[Vazra]
I want to play with those birds, damn it!
Category Archives: Vazra
How much is that kitty in the window?
Vazra, like the rest of The Kids, loves to look out the window. Again like the rest of them, he thinks it’s much better when their open. The sounds, the smells, the wonder of it all… Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that Daddy feeds the birds and squirrels and other kitties, so that keeps a plethora of entertainment wandering by that can help occupy a whole day of nature watching.
After the weather cooled off a bit around here in the last few weeks, I was finally able to air the place out on several occasions. That was just fine with the feline rulers of the universe. I was able to capture some new (and, dare I say, relatively good) photos of Vazra a few days ago as he lounged in the windows and soaked up some fresh air from the cool morning outside. Here’s one to get you started. I’ll post more in the near future.
I’m also happy to report he’s finally started to shed. That’s important news (although not necessarily good news for me now that I have five shedding felines). One of the signs we were looking for as an indication of his return to good health was for his coat to normalize. That meant filling out a bit. It also meant shedding. Well, now that’s begun. It took a while since he was rescued, but I think he’s finally stabilizing and starting to reap the benefits of the good life.
Of course, he’s not entirely fond of brushing. Given the terrible knots he had when I first began the process of befriending him for possible rescue, it’s important that he be brushed regularly to ensure his fur doesn’t turn into the terrible and painful mess it once was. It also inhibits hair balls and the ugly mess they can make when dropped about the house.
He’ll tolerate the brush for perhaps six or seven strokes. After that, it’s all violence all the time. I’m patient though, and I’m also much better at this than he thinks. He may not like being held down for brushing and he may not like the brushing itself, but he certainly changes his tune when the after-brushing treats make an appearance. Maybe he’ll come around eventually; maybe he won’t. In either case, he’s going to be brushed every day like the rest of them. He’ll just have to get used to it. Likewise, I may have to get used to the swinging and biting and general unpleasantness. I can handle that.
It’s not my bed anyway
He hates it here, huh?
Washout Lane :: Catch as catch can
How out of date does this seem? My opinion? A lot. I was pondering the enigma that was Vazra—that is, the Vazra from a long time ago. I was contemplating precisely how one might go about catching him considering…
Well, anyway, here’s the draft. If you have a sense of temporal placement with regards to my blog posts, you can probably affix a date to this oldie with very little problem.
Getting my hands on Vazra has evolved into quite the fiasco. He’s distrustful of the carrier — an intriguing oddity. In addition, he has a personality quirk whereby he becomes somewhat belligerent and distrustful after he eats or drinks. I believe this might be associated with the missing canine tooth and overall dental health (i.e., perhaps his mouth is sensitive and he experiences discomfort after eating or drinking). That is just a guess, mind you. Nevertheless, and due to my own lack of experience with him, it is difficult to attempt any capture when food or water is involved.
By the way, that happens to be all the time.
Otherwise, he’s generally a very sweet cat who is extremely affectionate and talkative, not to mention trusting after just a few days of getting to know me (e.g., it wasn’t long before he began rolling over for me and exposing his belly, a significant sign of trust for cats). He doesn’t get violent when I accidentally rub in the wrong direction any of the plethora of knots in his fur. His harshest reactions to date are no more violent than the love bites he gives me from time to time.