Little Buddies

After we lost Jack, this little buddy started coming around. He’s of obvious relation. Little Buddy‘s first appearance was to comfort the meowing Jack who was tucked into the cat carrier before the first of 4 trips to veterinarians all over the Island. Since that unfortunate day, Little Buddy has been a back porch staple, graciously digging into his portion of food, packing on some weight and slightly disrupting the delicate balance of the order of feral felines about The Electrician’s house. Like Jack, Little Buddy was sweet and affectionate, trusting. We had to find him a home and a happy ending.

First concern was Little Buddy’s health. It was such a relief to feel the skin around his frail spine collect a thicker layer of fat as he munched daily on his cat food. The fact that he was putting on weight was such a vital clue. Jack had suffered from parasites who sucked the nutrients from food, leaving him weak and making him severely constipated. Though clearly hungry and rail-thin, Jack knew eating the kitty food that was in abundance at the porch would have him pained later. He was less interested in food and more in peering into your face with a urgent cry.

But Little Buddy feasts without abandon, slurps down milk and has a purr-motor in hyper-drive. But he needed to be checked out before becoming someone’s little darling. Karen the Freegan gave me a great lead for affordable kitty shots: Luvmypet. They are a traveling cat and dog clinic that set up shop in area Petcos. They do a wonderful service. So, after a very vocal ride to Valley Stream, Little Buddy was pumped with a health cocktail protecting him from Feline viral rhinotracheitis [respiratory infection], the Calici virus [cause of respiratory disease], Panluekopenia [gastrointestinal infection] and Chlamydia [not the S.T.I. but another respiratory infection in cats], as well as protection from Feline Leukemia and a Round/hookworm dewormer. We set him up in the porch, out of the cold night, as he calmed down from an exciting evening. It was so nice to see him explore the room curiously, discovering the softness of a cushion, the reflection off the glass and the outside world just past that reflection. Settling in to warm and cozy, he waits for his new mom.