Just got back from the vet, and Tunch’s weight is down slightly from the last visit. In a completely pleasant change, Tunch actually behaved and did not turn into a spawn of Satan and bleed every nurse and vet that tried to check him out. The vet was actually shocked, since we are used to holding him down with multiple towels.
At any rate, the fat bastard is apparently healthy and has a couple more pounds to lose.
valdivia
great to hear John. And he is indeed looking slimmer. In yesterday’s picture he looked particularly happy with his nails digging on the futon.
JimPortlandOR
has a couple more pounds to lose.
folks know it is hard to keep the pounds that may be lost is hard to sustain – likely creeping back and exceeding the previous high – and they know the 20 pounds or 30 they need to lose to not be obese is impossible.
So, the weight meme is "i’m going to lose a couple of pounds this spring" (and if they don’t the shortfall won’t be much noticed).
We are sooooooooo good at deceiving ourselves.
We even deceive ourselves about the weight of our pet partners because it is so easy to self-deceive.
gnomedad
We had a cat that would claw at the travel box until her claws bled. The vet was unimpressed.
The Grand Panjandrum
Good news. It sounds like you and Tunch have a lot in common. Often irritable, prone to predictable mood swings, health concerns, etc, etc, etc.
passerby
Bet both you and Tunch are glad to scratch that errand off the to do list.
I’ll be taking my little pawtner in for his shots this week. Oy.
Glenn Beck
Leopards don’t change their spots over night. I would check for a behavior control implant from the Obama administration.
Viva la revolucion!
smiley
I had a fat cat once who was a real asshole. He was know to actually attack guests. At the vet, though, he was a real, um, pussycat. Would come out of the carrier and jump onto the examination table purring all the way. He must have realized he was out numbered there.
Laura W
@The Grand Panjandrum: Tunch is prolly a Cancer too.
I’m surprised to hear his weight is down only "slightly". Last night’s photo showed him to be down to only one chin, at least from that angle.
Here’s my porker. I keep telling her she will never take the pounds off if she keeps eating pizza, but she has poor impulse control.
(Yes, I will be vacuuming this weekend. Really. I will.)
The Grand Panjandrum
@Laura W: I think it was the angle. You know, not unlike people, if you take a photo of a subject from a higher vantage point it has a "slimming" effect. (We’ll need photo confirmation of the vacuuming or we’ll send Martha Stewart down to wag her finger in your face!)
My girls have a cat and we have placed it on limited rations that seem to be working quite well.
smiley
Hmmm… moderation. I wonder which word did it. Pu55ycat?
El Tiburon
I have two cats, a fat black female and a sleek white male.
My last visit to the vet, the female was fine with the prodding and probing.
The male, on the other hand, let’s just say I wish all he turned into was the Spawn of Satan.
The vet and his assistant could not control him. They gave up before completing his exam. The sounds coming from this cat would chase Beezelbub back to his lair. Zombies crawled back into the ground and lost their appetites for brains.
They advised that before his next visit I would have to give him some cat tranquilizers or they would have to sedate him. Or perhaps, they slightly suggested, I should not bring him back.
A similar event happened when I took both of them to get shaved (they both have very long hair which is so cool if you love running a vacuum twice a day). Anyhoo, when I went to pick them up the groomer said the female was a joy. The male, on the other hand, was not welcome back. He had earned a lifetime ban.
The event was so traumatic for him that once I got him home he disappeared into my home office and did not move for two days.
But they are both over 10-years old and seem to be doing fine.
geg6
My SO’s cuddly lug of a blonde Lab, Henry, just got back from the vet, too. And he, like Tunch, has…um…well, let’s call it "weight issues.". Seems that’s what is troubling his hips and made John build a ramp for him to get up the stairs from the door to the kitchen. Poor Henry is now on a strict diet, meaning no more his favorite calf’s liver. It’s a terrible deprivation for him. I will double the ear scratching to try to make up for it. Between losing a testicle a few months ago and now this, Henry needs extra love.
Athenae
Meatwad make the money, see …
A friend of mine had a cat he affectionately described as "an ill-tempered Holstein." Big black and white long-haired mofo, angry as hell. Hated everyone and everything. They took it to a groomer once and by the time they got home there was a message on the machine, "Come pick your DEMON CAT up, we’re not dealing with it anymore."
They’d managed to trim half the cat (the back half, natch) until he went completely psycho and bit one of them repeatedly, so for two weeks until another groomer could be found the cat ran around half-shaved, looking for all the world like a tiny, angry baboon.
I lived for stories about that thing.
A.
Libby
Good for Tunch. I thought he was looking a little sleeker in the last post.
Meanwhile, completely OT, forgive me for posting a bleg but it’s for a friend’s mom who is currently unemployed and this would really cheer her up. I think only a push from the Balloon Juicers will be able to put her over the top and voting ends Monday.
She’s in this local Sexy Senior contest. If you could go here and vote for "Violet Rose Magenta", it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Shade Tail
A friend of my mother apparently once got her dog to lose weight by feeding it food that was just flavored peanut shells. The dog just loved it. So the peanut shells went in the mouth and came out the back, and the dog lost weight very quickly.
Maybe cats could be dieted (is this even a word?) the same way.
Libby
@Laura W: She’s so pretty. I don’t think she looks that fat. She probably just has big fur.
Beej
My Fuzz was the most copacetic cat ever born, a tribute to his Maine Coon ancestors. His chief interests in life were food, cuddling in a handy lap to purr (while being stroked of course), and sticking his head inside any kicked-off shoe that was handy (he would then wrap his front legs around the shoe and roll with it, something of a perv, I’m afraid). Until he got to the vet. At that point he turned into Frankencat, and since he weighed in at 16 pounds, he could do a lot of damage. The vet techs finally found some giant, elbow-high gloves, made of a material that resembled asbestos. Only then did the shredding of their arms and hands cease.
JL
@Libby: With a name like that, she must be a beauty. Seems as though Eula is winning so keep reminding us.
Tunch is a beauty also.
ET
Laura W – give me back my cat.
Oh wait not mine – no extra toes. Sorry.
Mine hates going to the vet and usually manages to puke at least once in between making miserable cat sounds, but has little problem while there. Usually starts sniffing around and trying to go the one place in the room the vet wouldn’t want him to be. Of course when he gets home he hides and pouts for a while while I clean the carrier and de-fur my clothes from the furious I-hate-going-to-the-vet sheding-fest.
Laura W
@Libby: She’s just too short for her belly. Her width exceeds her length, is all. (Your friend shall surely benefit from the mighty power of the BJ voting bloc.)
OK, HBO about to run all 5 of the first episodes of In Treatment. Let the recording begin. Man, the previews for HBO’s Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange (be still my heart) look fantastic. Sat the 18th.
geg6
Beej, you Fuzz sounds like Henry, even if cats and dogs are rarely alike in any way. A plus about dogs, though, is a muzzle solves all problems with vet techs. Other than that whole needing muzzled at the vet’s thing, he’s pretty happy to just eat, get his ears scratched, and cuddle. And he, too, is a bit of a perv. He will go to any length to snatch one of my bras so he can lay down with his nose snuggled right in one of the cups.
Libby
@JL: Thanks for voting. I’ll try to remember to bleg a couple of times to catch everybody. I think as long as she gets into the top three she’ll get a profile in the next edition. Hoping that will help her get a job. She’s only 63.
Libby
@Laura W: Thanks for the help voting. The BJ voting bloc rocks…
And I think your furry friend just probably hasn’t grown into her belly yet. :-) Anyway, she’s beautiful. So there’s that.
Bill H
My vet says that if a cat can lick its own ass it is not overweight.
So John, unless you are having to lick Tunch’s ass for him, he is just fine.
Laura W
@geg6:
Like this?
cyntax
So less fat and not as much of a bastard this time.
Maybe you’re both mellowing as you age…
Nah.
Keep your eyes peeled John, he may just be lulling you into a false sense of security.
Bill
I think Tunch is more confident due to his slimming down, and that doggone handsome coat, due to the Furminator, no doubt. Thus, he is more relaxed, and suave, and stuff.
Can you say la-a-a-dy killer?
kommrade reproductive vigor
WTF is this. A Tunch post without pictures of Tunch!?
I say we mail 1 million teabags to John to show our displeasure.
BombIranForChrist
Way to go Tunch!
One of my cats, Lolita, used to HATE getting her temperature taken (rectally), and she would bleed anyone who came anywhere near her.
But now, perhaps in her old age or maybe just from a change of heart, she actually backs up on the thing and starts purring.
So there is hope.
I am sure you are glad I shared this.
plus C
Are you sure it was Tunch you took to the vet, and not the cat sized pile of fur that was Furminated?
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
A healthy kitteh is good news John, nice to hear. Shortly after my Mom passed away last month, a local woman committed suicide. She was a friend of a friend, and they both were caretakers for abandoned cats and dogs. This woman had twenty cats on hand at the time and homes were needed for them afterward. We asked our friend to bring by a few photos (she was coming into town that day) since we were looking for a couple of cats to adopt.
She showed up with three carriers loaded with three cats and asked us if we would take some time, look them over and pick two from them (if they were suitable). One is a very large, long-haired orange tom of about ten years of age who we dubbed ‘rasta kitteh’ due to his coat being one huge mat of fur. The second is a very small female b/w short-haired Maine Coon/Calico mix with less than half of a tail left on her, matted fur too but not as bad as Rasta Kitteh. The last one is a small long-haired black male with no obvious signs of trouble and a very outgoing personality best described as ‘full of piss and vinegar’. All are neutered/fixed, and all were essentially skin and bones with Rasta Kitteh being in the worst shape (ribs and spine sticking through). All in all, pretty sad shape.
The first night the orange tom got loose in our garage and climbed up under my Mustang and got oil all over his matted fur (PCV leak from over the winter and I have not steam cleaned it yet). So Rasta Kitteh went for a bath that evening, with him emerging much cleaner (lots of dirt in the fur too) and me with one scratch (which I consider lucky wasn’t more). He sure was sour after that but I mellowed him out with lots of treats and petting. The bobtailed girl was scared of everyone at first but she warmed up to everyone here best of all three. The black cat had us wondering if he was even safe to let loose as he seemed to be pissed and very vocal about it. Turns out it is an act and he just runs that way all of the time.
In the end we decided to adopt all three. The orange tom got the first trip to the vet where we learned that he was as old as we thought, had severe conjunctivitis of both eyes, fleas and had only five teeth left (all four fangs and one other tooth). He was just over five pounds, just skin and bones. I talked to the vet about his diet and the vet said that our plan was perfect for him. He just went back to the vet for his followup and he now weighs just under ten pounds and is as fluffy as a long-haired cat can get. The vet says that he should be around twelve to sixteen pounds when he is fully filled out but that he already looks like a whole new cat.
The bobtailed cat went to the vet next and she has allergies, mild conjunctivitis in both eyes and fleas. She was just over four pounds and should be about eight pounds when brought up to speed. The black kitteh is last to the vet (because he was the healthiest), which is on Monday but he is doing great and putting on weight real good.
We decided to keep all three of them because they all looked so sad and in need of some serious care. The poor old guy needs a good retirement home and the other two are under two years of age and ready for long healthy lives here. We named the orange one ‘Tommy’, the black one is ‘Sammy’ and the bobtailed one is ‘Bobbi’. Tommy and Bobbi are best buds and have taken over the lower half of the house and Sammy has taken over the top half, but they all get along real well. All three are very affectionate but it took some time to bring them all out of their shells.
Sammy is a ham and loves to talk constantly. He looks like a little panther and he is constantly looking for something to do. Tommy is a lover boy and loves to talk a lot, but he is more mellow and just lounges around as he sees fit. Bobbi is the baby of the group with her tiny ‘mew’ and need for lots of attention and affection.
It was nuts around here for a few days but things are leveling out now and everyone is getting used to the new rhythm of life here. Rasta Kitteh (Tommy) is no more, daily combing and brushing has changed his fur into a soft ball of fluff and we are now working him over with the Furminator. He was so badly matted that there was no way a Furminator would have worked initially but lots of regular brushing (and some trimming) has got rid of the matting and now we are working out the last of the dead fur.
Making some miserable cats happy does wonders for someone who just lost a loved one.
Laura W
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal): That is the best damn story of the week, and it is really, really good to see you back!
Lesley
In a completely pleasant change, Tunch actually behaved and did not turn into a spawn of Satan…
Sounds like Tunch has lightened up. Har!
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Thanks Laura W. :) I was still reading here and keeping up to date on stuff but I wasn’t really into saying anything. The cats helped to get me out of my down cycle and back into an up one and for that I am grateful.
I am sure that I will have some cat adventures to share here as time goes on. Three cats assures us of very little boredom in a home, that’s for sure!
geg6
LOL, LauraW. Close. Picture a rater large Lab holding the bra and sticking his nose as far as he can in the cup though. And he gets mad when I use a different perfume.
Tax Analyst
That’s quite a pose there.
Tax Analyst
Well, I don’t know what happened to my "blockquote", but…oh, well.
AhabTRuler
Tee hee. On Wednesday, we got Momo snipped & chipped. We dropped her off in the morning, and when I picked her up in the afternoon, all the nurses were cooing over how cute and well mannered she was.
Then we took her home and she tried to eat her kibble by shoving it up her nose.
JL
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal): That is the sweetest story. There’s nothing better than happy dogs or cats.
sus
John,
This cat that moved in with me a few months ago is just as large, if not larger, than Tunch.
I don’t like to think of her as fat. She really doesn’t eat much. Maybe 1/2 cup dry food a day. I don’t know why she’s so big?
I just figure it’s who she is.
asiangrrlMN
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal): That’s a great story. I love hearing happy cat stories.
@Libby: I voted for Violet! Keep reminding us.
@Laura W: Annie doesn’t look fat at all! She just looks goooorgeous. It’s the camera–it adds ten pounds. She’s such a ham. I love the pics of her with your bra.
@sus: That might actually not be enough food. Ask your vet about it.
I have black brothers who are just three. Shadow is 10.6 pounds, and Raven is 9.3. Shadow is all fluffy so he looks chubby, but he really isn’t. Raven is sleek, and he just had a growth spurt so he’s as long as his brother. I can no longer tell them apart from behind.
asiangrrlMN
P.S. (since I am not allowed to edit my comment), John, I’m glad that all is well with Tunch and that he behaved himself.
Comrade Luke
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
You need to post some before and after pics of Ratsa
Beej
@geg6: Oh, my! That’s even weirder than the shoe fetish. I lost Fuzz several years ago with a sudden heart attack. Came home to find him dead on the hearth. My other cat, Sheba, was beside herself, really freaked out. We got a kitten a couple of weeks later. He’s 11 now, and he’s a lap kitty too (but not a perv). Hope your Henry doesn’t get too freaked at the vet. It’s sad they hate those visits so much. Too bad we can’t explain it’s for their good.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Comrade Luke:
I took pity on the cats being scared to death of everything around them, spared them the trauma and decided to skip the ‘Welcome to your new home!’ shots for the picture book. They were in such bad shape that I would have felt like a jerk taking pictures of them in their condition. The lady who killed herself had not been taking care of the animals she had rescued nor did she seek any help from her friend who brought the cats to our attention. Pretty sad story, lonely retired woman, a former sheriff, called the police to report her own suicide. When they arrived the found her in her car in front of her home, bullet in her head. Her brother from Chicago came over to wrap things up but he could care less about the animals. He let my friend take care of them until they could be moved out and/or homes found. Most of them have been sent to the local Humane Society because there were few takers.
Her former vet (who we are taking the cats to) said that she took on more than she could handle and he was always helping her maintain the cats for the cost of meds only. When he examined the first cat (Tommy) and told me how old he was and that he only had five teeth, he asked me what I thought about it. It seemed a bit odd, but I said that I guessed that we would be giving the old guy a nice home to retire in. He thought we would not want the cat after we found out how old he was and I told him that we weren’t looking for show cats, we wanted a couple of pets. Even if one is old and toothless, like me. ;) He thanked us for taking the cats in and giving them a good home where they are wanted. He gave us a cut rate price on the appointments and drugs, and we are very happy with the deal. He is good with the cats and we will keep him as their vet. He could not identify the cats from his records as she was constantly bringing in new cats and finding homes for others. So our cats have no history for us to refer to.
I just took a few pics of Sammy (the small black tom) last night as he is easily the most outgoing and got over the ‘new house’ thing real fast. Years ago, my wife bought me a stuffed boxer that I leave perched on the back of our couch. The thing looks real from five feet away, enough so that Tommy (the old orange male) actually spat and growled when he first saw it. Then he crept up on it, sniffed its nose and quickly dismissed it as any threat. It was really funny to watch.
I got a few shots of Sammy sleeping on top of the boxer on the back of the couch. That made me laugh my ass off, he is a bold little kitteh. The other two are about secure enough to start abusing them with the camera so I will post some shots in the next pet thread (as this one is scrolling down the page now). I also got a shot of Sammy tearing into one of the ‘mice’ that my wife knitted for them to play with. She knitted a small ‘body’ for it, stuffed it with some cloth off of an old white cotton shirt (using the cloth to pull out a couple of ‘ears’ for it), then she knitted a cord about twelve feet long so we can drag it around or toss it and pull it back.
Between the ‘mice’ and the laser, Sammy is in heaven. Tommy and Bobbi have a ‘mouse’ hung from a hook downstairs and they love it too. They are still living out of their cages (doors open, of course) as I left them set up in our laundry room as a ‘home base’ for them to go back to if the new home and its sounds were too much for them. I am letting them adjust at their own rate, so up to now Sammy has had the run of the house but Bobbi is now starting to explore more of it. Tommy seems to love his downstairs accommodations and is taking his sweet time looking around.
Guess he likes the room service…lol! Thanks for the kind words folks. :)
gex
@sus: I love how you put it – "the cat that moved in with me." It so perfectly sums up the relationship between cats and humans.