Seven weeks later and the lost white cat is still with us, despite our efforts to find his owners. We’ve shifted gears to finding him a new home. He’s been neutered, vaccinated and tested for FIV/FeLV (both negative).
It has been interesting to tease out his personality and speculate on his background. He seems to be afraid of the dark. He cuddles as if he’s trying to get inside my body. He drinks lots of water and enjoys sniffing all of my drinks. He gets excited when he hears motorcycles.
Despite being an indoor cat in the past, he seems to enjoy being outside sometimes. He likes to climb trees. He accompanies me around the property when I am gardening (just like Isabella Bird used to do!) He follows me like a puppy when I go for walks. He even came all the way to Oyama Senmaida with me and crashed my papermaking workshop. He charms every visitor to the house; he is a real people cat.
The Five Cat Drama has softened a little but Smews is still causing stress. We are finally at a point where the cats will sniff one another without hissing. It’s a relief for me, but nobody is really happy.
For example, at the end of October, Fritter was so freaked out by Smews chasing him that he avoided going outside for a few days, then pooped on the living room rug. That was Halloween morning and it was not a treat.
Maura makes his way into the world in the middle of the night by waking me at 2 am to open the front door for him and coming back for breakfast. Not great for my sleep, but it seems to help the peace among the cats.
All of the cats have learned how to ask to be let out from the back door and Beryl “knocks” to get back in by throwing her body against the door. Ouch! But she is smart and it is effective; the sound reverberates through the house.
Even Fluffernutter (who was neutered last month) has become a closer part of our household and isn’t as aggressive to Smews. Last night I saw them cuddled together in the cat bed outside but there are still occasional swats. It was cold
Tod doesn’t like Smews at all. He shocked me by suggesting if it were up to him, he’d put Smews in a box and leave him somewhere to become somebody else’s problem. Later he said he was overly stressed and trying to make a joke, but that unfunny joke expressed the depth of his dislike for this cat.
So we need to find Smews a new family to love him. There are not a lot of options. All my neighbors who like cats already have cats so finding him a new place organically will be difficult.
I posted him on several adoption websites where he was seen widely but nobody expressed interest. An adult cat with bad teeth is a hard sell. The local shelters are all full. I thought I’d found a good possibility – a cat rescue/cafe up north in Chiba – but it is better suited to taking people’s beloved pets than bringing in strays like Smews. Nekonos requests a generous donation for the cat’s maintenance, and the suggested cost can be up to a million yen. Which…no.
Smews’ most off-putting problem for potential adopters is his bad teeth. So we are going to have his periodontal disease attended to. He will need to have multiple teeth pulled. It’s costly – maybe 70,000 yen – and some very generous cat-loving friends have given money to help cover the bills. I am so grateful for their support and advice. We are working out the logistics of the dental work and hope it will happen in the next few weeks.
I have been preparing a little treat for all the people who have helped along the way with phone calls and cash and cat food. Smews helped me with it yesterday.
…and that’s all the Smews News there is for now.
P.S. My childhood friend, whose white & black cat was the original Smews circa 1973, asked where this Smews’ name came from!
