Spatz Our Cat

Spatz, AKA Gamas, was 16 years old when we first got her (that's 80 in human years).

She belonged to a friend of ours who relocated to a home which did not allow pets. She had to get rid of the two cats they had or move out. Her mom took the younger cat but the older, Spatz, had nowhere else to go. If we did not say yes she would have been sent to the SPCA, but with her advanced age, they would have surely put her down, how could we say no.

Photos displayed on this article are ©Jolene Belmain.

She started out as Spatz, but when she arrived in our home that name just no longer seemed to suit this little black and white cat, and her advanced age earned her the new name of Gamas.

Gamas is a very shy cat who it seems is terrified of her own shadow so it took her quite a while to open up to us even though she had met us many times before in her previous home. She had even allowed us to pet her in her old home but once in our place she really seemed to not want much to do with us at all.

I guess at first she just was not quite sure if she wanted to live with us, and coming from a quiet home, in ours she was suddenly thrust into the hustle and bustle of a home with 3 young children. She would start by coming out of hiding once the kids went to bed, watching us, yet keeping her distance. She would brush up to the furniture and roll all over the carpet wanting love... but still too afraid to take that extra step closer to us. We would talk to her a little bit while also playing it cool and ignoring her just enough for her to edge closer to us on her own terms.

Her usual spots were under our bed, and after a while she would sleep in the closet where all of the shoes went. She is very sneaky... a black coat had fallen down in the corner of the closet, but with all of the coats hanging there we couldn't see it unless we moved the coats, and when she laid onto it, it just looked like a coat tucked in the corner. It took us months to realize she was actually sleeping on this black coat in the back of the closet.

One day I had been looking for her everywhere and calling for her, but she was nowhere to be found..... checked under the bed, then in the closet. Then I noticed something unusual in the drawer that I had accidentally left open earlier that day. It figures that she should fit in so well with clothing, with her black and white coloring, she is somewhat of a tuxedo cat.

Hide and Seek

I feel a tickle from whiskers

and a little wet nose,

I look down at my feet

and yep, there she goes.

I can feel my face,

my lips give a grin,

I get up from my chair;

here we go again.

I tippy-toe quietly

down the hall,

stop by the door,

press up against the wall.

Peek into the same room

she went to before,

there she is in the corner

curled up on the floor.

Paws over her eyes

tail up in the air,

since she cannot see me

she thinks I am not there.

I creep up behind her,

finger is ready,

I'm almost there

just hold it steady.

I tap on her back

she jumps up in the air,

she turns and then stops,

giving me that same stare.

She just tries so hard

but can't figure it out,

I give her a giggle

cause it's the fun it's about.

©Jolene Belmain

We went on a vacation during the summer, so we left some music on so Gamas wouldn't get so lonely. We also had friends and family checking up on her every day. They open the window so she can sniff the fresh air and give her some fresh food, and check her water, and spend some time with her to give her the sufficient amount of love that she would require.

Well two weeks later we all returned home, and she must have missed us and the noise we all usually generate because when we walked through the door, she talked to us for a good hour or two asking us where we had been I would imagine. She totally had let her walls down for the first time, not caring who was there and who was touching her... she just enjoyed every minute of it.

She has been a lot more open ever since that day (I think she realized how dull life would be without us in it).

One year down the road from when we had first welcomed her into our home (which makes her 84 now), Gamas started chewing on herself, and by the time I could get her in to see the vet, she had chewed a hole and it was festered very badly. I thought for sure this was going to be the end of our newest family member.

The night before I had called her previous owner to prepare her for what may be to come, and the morning of I had all of the children give her a pet and a kiss to wish her well at the doctors office... but they knew why I wanted them to give her one last little hug.

It took her a few days to get used to it, but they fixed her problem and sent her home with a cone and some medication. She had to take them twice a day for 2 weeks... she is finally getting back to liking me from forcing her to take them. I did try everything... crushing them up and putting them in her food... leaving the whole pill in her food to just eat... didn't seem to help. She would just eat around it every time (even the fine powder in the crushed stuff seemed to be left at the bottom).

The meds are done, and today is the first day we have taken off the cone for the entire day to make sure she doesn't disturb the area. She's done good so far. We were all so happy to have her back home.

she just woke up from a nap, hence the look

Gamas is such a beautiful and loving cat. We realize that she getting up there in age and isn't going to be around forever, so we like to make her life as happy as it can possibly be for an indoor cat.

She is special so we let her enjoy the little things in life which cats seem to love just so much:

We open a window and let her breathe the fresh air, open the curtains and let her see what's going on, treat her like a queen, and give her plenty of love.

January 11, 2012, I noticed Gama's was very stiff and moving slowly this morning, and by nightfall she was limping on her right side. I couldn't pin point what exactly was bugging her.

The following morning she was hinting she wanted under the blankets with me, (which never happens with her - she hates to be in a confined space, or held where she feels like she cannot leave on her own terms). So I lifted the blanket and, sure enough, she climbed right in beside me and laid down. She even let me put the blankets back down on top of her and myself. When it was time to get up she tried to also, so I helped her down off of the bed so she wouldn't hurt her already sore right side.

She didn't seem interested in food, and even when I tried to feed her some treats she only ate a couple and left the rest on the floor where I put them. She limped more and more to the point where I was lifting her up and down off of the couch, she would just sit there and look like she wanted up or down... but you could tell she was very hesitant of jumping.

Once I got back from taking the kids to school, I made up her blanket so there were no lumps in it, and put her onto it. My green blanket was sitting on the couch so I decided to cover her up since she was so interested in being under the blankets on the bed earlier. She stayed there literally all day. She got off of the couch once, but was back very shortly, other than that she only got up to switch sides to sleep on. I made sure to keep her covered and tucked so she was nice and warm.

Our weather had changed on the 12th and dropped at least 10 degrees Celsius, this is when I realized that arthritis was most likely her problem with pain. I have heard of people with arthritis getting pain the day before a cold snap or rain. My poor Gama's has arthritis.

I grabbed the children's Advil and took a couple of slivers and fed them to her for the pain (I do not condone this to anyone, you should always call your vet first to find out what you should give her). She passed out about 40 minutes after me giving her the Advil. I guess I gave her the right amount of Advil and her pain had gone away enough for her to be able to sleep without moving and switching sides. She spent that entire day on the couch curled up in her little blanket too.

By the evening she had started to feel better and was walking around a bit more and was limping less. She even ate a bowl of food before bed.

There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth

It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colours

Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows,

Hills and valleys with lush green grass.

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place.

There is always food and water and warm spring weather.

The old and frail animals are young again.

Those who were made whole again.

They play all day with each other.

The nose twitches! The ears are up!

The eyes are staring! And this one suddenly runs from the group!

You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet,

You take him or her in your arms and embrace.

Your face is kissed again and again,

And you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together,

Never again to be separated.

-author unknown