We’re catching up on some of the stories we’ve told here in the last year.
This week, we revisit Jett’s new catio and Z-Nation’s feral cat rescues.
Steven Cogswell had a catio built for his cat Jett.
https://fox28spokane.com/would-your-cat-enjoy-a-catio/
I asked for an update on how the catio is working.
It has been four months since Jett’s catio was installed. In those four months, [the catio] has been the topic of many conversations amongst my friends and co-workers. However, after the initial novelty of it wore off, I began questioning whether I had made a wise decision.
Jett hardly used the catio all through the summer.
His door-dashing increased rather than decreased as I had hoped it would.
It seemed that once he got a taste of the great outdoors, he was more determined to see it all rather than be satisfied with his limited view from the confines of his catio.
Looking back, [I realize] it was an unusually hot summer and my backyard has no shade trees. I think it was just too hot for him. Now that we’re into fall, Jett has started going out several times a day. What a relief!
I had envisioned him sleeping for hours out in the fresh air and sun, but that isn’t how he sees it. He uses the catio to survey the backyard and supervise the dogs playing, usually spending ten minutes or so at a stretch. When it’s nap time, he comes inside and sleeps on the dogs’ beds.
One thing I noticed immediately after the installation was Jett seemed less stressed.
I think knowing he had a place of his own to get away from the dogs (there are three) was almost enough for him, even if he didn’t escape out there very often.
That alone was worth the cost.
For the spring, I plan to add more interesting elements to the catio. I plan to put in a potted plant and I’m looking for a thick tree branch that will double as a ramp and a scratching pole. I suspect Jett will start to add the catio into his daily routine more and more.
At his core, Jett is a very social cat and he prefers to be around the rest of the family. But I’m still extremely glad he has his very own place to go, with fresh air and nary a dog too near.
Steven Cogswell
Lakewood, Colorado
Photo by Rebecca Cook
Rebecca Cook rescued feral cats on the set of the TV show Z-Nation.
https://fox28spokane.com/zombie-kittens-feral-cat-rescues-on-the-set-of-z-nation/
I asked Rebecca for an update on the Z-Nation “zombie” cats and kittens.
It’s been a little over a year since we rescued our last feral cat family on Z Nation from a scrap yard.
Since the show was cancelled, we haven’t been called into service to rescue again, but we have advised some other folks on their own efforts in the cat-rescue realm.
I’ve also loaned out our live trap a few times, so the word is still out that we may know how to help.
In the meantime, the kittens are all now cats!
The parents went to live on a farm in Ritzville with another of our rescues from a previous year. Unfortunately, Mama Kitty really enjoyed visiting the neighboring farm and was hit by a car on a dark night. She had some great adventures and made several friends along the way. Papa Kitty is still doing well with barn life and has become buddies with Z Kitty.
The four kittens all are living domesticated lives.
The only girl, who was also the only all-black kitten, went to live with one of the men who worked at the scrap yard. He only agreed to help us catch them if he could keep her. He’d been helping feed them and had grown rather fond of the kittens, so I don’t doubt she’s doing well.
The three boys went to three of us who worked together on the show, so we keep in touch.
Charlie has gone to live in western Washington with the sister of a crew member. He keeps her on her toes and sometimes needs to go stay with her brothers when he’s spent too much time scattering toys, drinking out of the toilet, or pulling down the blinds.
Monty has been doing lots of traveling with his person, all while wearing his stylish bowties. She’s a makeup artist who gets to take him with her to California, Seattle, and even back to Spokane.
Roscoe lives with me and my older cat Nahla, whom he is convinced is his toy. They aren’t the best of friends, but she tolerates him.
The three boys have proven to be very adventurous and loving. I think they do everything full-on—love hard, play hard!
All in all, I think the rescues were a huge success.
Last December, Roscoe started teething and got really sick because he wouldn’t eat. It turns out that a small percentage of kittens react badly to getting new teeth and their gums swell up painfully. It took three vet visits, constant attention, and a lot of baby food laced with meds before we got him feeling better and eating properly, but he’s just fine now.
I kept wondering what would have happened if he was still living in the scrap yard eating dry kibble or small rodents. I honestly don’t know if he would have survived it. He barely made it living with me.
It just drives home how important it is that we do what we can for these little critters.
Rebecca Cook
Spokane, Washington
