Floofenstein: Our Gorgeous Boy

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.

Over the course of the day, I was also able to trim a few of his claws and cut loose the mats on his belly. It quickly became clear that he wasn’t feral. He was incredibly sweet and very happy to relax in the bathroom sink.

I didn’t even bother to put the gloves back on when I checked in on him the last time for the day. He seemed to prefer bare-handed pets to gloved-hand pets, anyway.

Monday, March 17

When I checked in on Floofers the next morning, he’d used the litter box, eaten some food, and drunk quite a bit of water. It was good to check off those milestones. He’d also managed to remove a large chunk of his scab, although there were no signs of bleeding (phew!).

Since he was still chillin’ in the sink, we decided to give him a towel to make it more cozy. He had zero objections. Surprisingly, he wasn’t even bothered that I picked him up to move him!

Once the vet opened, I called to see if I could bring him in for an appointment and to scan him for a chip. While they didn’t have a same-day appointment, they could fit him in the next day since he was injured. I accepted that appointment and made sure to make several visits down to Mr. Floofenstein.

During one of the visits, I found another mat and cut it loose, then decided to try picking him up again. He didn’t mind it at all. Rather, he seemed quite happy being held. But, he is somewhat weighty (because of his overall size, not because he’s chonky), so I had to set him down sooner than he would have liked.

But, rather than set him back in the sink, I set him on the floor to see how he’d react. I was kind of expecting him to jump right back up into the sink. Instead, he gave me head and body bonks!

As the day wore on, I became less and less certain about having him scanned for a chip. I didn’t want to give him up. We knew he had been outside for at least 3 months, so I searched through the top Google results for missing pets. If I decided not to have him scanned, at least I could say I’d done some due diligence. There wasn’t a single cat in a 25 mile radius that looked anything like him.

I even researched Maryland pet laws. Surprisingly, having a chip registered to you is not proof of ownership. Nor is a vet required to notify the person registered on the chip if someone else brings that pet in.

Jim spent some time messaging with our neighbor who had been trying to catch Floofers. She shared her certainty that Floofers is male and not neutered. We weren’t able to confirm that because Floofenstein was not willing to let me lift his tail.

But I digress.

In the evening, I finally got to hear him meow a couple of times. It was somewhat high-pitched, and rather quiet, but it let me know that his vocal chords hadn’t been damaged when he was injured.

I also discovered that his fangs show, just slightly.

Tuesday, March 18

When I went down to check on Floofers Tuesday morning, it was clear he’d gotten a bit restless the night before. The shower curtain was down (it’s a pressure-fit curtain), but Floofenstein was unharmed. Also, more of his scab was missing, making me thankful that he’d be going to the vet soon.

I picked him up to cuddle him some, and Jim took the first cuddle photos.

At the vet, everyone wanted to see him because they loved his name. He was declared very handsome.

Floofers upheld the family honor, behaving very well throughout the entire visit. He didn’t hiss or growl and only put up a tiny bit of a struggle while the vet was feeling along his body to make sure there were no other wounds. We got confirmation that Floofers is a boy and is intact.

He was taken to the back to have blood drawn and to get his wound cleaned. When they brought him back, the vet pointed out how healthy and pink the granulation tissue was. She was very pleased but did give him a long-acting antibiotic shot, just in case.

I was convinced to let him be scanned, and I quite literally held my breath. Thankfully, he didn’t have one. He could stay with us, and I didn’t have to feel guilty.

The vet asked me to bring in a fecal sample to check for parasites and worms and told me to clean his wound daily. Contrary to expectation, she advised me to keep the skin as clean of scabbing as possible.

As I checked out, I made an appointment for Floofenstein to get neutered on April 22. Since he was guaranteed to stay with us — and, therefore, have a cushy, indoor cat life — he must pay the fee.

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This is part two of four?? about Floofenstein’s rescue and incorporation into our household. Based on how he did, do you agree he’s likely not feral? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.