12-19-19 Dewey & Khal Thursday

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Dewey.

Dewey came to us in December of 2016. He’d been at Challenger’s House for a little while, but was such a scaredy cat that Susan asked if Fred would work with him and maybe help make him a more confident cat. His name was Dustin.

Before he ended up at Challenger’s House, he was discovered living in an industrial park alongside three other cats; it was assumed that they were dumped there. His date of birth was set as March 2, 2016, which means he’ll be 4 years old in March.

He was a VERY timid boy at first, but Fred worked with him, and he started to come out of his shell a bit. He adored the other permanent residents, and got along great with them – we couldn’t stand the idea of him in a cage at Petsmart (because he was so timid), and after he’d been with us for about a month, we decided he should stay permanently.

Hanging out with Dennis.

Hanging out with Stefan.

Dewey has relaxed a lot, and for a while he and Frankie were the very best of friends. They’re still friendly – he’s friendly with all the other permanent residents, though Alice wishes he’d go jump in a lake – but he tends to be more of a loner. If Frankie or Jake wants to hang out with him, he’s fine with that for a while, but will generally get up and move away after some time has passed. He’ll occasionally sleep at the foot of my bed, but he prefers to spend his nights either on the couch or sitting on the screened porch watching the raccoons and possums go by.

We tend to refer to him as “the invisible cat” because he’s so quiet and just does his own thing. He’s a happy boy, but he haaates to have his picture taken. I usually leave him alone, but sometimes he’s so darn CUTE I can’t stand it, and sometimes he’s feeling nice and will allow me to take a picture or two before he skedaddles. He likes being petted, thinks I’m a weirdo when I try to kiss him, and is just an all-around good boy.

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Khal.

We first saw Khal Drogo (he’s named after the warlord in Game of Thrones) toward the end of 2015. He was extremely shy and skittish, and the instant he caught sight of me or Fred, he’d be GONE. He came around for a little while, and then completely disappeared.

He showed up again almost exactly a year later. This time Fred was determined to tame him, and so he began working in earnest to gain Khal’s trust. (We were calling Khal “FancypantsV2.0” at the time, because he looked a lot like a cat we had years ago whose name was Stimpy, but who we always called Fancypants.)

It took Fred a couple of months to get Khal to trust him to the point where he could pick him up briefly. We made an appointment to have him neutered, Fred successfully got Khal into the carrier…

BUT THEN.

Fred hadn’t properly latched the top of the carrier, and Khal was able to get out of the carrier and flee.

It took him another few months to trust Fred again, and then finally we got him off to the vet to be neutered, tested and ear-tipped. He turned out to be FIV positive like Frankie is, but unlike Frankie he’s got no health issues at all. The vet thought he was “three or four years old”, so I set his date of birth as 5/12/14, which makes him 5 1/2 years old.

It was our intention to give him food and shelter as an outdoor/barn cat, because we didn’t think he’d ever want to come inside. This was going to be a bit of an issue, because we were in the process of trying to sell our house, and if we were going to be moving (as we eventually did), there’s no way we were going to leave him behind. As it turned out, Fred was able to coax him into the house. He’d come into the house, stay for a little while, and then ask to go back out. He was NOT having my nonsense, wanted nothing to do with me, and would flee in terror any time I looked his way. He started coming inside for longer and longer periods of time, Fred would sit on the floor and pet him, and I would move as little as possible.

Eventually, I would slowly get down on the floor behind Fred, and inch my way over, reach around Fred to pet Khal, and he’d allow it. By the time we moved in November of 2017, I was able to – if I moved very slowly – pet him. When we moved into this house, he had decided that the experience of moving must be my fault, and he wanted nothing to do with me. This lasted for a couple of months, and then one evening while we were watching TV, I sat in the recliner where Fred always sits, Fred sat on the couch, and what do you know? Khal stomped over, climbed into my lap, and stayed there. Apparently he considered that recliner one of his safe spaces no matter who was sitting there.

These days, he’ll let me pet him – I mean, I can’t RUN over and grab at him, but if I approach him slowly and let him sniff my hand first, he’s fine. He sleeps at the end of my bed for days in a row, and then abandons me. If I’m in bed and he’s there nearby, I can grab him and hug him, and he’s fine.

He’s a playful guy who will play with the track toy for long periods of time (and then will curl up and sleep on it.) He’ll chase toys, loves to kick light toys around the house, gets along great with the other cats, and will allow Jake to snuggle up to him when he’s feeling needy. He’s not scared of the fosters and will actually play with them a little, but he prefers that they leave his darn track toy alone.

He’s come a long way, baby.

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Previously
2018: Dynamo is 100% over my nonsense.
2017: The baleful glare.
2016: When Uncle Stefan Visited Willa.
2015: No entry.
2014: Tree full of nutty kittens.
2013: See the black ears? That’s Tricki.
2012: Do you remember Bill?
2011: Patty Peppers, you make me wanna kiss you.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: LOVE DEM KITTEHS.
2007: No entry.
2006: Fred And3rson and the Always Ready for Snackin’ Time Players present “Who’s Ready for a Snack?”
2005: No entry.

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