Happy Labor Day, Americans (and Happy Monday everyone else!). For today, just a quick update on the foster formerly known as Bobby Brady!
Do you remember Bobby Brady? He was the sweetest little mess when we got him. This is what he looked like the day we got the Brady Bunch:
He was the smallest of the litter (well, he and Cindy were) and he had such bad diarrhea that I had to bathe him at least once a day to keep him clean. With every single litter we’ve had, in the past two years, there always comes a point when I am dead certain that one of the litter is going to die. Sometimes – most often – I’m just being (in retrospect) silly, but sometimes they are really quite sick and not doing well at all. With Bobby and Jan Brady, I actually said to Fred one Saturday morning “I think they’re dying and I don’t know what to DO.” We ended up taking them to a vet in Decatur, and they tested them and examined them, and found that despite two rounds of medication, they were still parasite-ridden. Jan and Bobby had to be caged for a few days so they wouldn’t track diarrhea all over the place (actually, in retrospect, I think it was more like a week and let me tell you – it SUCKED keeping them caged).
DO NOT READ THIS NEXT LITTLE SECTION IF YOU’RE EASILY GROSSED OUT. OR EATING. OR HAVE A SENSITIVE STOMACH.
Upon looking back through my email, I emailed three different people to report that poor Jan Brady had pooped out at least 12 inches of tapeworm. Seriously gross (but honestly, kind of mesmerizing).
OKAY, IT’S SAFE.
Anyway, over the course of the several days of being caged, Bobby and Jan finally got better, thank god, and clearly felt better. Bobby’s sweet, friendly, playful personality came out, and he was absolutely a force to be reckoned with.
(That’s Bobby, front and center, complaining.)
And this is how I remember Bobby Brady the best, sitting on my shoulder:
And here, licking my finger:
Well, last week I got an email from Bobby Brady’s Dad – complete with pictures! He said:
Robyn and Fred – I adopted one of the kittens you fostered, Bobby Brady. I call him Buddy now. I was recently in touch with Susan at Challenger House, and she said you guys might appreciate word on how he’s doing. My sister volunteers at Petsmart, and she told me about some exceptionally well-mannered kittens she’d seen there called the Bradys. I got Bobby / Buddy the next day, and he has turned out to be a wonderful cat. I’ve had quite a few in my time, but never have I seen such a happy, gentle, playful, smart, alert, athletic, and especially loving cat as Buddy. I don’t know if it was your fostering, or whether he gets it naturally, or both, but at nearly 11 months, he’s quite a joy.
Interestingly, at about 6 months, he developed a pronounced belly flap even though he was quite trim. I know it’s not unusual for cats get them, but his was unusually large. Then after a lot of poking around on the net I came across a new cat species called the American Keuda. They have all of Buddy’s good traits, as well as the belly and front leg flaps, not to mention his exact shape, so I now believe he is all or part Keuda. Even though he was a long lanky kitten and the vet thought he’d be big, he’s currently only about 10 lbs and has remained long and lean, also the same as Keudas.
Anyway, thank you for your part in rescuing him; everyone who meets him loves him, and he’s definitely made the world a better place.
I’ve attached a few photos of Buddy.
When I emailed to ask if it was okay to use his email and pictures to update y’all, he added:
He really is a lot of fun. He’ll curl up and sleep on my face at night if I let him. He’s quite softly vocal, and frequently runs by me repeatedly making soft meow/purr sounds, often standing on his hind legs and bouncing off my knees trying to goad me into playing with him.
I just love getting updates on my fosters, and I especially love seeing them so happy!
Tom Cullen loves hanging out under the Rose of Sharon in the back yard.
Previously
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: The kittens formerly known as River and Inara (they’re Nate and Dora now).
2007: I wanted to take a BATH in the stuff, I wanted to stick it in my purse and take it home, I wanted to marry it.
2006: Mister Boogers seemed to disapprove of the land, and at one point the seller of the land started having a discussion with Mister Boogers, only instead of “Mister Boogers”, he referred to him as “Curtis.”
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: It’s a good day, indeed.
2002: FUCKING telemarketers.
2001: I turned to Fred and said “He looks all dilemmanated, doesn’t he?”
2000: Trip to Tennessee.