Category Archives: Vazra

Too much and too little

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Too much to do and too little time.

Loki and Kazon had their annual visits last weekend.

Not so good.

Loki’s asthma has grown so acute that they won’t even do a simple dental procedure to clean up a bit of tartar on his teeth.  Several of the vets agree that the anesthesia would likely kill him.

So instead of teeth cleaning, they’ll attempt to do some general scraping each time they see him.  They also recommend Feline Greenies on a regular basis.

I was thrilled to hear that.  Greenies happen to be one of The Kids‘s favorite treats.  They get them regularly.

Kazon’s visit was more problematic.  He has bacterial and yeast infections in both ears.  That can be treated.  Ear drops do not agree with him, of course, and I must pay the toll with extra lovin’ and extra goodies.

He also has a cavity.  That requires a tooth extraction.

He goes in for dental surgery next Friday.  Next weekend won’t be happy around the xenogere household.  Hell, next weekend will likely encompass a certain amount of pandering on my part and demanding on their part simply because Kazon had a bad day.

And I will give in to the demanding.

Add to that a simple truth: This is the first time Kazon has been anesthetized.  I don’t know how that will go (although I do know he’s such a baby that I will spend months paying the emotional bill for this).

Grendel and Vazra both go in this weekend for their annual exams.  I hope that goes well and doesn’t add to the growing burden of malfunctions already in play amongst these felines.

Then comes me being on call this weekend.  That never goes well, always demanding too much time and giving so little in return.  And it results in working 12 days straight before seeing any respite in the melee.

Something else popping up on the ol’ radar is a trip to the family farm.  Dad’s health has been problematic at best; Mom’s job has been overly demanding; my siblings offer no support whatsoever.  It behooves me to get out there as soon as possible, even if for nothing more important than a visit, an opportunity to sit a spell with the folks.

Although I’ve finally completed the outline for “The Kingswell Chronicle” as a whole—something I’m thrilled about both as an accomplishment and as a voluminous tale eager to be told, Dreamdarkers needs additional work so I can begin on End of the Warm Season.  Then Centralia.  Then whatever comes next.

Yet I still need to deal with relocating coupled with finding a new job, neither of which can be seen as simple in the current economy.  It seems many companies persist in their hunts for candidates without actually engaging any new employees, a practice with which I’m quite familiar given my many years in management.

That makes finding a new job all the more difficult, however, and relocation on top of that becomes a challenge beyond measure.

I go on, though, go on looking, go on writing, go on caring for my children and my parents, go on going on in a hostile environment assaulting me on all sides.

Things cannot always be this way.

Three different approaches

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Kako and Vazra lying on the bedroom floor as Larenti sits behind them (20080426_05074)

The scene is simple: Kako is lying next to the patio doors in the bedroom.  Vazra decides to lie down next to her.  Larenti sneaks in behind them to sit by the open windows.

The problem is equally simple: Kako hates all her siblings except Grendel.  In fact, she deplores Vazra only slightly less than she deplores Larenti, and that is unequal only to her hatred of al-Zill.  Oh, and she barely tolerates her own brother Kazon, let alone the devil incarnate, Loki.

So how did they all respond to this apparent conflict?  Each according to their gifts and dispositions of course!

Vazra pretended not to see Kako and instead looked out toward the patio, casting an intentionally disregarding look in her direction—but not at her, mind you, but instead over her.

Larenti decided it best not to get involved.  He pointed his attention out the open windows and put the potential ugliness behind him…both literally and figuratively.

Kako aimed her steely gaze at Vazra and never blinked, staring at him with a disdain that was palpable like a fog of evil intent filling the room and covering me from head to toe.  He knew it wise to make any motion a movement away from her.

An air of entitlement

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Vazra lying on the floor near a pool of sunshine (169_6927)

I find myself continually entertained by Vazra‘s air of entitlement.

This manifests evidently in the way he treats personal space, both his own and that of others.

If one of the other cats invades that space while Vazra is sitting or lying somewhere, he gets cranky, bitchy even, and he’ll complain obstreperously until the infraction is righted.  And don’t even think you intend to sit or lie against him in some way.  Why, when that happens, you’d think someone had stepped on his tail with all the moaning and groaning and complaining he does.

Yet when the tables are turned, attitudes change abruptly.

A perfect example is when I’m sitting on the couch.  You can bet two or more of The Kids will be with me.  When I have one on my lap and at least two others spread out beside me, that leaves no room for anyone else unless they choose an arm or the back of the furniture.

Vazra doesn’t see it that way.  When he wants to be on the couch with me, nothing stands in his way.  He’ll step all over any feline already there, and he’ll choose a spot and plant himself—even if that means on top of someone else.

This generally leads to what I call “The Great Upset” which entails everyone being dislocated as cats scramble and protest and hiss and throw a few swats.  All the while I sit and laugh until I cry, for when The Great Upset ends, Vazra is generally left with the couch and me all to himself.

But don’t you dare reverse the roles on him, for any feline assuming what’s good for the goose is good for the gander will find vehement grumbling and selfish hostility as his response.

Vazra sitting next to the patio doors within sunshine streaming in around him (190_9074)

First day, first night

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Because Saturday went so well having al-Zill out and about for most of the day, yesterday I decided to leave him out as long as the situation warranted.  From the moment I awoke, he scurried and scampered in a continuing investigation of his new home and family.

The occasional hiss from one of the other cats in response to an invasion of personal space did little to worry me.

Generally speaking, al-Zill has done marvelously under the circumstances.  He knows to give Kako a wide berth; nevertheless, he continuously pushes her buttons in attempts to be friendly.

In that regard, he offers head butts and rubs to all of The Kids if he gets close enough.  Sometimes these are accepted graciously; other times, they are rebutted with hisses and even a few swats.

No significant violence has ensued, however, and that’s a good thing.

While stripping the bed yesterday as part of my effort to complete chores, I had all the help I could ever want—including the newcomer.

al-Zill, Kazon, Larenti, Vazra and Loki hanging out on the bed while I try to remove the sheets for laundering (20080525_05749)

Clockwise from left, that’s al-Zill, Kazon, Larenti, Vazra and Loki.  You can see how much assistance I received with retrieving the sheets for washing.

al-Zill lying on the bed (20080525_05750)

I believe it took all but a few minutes outside the bathroom for al-Zill to realize the bed wasn’t off limits.  And you know how cats love comfy beds…

al-Zill standing on the window sill looking out at the patio (20080525_05791)

As expected, he has spent some time pondering the patio from this new perspective.  That has been his home for quite some time, so he, like Larenti before him and Vazra before that, sees the outside world as the home he left, the place where food and water and shelter and safety came unflaggingly, where affection and attention never failed to deliver.

In due time, like the others, those memories will give way as the longing to return to that world diminishes in light of new joys in a new home.

His antics are endearing.  As a young cat, he’s as playful as he is charming—and mischievous.  One consideration I must keep in mind stems from his neurological damage.  Yesterday while dashing up and down the cat castle, hanging from it like a child on monkey bars, he slipped and fell.  Any other feline would have caught a grip on the way down, but al-Zill’s limbs chose that time to become erratic…so down he plummeted.

No harm done, though.  He rebounded and raced into the bedroom without a backward glance.

A close-up of al-Zill as he lies on the bedspread next to the foot of the bed (20080525_05779)

With one tipped ear and one torn ear, and scars from the tip of his nose to the base of his neck, he constantly sings testament to the dangers he faced and the certain death that awaited him.  With such an amiable personality and delightful countenance, I sometimes weep for what might have been had I left him to his fate.

He still seeks comfort and rest in the cat carrier I’ve left in the bathroom.  When he’s serious about taking a nap, that’s where he goes.  But still he joined us in bed overnight for several hours of dreamy sleep.

Several times he woke me with investigative trouble, whether by clearing the bathroom counter (as he’s still figuring out mirrors…) or trying to climb the office blinds (another learning experience…).  Then there was the crying, the touching call that echoed through the house as he moved about trying to find his place in the dark, trying to figure out precisely what to make of this new world.  His voice remains childlike, a lamentable sound reminiscent of a moaning toddler too lonely to survive.  I think his voice will never change following the brain damage he suffered (which marked its most dramatic transition from raspy feline to tearful baby).

A close-up of al-Zill as he lies in the cat bed next to the bedroom window (20080525_05808)

He’s already found a new bed: the round, soft feline furniture next to the window in the bedroom.  He’s played there, napped there, rested there.  I’ve seen him in it many times just in the last 24 hours.  His adaptation progresses as his ease grows.

Having been free to roam all day and all night, and given the lack of mayhem that ensued, I’m leaving the bathroom door open and allowing him to acclimate as he sees fit.  I interfere only when he gets into trouble.  So long as there are no major problems today, I’ll leave him out tomorrow while I go to the office.  That will be the first true test.