That Original Oldcat Oscar-Tyrone... Still Hanging in There

It's been awhile since I gave an update on the The Original Oldcat, Oscar-Tyrone.

Way back in October, that Original Oldcat Oscar-Tyrone fell ill.

He has never been sick. And I hate to admit it, but he hadn't been to the doctor since 1999. And the only reason he went then because he and my other cat, Jeremy Girard, had a bad case of worms.

That was nasty.

Anyway, he had a bad case of pancreatitis and hepatitis. And some -itis with his gall bladder. He was running around acting like he was having hallucinations, and he was hurling and had a case of the runs plus constipation. Trust me, it was an odd site to see.

He had to stay in the hospital. Because of him, I won't be going on vacation this year. *gives Oscar the side-eye*. It cost around two grand to straighten him out. Sigh.

Anyway, he had his last doctor visit back in early December. He gained a little weight (1/2 pound), and his liver numbers were going in the right direction (whatever that means).

"Do we need to schedule another meeting?" I asked the veternarian.

She was a sister. I think she could see in my eyes that I didn't want to spend another dime on him.

"No, I think he's good. It takes as much as 6 to 8 weeks to recover from this."

I nodded.

"But I want to keep him on the bland diet," she added.

The bland diet. The bland diet of duck and peas. A case of can food was 61 dollars. And a bag of dried food was 56 dollars.

Sigh.

I nodded. Again.

"He seems to be alright," I said. "He's eating and eliminating on the regular now. I'll know he's back to his normal self when he jumps out and plays on the beams that run over my living room."

She shook her head, and rubbed Oscar-Tyrone's back. "I don't know if that's gonna ever happen again. He's an old cat. The beams may be too much for him."

The beams.

He has always loved the beams. He would sit quietly up there and watch me walk back and forth, especially when I was looking for him.

He likes the beams.

I suppose the vet had a point, though. He is 15 years old. No more beams. I packed him in his carrier and we headed on home. He seems to understand the riding in the car ordeal. He knows if he doesn't want to be flying all over the car, he needs to sit still.

And he seems to understand... don't scratch the Lucy the Lexus' leather. Just be still.

That month he would stare up at the beams. It was if he was... pondering. Pondering whether to test his strength and agility.

He would walk upstairs, and walk back down. You see, for awhile, he'd been working on jumping up on the back of the couch or the big easy chair. And he wasn't negotiating it right. He would jump up... then fall off the back.

It was quite funny. All I could do is holler, as he ambles out from behind wherever he fell, "Dude, you took a big spill there... Are you alright?"

I knew if he couldn't figure out how to lay on the back of the furniture... Then he had no business fooling around with the beams.

Then one day last month...

I was laying on the sofa watching television, half dozing off. Oscar-Tyrone ran top speed up the stairs and jumped out on the beams.

The noise caught my attention. First of all, he hadn't ran that fast in awhile. I had to make sure he wasn't running for something. If he was, I was going to be running right along with him, lol.

And there he was... out on the beams.

"The dead has arisen," I said.

He not only jumped out on the beams, but he got all acrobatic with it. It was like he thought he was a Olympic gymnast or something.

He was doing what he use to do when we first moved into the house: jumping out on the beams and pretending he was going to jump or worse... fall down.

My sister and I would holler "Oscar! Oscar! Don't fall!"

And we would brace ourselves to catch him.

It turned out to be a dirty trick he liked to play on us.

He tried that again and I didn't fall for it. There is a ceiling fan connected to one of the beams, and he was running out on that beam, too. That would have been a disaster if he fell into that fan. But he didn't.

Someone asked how he gets up on the beams. I took a couple of pictures.

He jumps up on the rail next to the laundry here.

And then he jumps out on the beam. the beam is 9 feet above the living room.

So if he falls, that's a big drop. (He or the other cat has fallen before. There is a long scratch on the side. Wish I could've seen that!) And I'm not taking him back to the doctor. I would just have to go outside and break off a branch or stick from the bushes and use it a stint for his leg. I'm sure I have a little duct or electrical tape to hold it all in place.

I guess he is getting back to his old self. That's a good thing. I figure he has a couple more years to live.

He has a cold right now. That whole sneezing thing... he knows that is a good way to get me to head in another direction real fast. I think his teeth may be bothering him. I grind up his hard food and mix it with the canned food and add a little water to it all. That seems to be working out well for him.

And he has hairball issues. Ick. YUCK.

His food bill looks as if it will be running $70 a month. That's on the level of a utility bill or something. I'm not happy about that. But cheap food would probably blow his liver and pancreas up. For now, it is duck and peas.

So that's the update on The Original Oldcat. I am doing what I can to keep him stable.

And now that he is back to his beam gymnastics? I think he might just be coming along just fine.

Just fine indeed.