would become a niche for me throughout my career. I am a master extractor of feline elimination! We did physical therapy exercises to try to help her with strength and we ordered her a specially made cart (a big deal back then) to try to help her get around! She used it, but she was a very determined little lady and would often pull herself right out of her cart and just scoot along the floor. Due to this handicap, she was built like a linebacker in the front end, so strong! This was my, and most of the staff’s, first experience with such a severely handicapped cat.

As she approached one year of age it became clear that Wheels was not going to get better, she was also not going to get adopted, so we integrated her in with all the clinic cats. It was just so sad that her friends would come and go but she always remained along with a few other pretty “unadoptable” staples. The clinic was so “hard”; the surfaces did not scream cozy for a cat like Wheels. She didn’t really use the cat condos much and most of the beds were up on something so we could easily sweep and mop each day. She scooted around that place like she was the clinics personal dust mop! She did like the office and screen porch, so we decided to make that her home base, she even learned to use the cat door.

I always wanted to bring her home but didn’t think I could live up to the commitment. Then Lynx became diabetic, and I thought, well now I have to be here at least every 12 hours for him so maybe I could make this work? Wheels needed her urine expressed at least three times a day. She never regained the ability to eliminate on her own. I continued to remind myself that I saw her every day at work, did a lot of her care, and convinced myself it was too much. After all, did I “need” another cat? No!

Then, there was a hurricane, a BAD hurricane. I don’t remember the names of all of these storms the way so many people do. That is just not who I am, all I know is that I got the call that a HUGE, probably 200-year-old oak tree fell on the clinic during this storm! I knew which tree and I knew just where that might hit, it was in Wheels’ room!!!! I lost it! The owner of the clinic was out of town so I, and many of the staff rushed up there to make sure everyone was ok. I found Wheels cowered under the desk wet and terrified. It had rained right into her room. I mean how much could this one little cat endure; she’s freakin’ paralyzed for Christ’s sake. It’s not like she could get away! That was it, I told Jake that we had to do it, she couldn’t live there anymore, I was bringing her home.

Loving being home on the porch.

Hanging with Simon in our archaic DIY cat condo.

Snappy Cappers! One of a bazillion nicknames.

Visiting with her Auntie Bella from Sweden!

Fast forward to life at our house. She fit it swimmingly! No one made a fuss at all, what was one more at this point? She was also incredibly sweet and unintimidating so none of the other cats cared. She was so freakin’ tough, OMG, she climbed the stairs to the upstairs and would climb up on the cardboard scratcher by the window and literally throw herself onto the screened porch. She loved the porch at the cat clinic; she loved the porch at our house.

Climbed all this stuff on her own (note ramp).

Favorite little mouse.

She had this favorite little mouse toy that I will never forget, she never really played with anything at the clinic but at the house she blossomed. I regretted waiting so long to take her home. The mouse no one else in the house cared about was her favorite thing, I put it in her shadowbox of memories. Have I mentioned how precious it is to see a little paralyzed cat crack out on a little mouse toy! Well, it is precious!

I brought her home so she would be safe, so she could feel soft things, comfort, and know what it is like to be a part of a family and have a home. Then…our house caught fire!!! Jesus Christ! What more could this cat survive? In our downsized smaller space post fire, she eve learned to forage. She and Lefty were the two I was most worried about when I moved to strictly foraging for dry food. Previously, all food was up high due to our three large dogs but I had to cave and put bowls on the floors for Wheels so she could successfully eat. No more, food puzzling began! 16 cats, three dogs, 900 square feet post house fire, and we fed wet food twice a day, had food puzzles for the cat’ dry and the dogs didn’t destroy them all. It can be done; I’ve lived it and I am here to tell you it can be managed…with some creativity.

At the clinic post fire-note sooty paws.

Temp housing post fire with Simon.

Post fire accomodations working for her just fine.

Wheels was not with us long and we haven’t a clue what happened to her. I have been haunted by the fact that my attempts to help her stretch and feel her best may have done something inside. Who knows, she could have further injured herself just doing her Wheels thing, maybe from tossing herself out the screen porch window or getting up and down from her cat condo and not using the ramp daddy so nice made just for her! Something happened where her stomach and bowels stopped digesting/moving, it was like she became more paralyzed. It happened super quickly, and I will spare you the gory details of her passing, but it was gross and sad. I still live with the feeling it was my fault. Maybe it was for the best that she didn’t get old and arthritic as that would have certainly been hard on her.

I will leave you with the little blurb I put in Wheels’ shadowbox of memories, complete with favorite mousy. It references her Auntie Molly’s little “Wheels on the Bus” song she used to sing to her when she would pet sit. And, how great is it to have such a good friend that she learned to expressed BOTH of your paralyzed cats while you went home to visit the fam? Just wow, thanks Auntie Molly!

I was so proud of you,

And so proud to have had the privilege to care for you.

I never resented the responsibility; but rather embraced it.

You were an amazing soul, so strong and so persevering.

No car, hurricane or fire could slow you, certainly no physical obstacle.

I have learned so much from you, I only hope I gave you enough in return.

The wheels on the bus go ‘round, as do, I suppose, the wheels of life.

You will be missed more than you could ever know.

I love you.

I am sorry.

I still have her cart…her “wheels”.

My favorite picture of her, we didn't really have that many.

Rest in feline power sweet Snappy Caps!