Our Pet Boys
Posted by Brandy Appleby on Friday, April 5, 2013
We have two male short-haired tabby brothers - Thor (orange) and Loki (grey). We adopted them in November 2011 from the Gatineau SPCA. They were taken in by a kind foster family who took care of them until they were old enough to be adopted. They took to us almost immediately, crawling all over us before we even left the foster home to do the paperwork at the SPCA. They hated the drive home. I played a game with them while they huddled in their box on my lap - fingers darting into the holes trying to escape kitten claws. We got home and let them roam around the living room. After exploring a bit they started playing. It was nice to see them adapting to their new environment so quickly.
Loki developed a love of technology. He would curl up with me on the couch if I had my laptop or against me or Mike if one of us was on our computer. He used to love to watch one of the interactive games on Facebook and he tried to text message me on Mike's phone one day. Of course it didn't say anything in English but Mike and I like to think that he was trying to say something to me...lol.
Thor is a mommy's boy. He loves to snuggle with me, interrupt me when I'm knitting and of course he wants to eat whatever I'm eating! He loves wrestling with Loki and with passing feet. Both love chasing our hands under the blankets (and sometimes our feet!). They also love chasing us around the house, either trying to catch us or catch one of their toys trailing behind us.
Our house now is a two story, four bedroom garden home with an enclosed backyard. The boys have lots of room to run and run they do! We nicknamed them the Thunder Cats because when they run around it sounds like rolling thunder. They seem much happier here. We have a computer room upstairs for Mike and I and the boys like to sit at the window and stair out into the various yards.
In February, we had to take Thor into the vet. He had an inflamed bladder. We were told to switch him to wet food only and to give him a special medicated Royal Canin wet food. He didn't like it and refused to eat it. So I did research on the best all natural grain free wet food on the market. I found three brands - Fromm, Wellness and Before Grain. They didn't like the Wellness brand but they loved the Fromm. Unfortunately, Fromm is quite expensive and we couldn't afford to have them both on it. After a time we settled on Before Grain - which is a meat only pate wet food. Its less expensive than Fromm and doesn't contain any grains, gluten or veggies.
After a few weeks he was doing much better and was back to his normal playful self. We got a Feliway diffuser, which helps to calm animals down. It seemed to help both cats. Unfortunately, Thor started to get worse again in late March. So a few days ago we took him back to the vet. He had developed an infection. So now we have the joy of trying to switch him over to another medicated version of the Royal Canin brand and he's on antibiotics for a week. I've introduced the new food to him slowly, and although he doesn't particularly care for the new food, he's eating it. I have to encourage him, watch him and even sometimes sit with him to get him to eat his food. He takes his antibiotic pill with no fuss. It will take a while before he's back to normal, but we know with the new routine he will be healthy again soon.
Loki developed a love of technology. He would curl up with me on the couch if I had my laptop or against me or Mike if one of us was on our computer. He used to love to watch one of the interactive games on Facebook and he tried to text message me on Mike's phone one day. Of course it didn't say anything in English but Mike and I like to think that he was trying to say something to me...lol.
Thor is a mommy's boy. He loves to snuggle with me, interrupt me when I'm knitting and of course he wants to eat whatever I'm eating! He loves wrestling with Loki and with passing feet. Both love chasing our hands under the blankets (and sometimes our feet!). They also love chasing us around the house, either trying to catch us or catch one of their toys trailing behind us.
Our house now is a two story, four bedroom garden home with an enclosed backyard. The boys have lots of room to run and run they do! We nicknamed them the Thunder Cats because when they run around it sounds like rolling thunder. They seem much happier here. We have a computer room upstairs for Mike and I and the boys like to sit at the window and stair out into the various yards.
In February, we had to take Thor into the vet. He had an inflamed bladder. We were told to switch him to wet food only and to give him a special medicated Royal Canin wet food. He didn't like it and refused to eat it. So I did research on the best all natural grain free wet food on the market. I found three brands - Fromm, Wellness and Before Grain. They didn't like the Wellness brand but they loved the Fromm. Unfortunately, Fromm is quite expensive and we couldn't afford to have them both on it. After a time we settled on Before Grain - which is a meat only pate wet food. Its less expensive than Fromm and doesn't contain any grains, gluten or veggies.
After a few weeks he was doing much better and was back to his normal playful self. We got a Feliway diffuser, which helps to calm animals down. It seemed to help both cats. Unfortunately, Thor started to get worse again in late March. So a few days ago we took him back to the vet. He had developed an infection. So now we have the joy of trying to switch him over to another medicated version of the Royal Canin brand and he's on antibiotics for a week. I've introduced the new food to him slowly, and although he doesn't particularly care for the new food, he's eating it. I have to encourage him, watch him and even sometimes sit with him to get him to eat his food. He takes his antibiotic pill with no fuss. It will take a while before he's back to normal, but we know with the new routine he will be healthy again soon.