Cheeto & Olive

You can read about the beginning of my transformation into a cat lady here. 

After Dustin and I realized that these strays were here to stay, we started to discuss taking them to the vet. I asked around and my co-worker suggested a low cost clinic nearby. She had taken her cat and had a great experience. So I made called and made an appointment for March 18, 2016 for both of them. I was told they couldn't eat after midnight and they needed to be in a carrier or trap with a towel or blanket. I've been worried about "capturing" them ever since I made the appointment. Dustin and I would talk out different scenarios until we agreed on the perfect way to go about it. 

I had made the appointment on a Friday for the sole reason that Dustin is off and could help me out. Unfortunately for him I had to wake him up a bit earlier than he would like. Thankfully he didn't mind (too much). I had a bit of anxiety right before we opened the door. I was super nervous that this could go very badly. I kept thinking...

"What if they claw our eyes out?"

"What if they run away?"

"What if they hate us?"

Then Dustin started singing Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' and it was perfect. I even played the video for a second on my phone to pump us up. Then the time came. I opened the door and they came right in as they do every morning looking for breakfast. We both said "NOW!". I grabbed Olive and Dustin grabbed Cheeto. Olive went in about half way and stopped. I had to push her butt in and close the door. I felt relieved it was over. But then Dustin was yelling for me to help him with Cheeto. Dustin was trying to drop him in the carrier feet back paws first and he was not having it. He wasn't struggling or scratching but he had put his little paws perfectly on the edge of the carrier so the rest of his body wouldn't budge. We were cracking up but after a little bit he went right in. They both looked so pathetic in those little carriers. Cheeto was the lead meower. Thankfully the clinic was right down the street otherwise I would've had a full on anxiety attack. I just felt so bad for them. Dustin kept reminding me that I was doing a good thing. And I was but it just didn't feel like it at the time. 

I got to the clinic and carried them in one at a time. I sat down and filled out paperwork with them beneath me. There were a lot of questions I didn't know the answer to. I didn't know what gender they were or what kind of cats they are or even how old they are. A guy came by and took their names down and wrote them on a piece of masking tape and put it on their characters. Then I watched him take them into another room. I left feeling relived and anxious all at the same time. I knew they were in good hands but I just didn't want to have to wait until the end of the day to pick them up.

At about 10AM I got a call from them and of course freaked out when I listened to the voicemail "We need to talk to you about your cat Cheeto..." So I called them right back and was immediately told "Don't worry everything is fine but he has already been neutered." So he is a he. I thought so but I wasn't 100%. They wanted to know if it was ok to go ahead with the shots. I told them that was fine and that was that.  

Finally 4:30pm rolled around and I left work early and sped over to the clinic. They were very clear about not being late for any reason or they would charge me. I got there 15 minutes early. It was me and one other lady picking up our cats. They made us sit down and watch a 5 min. video about how to handle the recovery process. It was very informative and I made sure to pay attention but all I was thinking about were my little kittiots. When the vet tech brought them out I started talking to them like a crazy cat lady. Cheeto was meowing and poor little Olive was so out of it from being spayed. Yep, they told me she is a she. That was my guess but again I'm no expert in cat genitalia. 

I put them in my car and could hardly contain my excitement while driving them home. We let Cheeto out first because he only got shots. Dustin opened the door and he slowly made his way out. He did a lap around my feet and then ate dinner. I thought for sure he was going to bolt right out of that carrier and never come back. But he really surprised me. I was told that we needed to keep them separated since Olive needed to heal for a few days. So Cheeto stayed outside while we let Olive out inside the house. Poor girl was so out of it. She looked like a little drunk kitty stumbling around. She wanted to walk so badly but every time she did she would almost fall over. It was so sad. She was very restless. I thought she would just want to lay around but she wouldn't sit still. And then the meowing started. The cutest, smallest meows. She meowed pretty much the entire weekend. She has never been so vocal. Dustin read that it's normal when a cat is in pain, uncomfortable, or seeking attention. We were planning on keeping her on the back porch but we decided it would be better to just put her in the bathroom for the night. We stuck a littler box in there with a little towel and bowl of water. Oh and I gave her our outer space night light so it wasn't completely dark. Not that she cares but I'd like to think she enjoyed it. Ha! She did great in there. She used the litter box like a champ. She didn't have one accident. I was so impressed. 

I woke up both Saturday and Sunday to her little meows. I let her out and gave her all the attention. She wanted to play on Saturday but I tried to keep her calm since she wasn't supposed to be running or jumping. She didn't give a shit. She would jump up on my desk or on the counter. I got so worried she was going to hurt her incision but she seemed to be just fine. Dustin and I took turns going outside to love on Cheeto throughout the weekend. He seemed pretty exhausted from his day at the clinic because he was passed out on our stoop most of the time. We let him in on Sunday for a supervised visit with Olive. Of course he tried to play with her so we broke it up and put him on the back porch. He didn't like being away from us but I didn't want to risk it. 

We let Olive back to her regular routine at dinner on Sunday night. She ate outside with Cheeto and has been with him ever since. I'm glad they have each other especially when we're gone at work. Cheeto comes in but he will never be an indoor cat. Olive on the other hand will probably be more indoor. We let her in when we get home from work every day. She rarely wants to go outside unless Cheeto is up to something. It's just after 9pm while I type this and she is passed out on our couch. 

I don't know how or why they came into our lives but I'm really glad they have.