Gary the Conqueror, Part III: The Goblin Side

 Anyone hoping for a positive/progressive update on our kitten's gut health will need to wait a bit longer. Gary had diarrhea last night, so he's still having some issues here and there.

It can be a frustrating process at times, taking care of a cat that is not completely well and ready to integrate into the rest of the house. We're makeshift doctors/nurses here just trying to care for a patient, so to speak, and are hoping to see progress more and more every day -- and when that doesn't really happen, or there are no real changes from the baseline, it can be heartbreaking and/or frustrating when you're trying to do everything right, or seemingly doing everything right.

There is a little positivity to report -- he has gained a little weight, and I do think he is a bit bigger today than he was when we adopted him a week ago. Gaining weight is a big deal, it is important. It means his body is starting to process and retain nutrition from what he eats, even if he's still having occasional diarrhea. Gary is a tiny kitten, only a little over two pounds at fourteen weeks. It's possible he'll remain small his whole life -- our vet thought he might be a "runt" of the litter -- or his size could explode and he could quickly get gigantic after his gut issues are cleared up. We won't know for a bit yet since he's still very young.

The other cats are either intensely curious about the little boy or they don't seem to give a single shit that he's in the bedroom. Empress and Pete are over it; they know he's in there but don't really seem to care that much anymore. That will likely change when he gets out, of course, to explore the house. Hank is still a little wary, and hissed and growled at him through the baby gate last night. Gary's response was to walk right up to the baby gate, look Hank in the face, and bap him on the nose with his little paw, as if to say "oh, shut up, I'm a child."

This is, by the way, what endeared Emmy to Hank, and after that they became inseparable.

Gary did the same thing to Charlie. Charlie's reaction to Gary is much like Hank's is -- very resistant to change, very apprehensive and somewhat frightened. Charlie's personality is very similar to Hank in many respects.

It'll pass. Hank has been big mad about any and all new cats we've brought in until he meets them, and then he absolutely loves them and takes on a father figure role. I'm sure Charlie will be perfectly fine too. Charlie loves to play, so I have a feeling he will adore playing with Gary and running around with him once he is able to. 

Gary seems to have zero fear when it comes to seeing and interacting with the other cats. They can growl and hiss at him through the baby gate and he'll walk up to them (and sometimes run up on them against the gate) and be like "Hi, I'm new, don't be a dick." He doesn't run, he doesn't cower and back away when they growl or hiss, he's just like sir, that's uncalled for, why are you like this? 

He's had the most pleasant (and sweet) interactions with Mable through the gate. She watches him but doesn't hiss or growl, and it's very clear she wants to be in there with him to see him and get to know him, but she's cautious. Gary, in response, reaches through the gate to try to touch her, wants to smell her, wants to touch noses -- we are not allowing the nose-touching of course in case he's sick with something transmissible -- but Mable looks at him with a sadness and a longing to love on the little boy. She was and is such a fan of Charlie, and I get the sense that she really, really wants another little child to love on and make over like she does with Charlie:

Charlie is as much Mable's child as he is Hank and Emmy's. She adores that little white boy so much. I have no doubts it'll be the same with Gary. 

As an aside, the house dynamics are so adorable:

Pete: the father/grandfather figure to all of the cats. All of them. Loves me and Daisy pretty equally, but definitely has times where he favors one of us over the other.

Mable: sees Pete has her father, absolutely sees Charlie as a little brother she must love and protect. Does not get along well with Emmy -- it's a tense sister-rival situation. Doesn't interact with Hank a whole lot anymore. Loves me and Daisy pretty equally, but has times where she definitely favors one of us over the other. 

Empress: sees me as the dad figure, Pete as the old man/grandfather figure. She cuddles with both of us and always tries to make sure Pete is comfortable and okay. Lover/wife of Hank, definitely sees Charlie as their son, definitely has a strong sister rivalry with Mable, almost completely ignores Daisy unless Daisy can do something for her.

Charlie: sees Pete as a dad/grandfather figure and adores him, but tries to get him to play when he's hyper, and Pete's not really into that much anymore since he's old. Definitely sees Hank as his cat father and Emmy as his cat mom. Absolutely sees Mable as a big sister and loves playing with her. Charlie adores everyone and makes sure everyone gets time and attention with and from him, including Daisy and myself. He also doesn't like conflict between the other cats (Mable and Emmy, or Hank and Emmy) and will run to break it up and put himself in the middle of it. Basically the perfect cat.

Hank: the grumpy old man/orange house loaf of the household. Sees me and Daisy as his parents and slightly favors Daisy most of the time (read: he's a mama's boy). Sees Pete as an old man/grandfather figure that he doesn't interact with much now that he's no longer a kitten. Emmy is his wife and lover, and Charlie is absolutely Hank's son (which is exactly what I wanted him to be); he adores Charlie and takes care of him, loves on him, and plays with him a lot. Mostly leaves Mable alone as she could beat the piss out of him if she wanted to/if he tried to dominate her.

I don't yet know how Gary will fit into all of these dynamics. My guess is that he'll love Pete as all the other kittens have, and that he'll become Mable and Charlie's new little brother and Hank's second son, but who knows really. They may all hate him, and he may just be the independent outcast who just loves us. And he does love us. That little boy is an absolute little lover, a cuddler, who has bonded with me and Daisy hard since we brought him home. Yesterday, he curled up in my arms to sleep like a teddy bear -- similar to the way Pete does -- and when he wasn't sleeping there, he was sleeping on my back across my shoulder blade. He wants to be with us and loves our attention. Daisy has reported similar sleeping patterns and behaviors with him. 

Yesterday, when I woke up, I sat up in bed and put on my glasses, resting my back against the headboard. Gary was out of food and wanted to make sure I knew that, so he ran up onto my chest, headbutted my nose, and then ran back to the food bowl, bashing at it with his paw so it clanked against the water bowl and got my attention. When I did not immediately get up to feed him, he returned to my chest, tried to take off my glasses, and gently bit my nose to show his displeasure. 

He is a smart little boy. And a goblin in training. As he gets more used to us and more used to the room, he's becoming bolder and is getting more active, climbing the cat tree to the top, running and jumping and playing with toys -- becoming a goblin. I had to get him a stuffed "kick toy" because he likes to wrap all four paws around our hands, arms, or legs, and then kick and chew. And those little kitten teeth are sharp. Luckily they trimmed his nails at the shelter and they're all still blunted. 

Anyway.

Today is my day off, so I have the delight of dealing with repairmen -- our AC went out on Monday morning. It's not been hot this week (highs in the 60s for the most part) so it's not been a huge concern for us at the moment. It is, however, frustrating. I also don't think it's actually the air conditioner unit, but I think the house fan on the furnace blew out because it won't turn on regardless of what we do. Could be a simple part/repair or we could need a new blower motor or something like that. I'll have to wait and see what they say, honestly. They get here between 8am and noon, so I'm up early to help handle that when they do. Daisy will be chained to her desk all day for her job, so this is one of those responsibilities that falls on me. 

Yesterday was Hank's 2nd birthday. The pictures I got are...not great, so I won't share them here. He was grumpy and did not like the hat on him. The next birthday up is Empress in November. It would've been Maggie/Sadie later this month, but, well, they're both dead now.