Rachel's Reflections Posts

Yes, this post is late. That’s because I messed up and Floofenstein got away from me and ran away on Monday (4/14/25). I’ll share a detailed account soon, but suffice to say that Jim and I were both doing poorly. But, we got a second miracle because Floofers was sitting calmly in the trap yesterday morning, having come home.

His misadventure has, and will, result in multiple setbacks regarding his wound and integration into the household. But, he’s home, and that’s all that truly matters. Now, onto the post.

If you’re new here, I’m sharing our newest family member’s story from how he joined us until he settles in. Last week, I left off at March 25, his second vet exam.

Welcome back to Whisker Wednesday! There’s a good chance you’re here because you want to know more about Floofenstein. But, if you’re new, I’m sharing our newest family member’s story from how he joined us until he settles in. Last week, I left off at March 18, his first vet exam. This week’s title should tell you what we discovered after that.

I don’t want these posts to read like a diary, as, unlike the early posts for Athena, I’m not tracking an illness. So, going forward, I’ll include the time period I’m covering and provide highlights. I’ll only include dates for big events like vet visits.

Hi, welcome to Whisker Wednesday! Wednesdays will be dedicated to cat posts for the next few weeks, FYI.

I’ll do my best to keep this fairly brief, and the easiest way for me to do that is to go through what happened each day because it’s been A LOT! If you didn’t read my first post about Floofenstein, I suggest you do so. That post left off once I got him back in the bathroom after he orchestrated a sneaky escape the night he walked into our trap.

Sunday, March 16

The next morning, Floofers hissed at me when I first entered his bathroom. But, after a couple of gentle head pets — with gardening gloves on, just in case — he settled right down. Jim and I worked together — Jim distracting Floofenstein with head pets — to comb the, probably literal, crap out of Floofers’ tail with a flea comb. I also managed to get some of the Douxo S3 SEB mousse on his wound. I didn’t know if it would do any good, but, since the emergency vet had suggested we put it on Athena’s wounds, I didn’t think it would harm him any.

So…I meant to just write one post about Floofenstein — pronounced Floof-in-stine — but this one got pretty long, and it really only covers the “prequel.” So, I’m going to break up this introduction into as many parts as necessary to keep any one part from getting too long. With that said, let’s dive in.

I didn’t think we’d be welcoming a new family member this soon after losing Bumbledore. However, he, apparently, had other ideas — more on that later.

So, allow me to introduce Floofenstein, AKA Floofs, or Floofers. We’re pretty sure he was a stray cat — because he certainly wasn’t feral — and is an absolute sweetheart. I call him a rockstar because he reminds me of an 80s hair band… or Rum Tum Tugger.