Guest Star: Kameel – our new cat

My wife and I decided that when we moved into a house we would like to share our abode with feline companions. We also decided that we will get only two cats for a variety of reasons but mostly that one may be a bit lonely and three may be a bit too many for us. This was a good plan and worked quite well until recently, when we acquired a third cat – Kameel (she made her debut appearance on Kazenworld here: TRT week 85).

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Side-note: Our two other cats are siblings, approximately one and a half years old and called Donkie and Kwagga.

We got Kameel a week after Kwagga went missing (how we mourned her “death” is a story for another time). Donkie was quite depressed (as were we). He did not go out for long and stopped playing with us after 2 days. He just slept or walked aimlessly through the house.  We thought that, in time, we would get another cat and started to look at advertisements for new kittens and cat shelter websites. The idea was that we would spend a month or so looking for a cat and see in the meantime if any is available, not thinking we would get one too soon (the last time we looked for cats for almost 8 months before we got Donkie and Kwagga). We were in no rush and we did not think that there would be many people actively advertising during this season (there is an active decline of advertisements around the Christmas season – the reason: most people do not want their kittens bought and given as Christmas gifts).

Then very suddenly we got Kameel. On Sunday night after Christmas, I saw some kittens on the Swedish cat adoption website Livbojen and sent an email to merely inquire about the procedure. I got an answer in less than 30 minutes and after a few more emails we have arranged to get a kitten the following day.

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In less than 12 hours we started a 400 km round trip to get a kitten aged 12 weeks. She was one of a litter of 4 kittens, by a female too young to have offspring. The four were found on a farm and placed in a home where people help raise orphaned kittens. At 12 weeks they are advertised for adoption. At this stage they have had all their vaccinations. We signed the agreement that has several clauses to ensure the owners take care of their cats (this is not done when purchasing a cat from a private person). We got the kitten into the cat transportation cage and were on our way back.

From the beginning Kameel was more vocal than our other cats. She was also quite bold. Once home, we were worried about the interaction that she and Donkie would have. It turned out that Donkie seemed more afraid of this new weird animal than she was of him but soon he got used to her and started to cautiously play with her. Within 2 days they were good friends and running through the house chasing each other. Things seemed to become better.

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A few nights later we heard a strange meowing in the washing room. Kwagga was back. She was gone for a total of 11 days, we think she was locked in somewhere. She clearly had not eaten for the whole time and lost more than half her body weight. When I picked her up I could feel only ribs and spine. Here eyes were foggy and her voice was hoarse and faint. We fed her and she went to sleep. For the next few days she did not move much, except to eat. When she walked somewhere it seemed extremely laborious and she was very stiff. We of course took her to the vet and they gave us some advice on what to do to get her better. There was thus not much interaction between Kameel and Kwagga for a few days. Slowly Kwagga got better, but she did not like the new small animal running around. For a week Kwagga merely hissed at Kameel. However, Kameel being bold, kept on going to Kwagga and after a while Kwagga gave up hissing and started to play with her.

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Currently all three cats get along very well and both Kwagga and Kameel spend a lot of time in the shop with me (cats in the shop).

Things are more normal again (given that we have 3 cats now). Kwagga and Donkie go out during the day as before but we will wait a few months (until it is a bit warmer) before we let Kameel roam the countryside (she is still quite small and also has much shorter hair than the others).

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We are happy to have them and they are very entertaining. A few people have mentioned that we should call Kameel – “Backup-cat”. She is however more than a replacement and in any case cannot fill this role with Kwagga’s return. Although not planned we are happy to have 3 cats to share our house with.

More about the adventures of Donkie,  Kwagga and Kameel can be found on this blog.

Robroy.

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16 thoughts on “Guest Star: Kameel – our new cat

  1. Rasma R says:

    A most delightful and heartwarming story. Our cat Sid is also adopted and at this time already 10 he arrived in our house when he was four having been abused for the first 3 years of his life. Sid sends sincere meows to Donkie, Kwagga and Kameel.

  2. franhunne4u says:

    The vet did not treat your feline for dehydration? Checked her liver function reading?
    https://www.reference.com/pets-animals/long-can-cat-live-food-e4c58b8ad776b185
    The length of time a cat can live without food depends on the condition of the cat’s body. Cats that don’t eat for long periods of time often develop hepatic lipidosis, otherwise known as fatty liver disease. Cats typically succumb to the disease after two to 10 days without food.

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