Today has truly hit post convergence, with the A-Z Blogging Challenge, the Merry Go Round Blog Tour post, and, of course, your regular Saturday Cat update (my version of #caturday), it’s a busy day of reading here at RandR.

I got a couple of fairly close shots of Mooch last week, and I have to credit Sneaky with being the bait that allowed me to get close.  See, with Sneaky between me and Mooch, I think Mooch felt comfortable with me being that close, because I was focusing on Sneaky and not him.

Yesterday, I was able to get within the length of the side porch steps of him — he warned me with an emphatic meow that I wasn’t to come any closer, but he did want the bowl of Fancy Feast I had, so he stuck around.  I put it down, backed away, and he limped over to eat it.  His leg is definitely bothering him, so much on some days that he doesn’t put weight on it — it seems to be worse after not using it for a while (I can relate to that).  He’s had this injury for months, so I’m not sure what Dr. Val will be able to do for him once I am finally able to catch him, but I’m trying. (I have some Lysine treats ordered, which are supposed to help with any respiratory issues.  I’m giving him a Hip and Joint treat at well, but I don’t expect it to help a lot.)

Lady’s altercations with Rossie are averaging one or two a day, but they are shorter in duration.  There’s a chase, Rossie yells and gets under something too small for Lady, and then Lady walks away with a fuzzed tail — as if she’s the offended one.  Earlier this week, Pretty Boy Floyd attacked Rossie.  A month or so ago, Mr. L picked up a couple of pheromone calming collars.  I wasn’t sure who to try them on.  Well, after Floyd attacked Rossie, I decided to put one on him.  He also spent the night in the cage with Lady. Floyd, to my knowledge, hasn’t attacked Rossie since, and he’s been pretty mellow.  This morning, I decided to put the second collar on Lady. The Reconcile has helped her with her interaction with the other cats, but she and Rossie still have this thing.  I figured the collar would be worth a try.

Rossie is still choosing to spend most of her time under the ice cream table in the upstairs hallway.  She can see everyone coming up or down the stairs and has multiple exits.  It’s a good place for her, and I like seeing her out in the open.  It also makes it nearly impossible to catch her, and she doesn’t want to be handled or caught, so it is a mixed blessing.  Even so, I’d much rather see her out where she can observe life than see her hiding in the dark under a dresser.  She’s interacting more with the other cats.  Mr. L said he saw her and Tarzan playing the other morning.  Daphne is attentive to her.  Progress with Rossie is so slow, but we think we’re seeing some.

I ordered the Lysine treats primarily for Mooch at the recommendation of another cat-loving friend, but I can see potential benefits for Sneaky and Natasha (both seem to have some minor respiratory concerns).

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier, but I’ve started giving Lady a treat right after giving her morning medication.  She’s not fighting me as much.  I’m going to look into some pill pocket treats.  Yes, it will be easier for me, but my main concern is for the vet techs when we board them this fall.  Lady doesn’t like taking the medication from me, but she fights tooth and nail (literally) when the techs try to administer it.  If I can establish a routine that will be less stressful for everyone, that will be a good thing.

I haven’t mentioned Ruby, Ajax, or Delta yet.  They are all just fine.