If y’all have been following us, you know that we have a cat who travels with us. He’s loving, affectionate, friendly (even with little kids), white, extremely furry, and huge. He’s between 18 and 20lbs depending on the time of year, and how we feed him. At one of his vet visits, we were told he needed to loose weight. She said he needed wet and dry food, and to limit his amount of each. There was a calculation we needed to apply, to estimate how much of each he needed, (like I’m going to do math to feed a cat) and she hoped he’d lost at least a 1 or 2lbs by his next visit.
I tried all of those things, even the math. I bought various brands of canned food, weight management dry and wet foods, and did all of the things to slim him down. He turned up his nose at anything with fish in it, so there went several cans of wet food. And he only ate a portion of whatever I placed before him. I felt like I was throwing money down the drain. He ate dry food easily, and we always bought the better brands, so we evantually told the vet,
“Forget it”
Vets love to intimidate you into caring for your pets as if they’re human. And while we always take good care of ours and love them like part of the family, they are simply pets. If he wants to eat, we feed him. I did cave to the once a day part, otherwise he’d probably be 25lbs!
How we acquired this guy is a family legend that we’ve told to all who meet him. The story is unique and since many of you won’t meet Milo in person, I’ll share it here. It’s a heartwarming rescue tale, and hopefully an antidote to election fatigue.
Our daughter Carolyn lived with us and had a cat named Pennywhistle, Penny for short. She was a black and white female, that she adopted from a family in our homeschool group, and she was all Carolyn’s. We had a dog at that time named Tucker and Penny was his bestie. They sat on the couch all day, or snuggled on her bed. No fuss, muss or drama.
Then, Carolyn moved to Chicago for college and took Penny with her. It devastated Tucker. He moped, even gave up meals. Tucker was part hound and if you know hounds, they NEVER stop eating. I became concerned. I like low maintenance pets and he was becoming needy.
I don’t do needy.
So I started looking for a kitten to cure his malaise. I wanted a short haired tabby, they’re known clowns and I love their temperaments. I also wanted a male. Female cats are introverts, males are extroverts. We’ve had 3, and have loved them for their relaxed, funny, affectionate, and gregarious dispositions.
One day, Carolyn texted Bruce to tell him she’d found our kitten! A friend of hers in northern Indiana, found a kitten taped up in a box behind a dumpster. It was probably about 5 or 6 weeks old. She called Carolyn, knowing our family loved cats, and asked if she knew anyone who wanted a free kitten. Carolyn immediately jumped on it, and before you know it, this friend was on a train from Indiana to Chicago with a kitten, (the heartwarming part).
Mind you this entire exchange happened between Carolyn and Bruce, with no input from me…
This kitten landed at Carolyn’s apartment and met Penny. They tolerated each other, Carolyn named him Milo. He came to our house and immediately took to Tucker, instantly curing his malaise.
But he wasn’t a tabby, or short haired…
We’d never had a long haired cat and my initial thoughts centered around shedding, cleaning and matting. But how could I resist a kitten of any kind?! They are so dang cute and funny. He did all of the kitteny, kinds of things that kittens do. And he grew, quickly.
We would eventually loose Tucker to a tragic, accidental Xylitol overdose. Sugarless gum, in a plastic container, never opened, fully sealed, buried in a tote bag. He found it, ate it all and it took him down.
I told you hounds never skip meals…
Milo mourned and we found a little cairn terrier to console him. He was entertained, but they only formed an uneasy truce. She was a bit of a terrier, terrorist too! Top dog syndrome and bossy. She now lives with a family, back in Chicago, who barely let her feet touch the floor. It suits her perfectly.
It never occurred to us that Milo might not like this life. We’ve always known that stress will never kill him. He’s become a full on diva. He never runs if he can walk, stand if he can sit, or sit if he can lay down. You could even say he’s lazy, we prefer relaxed.
He’s been the most amazing traveler. Hates driving days, but after about an hour he settles in and sleeps. We did consult a vet about meds and tried them, but it was more stress to dose him than to let him figure it out for himself.
He loves sleeping with us, (minus Maggy’s barking at him for jumping on the bed). Hates the sound of the awnings as they open or close, running to our closet to hide when he hears them. Same with the vacuum. Any day our front door is open, will find him at the door, watching the outside world.
He’s the star of the show when people visit.
He loves to sew,
and use the computer.
And what’s the deal with cats and boxes?!
It’s hard to believe he’s 12 yrs old. I wish he could outlive us, and we expect he will last until he’s 20. He’s by far, the best cat we’ve owned. He completely fits the definition of low maintenance.
Can’t imagine this journey without him.
After days and days of coaxing and baying and nurturing, I’ve managed to prepare many kittens for their furrever families as we foster over the years. It was absolutely wonderful when Milo said, “You want to hold me and pet me? I’m all-in. Let’s do this!” He is a wonderful cat and I miss him. (Miss you guys, too, lol.)