Oscar

2001-2010

Oscar was a kitty, abandoned and fending for himself, when he found my parents in early October, 2001. He came home with me about 2 weeks later and settled easily into the household.

He rid the backyard of bunnies, mice, bumblebees and a wayward bird or two just so you know, if you make a cat drop it! then YOU have to deal with the half-dead bunny...pretty amazing considering he was functionally blind. He could see movement, but would stumble over things in the house that were out of place. A telltale sneeze from the other room meant a diningroom chair had been left out and he'd just rapped his nose.

He was often moving, forever exploring, always finding the chink in the fence. He wasn't much for cuddling, but my lap was his lap...always. Through the years, Oscar taught me the value of sleeping deeply and waking up slowly; that more can be made of love than of hollering; and that in spite of shortcomings, life is best spent barreling ahead.

He was diagnosed with kidney disease about 16 months ago. I'd really counted on him to be an 18-year kitty (Barney set the bar awfully high), but tough beginnings can sometimes mean endings that come sooner.

We had nine years together that we wouldn't have had, had he not popped his face up through the autumn weeds.

I'm very lucky.

- tob with a very empty lap

Between Seasons

The Joys of Home Ownership

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

- OB lived with those for FOUR YEARS before finally feelin' the motivation

The Blind One Explores

O's Diagnosis

No kitty cancer -- localized chronic inflammatory response. Yeah well, that sums it all up! I'll find out more next week.

- TOB

Oscar Part 2: It Matters More than I Thought

I stared at the paperwork through tear-welled eyes...I had been fine until I needed to make decisions: blood tests, a catheter so medication could be administered more quickly in an emergency, “this test is required if he’s over seven, but he’s only 4 and-a-half so it’s your choice,” biopsy back in a week, emergency phone number.... If I were the parent of an actual child I’d have been a wreck.

Oscar was a kitty when he found my parents four years ago in October. He came home with me about 2 weeks later. All he’d had to do was show his face and big eyes through the weeds at the opening of a culvert. I’m such a sucker.

He became Oscar immediately: easy going snuggler, playful, somewhat blind. It took awhile to figure-out that last one. I thought it odd that he’d ignore kibble at his feet, yet would chase one skittering across the floor. I’d never seen a cat stumble over a pillow on the floor, but he did and then continued on his way as if it happened all the time it happens all the time. He rousted-out a nest of bunnies and chased one zig-zag across the backyard -- the Wild Kingdom right in my backyard! I was fascinated. Until he caught it here's the deal: if you make him drop it then YOU have to deal with the half-dead bunny. I think everything finally clicked the day he leapt toward the bed and totally missed it, landed four-footed back on the floor, cocked his head, then trotted off.

He’s got established pathways around furniture, his whiskers are about half the length of those on a typical cat because they get so much use, he rarely runs, he often taps a paw ahead of himself before taking a step forward through a clothing-strewn room, he won’t jump on anything taller than a sofa. The vet confirmed that his eyes have no defined blood vessels. He sees movement, but not much else.

Studies show that a pet is a calming presence (1, 2, 3), but Oscar also amazes and amuses, which is probably why I find myself more attached to him than I’ve been to others. That full realization hit as I sat at the vet’s signing paperwork for a lump removal. I imagined him suddenly gone, and I about lost it. If it turns out he’s got kitty cancer, I’ll have time to get myself ready. I just wasn’t ready on Friday.

- OB

Oscar Part 1: The Things that Matter

As soon as I enter the house, Oscar needs food. We’re pretty much getting the pattern down to just needing food when I walk in the back door sometime in the afternoon vs. needing food when I walk in the back door on a weekend morning, or needing food when I get home after a night out. So, we’ve made progress in disassociating needing food and the back door. Ideally, he needs food when I get home after work in the afternoon, but time doesn't seem to matter. If the sun is high in the sky and I have anything to do with the back door, the topic is fair game. It really throws him off in the summer when I’m in and out of the back door regularly throughout the day, or during winter break when I'm inside for a good part of a day and therefore not using the back door. In both cases, he covers all the bases and needs food beginning around 1:30.

I read a story once about a kitty who was inadvertently left without food for a couple days while his owner was gone -- she thought she’d filled his bowl but hadn’t. When she returned home, the cat was quite hungry but before going to the newly-filled bowl he went to her first for a good noogie...signifying that his affection for her was greater than his physical needs. Sweet. Oscar is likewise sweet, but let's keep things straight here. This is a cat who, as a kitty, was tossed from a car and left to fend for himself...food takes on a certain significance: eat however much you can whenever it's available.

I found Oscar as a stray when he was about 7 months old, a product of the mean streets of Lake Poinsett, SD, and quite used to fending for himself...in the years since he’s rid the backyard of bunnies, mice, a wayward bird and a big-@ss bumblebee (all caught and digested except for the bee). Pretty amazing considering he’s functionally blind. He sees movement, but his constantly-dilated pupils betray him when there's a sofa pillow on the living room floor or a dining room chair out-of-place.

In spite of his tendency to be a full-fledged, sweet lap-cat, I figured my main role in his life was that of life-sized food dispenser, until this past summer when I had a family of three active children visiting for three days. In the midst of small hands grabbing for him, he would turn his bewildered-looking face my way when hearing my voice and slowly make his way to safety: me.

I matter.

- The aawww Bag

Gratuitous Pet Photos

or
Yes it's STILL Snowing Out, Why do You Ask (!)



Oscar in the warm September sunshine.

- The Putting-off-Shoveling Bag

Oscar at the Backdoor: 6 PM

eat eeaaat eeeaaaat eat EAT eeeaaaaatt eateateat eateateat eaaat eat? eat?? EAT! eeeeeeeaaaattt eat? eeaaat.........?

- TOB, yeah yeah

Oscar at the Backdoor: 6 AM

out oouuut ooouuuut out OUT ooouuuuutt outoutout outoutout ouuut out? out?? OUT! Ooooooouuuuttt out? oouuut.........?

- TOB, alright already

Oscar Needs a New Buddy

or
Why I Don't Blog Regularly


- TOB