My Sweet, loving feline friend KryptoKitty
Background
There was a beautiful Tuxedo kitten adopted by a neighbor. He ran away from his home, and became semi-feral (this was unbeknownst to me , and I found out years later from a neighbor). He lived on the mean streets of San Francisco for at least a year all alone. During this time he reverted to becoming almost wild. How he survived for so long on his own is anyone’s guess. Even being in San Francisco there is a lot of wildlife. I’m sure he ate lots of rodents, and scavenged food. It is surprising he didn’t get killed by a raccoon, a coyote , hit by a car, or die from poison (sadly I have idiot neighbors that put rat poison outside).
At the time I had a very old female cat I had inherited named “Rainbow”. She wasn’t the nicest or smartest cat, but we got along alright. I’d let Rainbow out in the backyard daily (she never ventured far and she was somewhat senile). The beautiful tuxedo cat started coming around.
Rainbow and the semi- feral feline would lounge in the backyard together. I started calling him “her boyfriend”. The name “Boyfriend” stuck. He’s also known as “KryptoKitty” since he loves crypto. He was terribly fearful of me, and would take off if I got closer than 20 feet to him or if I made a sudden movement. This backyard visit between Rainbow and KryptoKitty became a very cute daily routine that lasted for weeks.
After they became close friends, Rainbow started inviting KryptoKitty into the basement garage and willingly shared her food with him. What was I to do? I decided to leave a window open in the garage so he could come and go as he pleased. It was getting colder, and he started sleeping on top of boxes in the garage. I didn’t mind, I was working 60 plus hours a week and was rarely home, so Rainbow needed companionship.
One restless night, I had a dream that KryptoKitty was a “she” and had a huge litter of kittens in the garage. I became fearful and paranoid that this would become a self fulfilling prophecy. A friend told me about a free program by the San Francisco SPCA ( Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), where they trap, fix, and release feral cats. I called them up.
Trapping him was fairly straightforward, but I felt unbelievably cruel. The SPCA had a volunteer teach and assist with everything. The SPCA loaned me a cat trap. I started feeding KryptoKitty wet food next to the cat trap at the same time daily. I would incrementally move the food closer to the entrance of the trap, until days later it was eventually it was inside the trap.
The day came where I planned to trap him. I called the SPCA volunteer and let her know. I set up the trap with a lot of food, water, and a little bit of kitty litter. Dinner time came, and I trapped him. He was so angry and scared. I felt unbelievably evil. I kept him in the trap overnight (covered with towels) and the volunteer picked us up the next morning to visit the the SPCA veterinarian.
I signed some paperwork, and they kept him overnight. They neutered him (poor guy but important for population control). The SPCA also gave him vaccines, flea and worm medication, and tested him for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus ).
The next day the volunteer brought him back to me. I was to keep him indoors for 3 days while the stitches healed. If he started bleeding, I was to take him back to the vet immediately.
I had no idea how I was going to do that. He was wild. KryptoKitty still wouldn’t let me come within 20 feet of him. I kept him in the garage as directed, and he peed everywhere. He was loud, crying, begging and pleading to be set free. I felt unbelievably horrible.
On the second day of Boyfriends medically prescribed confinement, I absentmindedly left the door open that goes from the basement garage upstairs to my living space on the second floor. I often would keep a window open in my office. At the time there was an awning right below the window (was the roof for a 10x10 section of the patio in the backyard below). KryptoKitty escaped that way. I sadly said to Rainbow “Well, unfortunately that’s the last we will see of him, I hope he lives a good life”.
He came back 4 days later. Fate seemed to have decided that KryptoKitty and I would become great friends. There was something very kind, soulful, and knowing in his brilliant Halloween cat green eyes.
I decided I needed to figure out how to make him less fearful of me if we were to continue this human and feline living arrangement. I became systematic and determined to make him more comfortable.
I started giving him wet food at the same time daily, in the same spot in the basement garage. I would sit about 15 feet away and talk to him while he ate. He always inhaled his meal in about 3 seconds and then would run away. The next day at the same time I would repeat this, but be 14.5 feet away. I still left a window open in the garage for him to come and go as he pleased. He also got into the habit of coming and going through the second story window that he had escaped from.
After many weeks of feeding and talking to KryptoKitty daily, I was able to sit next to him with my hand 2 inches away from him. I couldn’t move, because any slight movement (or an unexpected sneeze) would instantly scare him away. I decided I would try to get where I could pet him while he ate. Every day I would do a tiny bit more to condition him. It progressed to where I could just hover my hand an inch above him while he ate his dinner, which evolved to being able put my hand lightly on his back (his back would recoil in aversion). This went on for weeks. Eventually it got to he point where I could pet his back while he ate without him hating it, but he would still run 10 feet away after he finished eating. I was able to put flea medication on him this way also.
Rainbow and I were fine with this arrangement. She adored KryptoKitty’s company. The weather changed, and It started to get cold. KryptoKitty got in the habit of sleeping upstairs next to Rainbow by the heater. He didn’t have a clue about how to be a proper domestic cat, and started mimicking everything Rainbow did. It was really cute. She taught him how to use the litter box, how to meow (he was so feral that he didn’t meow or purr), and a few other domestic kitty things. More time passed and he became more comfortable around me. He spent half the day inside, and half the day outside. He would come and go through the second story window as he pleased. Rainbow never did this because she was too old and senile. I was very happy they got along so well, especially since I wasn’t really emotionally bonded to Rainbow (and felt bad about that).
KryptoKitty started getting in the habit of sleeping in a chair in my office while I was working on the computer. He would get startled if I stood up from the chair too quickly and scramble to run outside. With passing time he became more comfortable, and would even start blinking kindly at me. I was shocked with disgust and delight when started bringing me mice and rats. One day, he woke up from napping in his chair, walks up to me, and jumps in my lap! He had watched Rainbow do this many times, I guess he wanted to try it! I officially had a cat.
He and I have been joined at the hip ever since. Rainbow passed away (rest in peace), and KryptoKitty and I have become unbelievably close. He’s a very smart cat, and extremely respectful. He comes running whenever I call his name, and even does a few tricks . If I’m too busy to give him attention, I say “not now”, and show him the hand signal for “stop” and he leaves me alone for 10 minutes. He never does anything wrong ,except accidentally biting my nose too hard when giving kisses sometimes.
Health Issues
A few years ago he started having trouble urinating. He started peeing in inappropriate places. One night he was very restless, and kept running to the litter box every 5 minutes but wouldn’t eliminate. After a few hours of this he finally went, but only managed to urinate a few bloody drops. I was frightened. I took him to the vet the next day, and he had crystals in his urethra. Many cats get this from eating store bought processed food. He has been on a prescription diet ever since and this hasn’t been a major issue since.
I let KryptoKitty continue to be an indoor/outdoor kitty. He was king of the neighborhood, and I didn’t know of any good reasons to keep him as an inside only cat (seemed cruel to me). Our neighbors backyards are very exciting compared to to watching me type on the computer all day after all.
He was very territorial, and would get into cat fights. I didn’t like this but I believed there was nothing I could do. Unfortunately I learned that he contracted FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) from cat fights. I didn’t know what FIV was let alone that it was a contagious disease that there isn’t a vaccine for. FIV is similar to HIV in humans. Cats spread it mainly thought cat bites (saliva and blood). My vet was very sad to give me the news, and she said he probably wouldn’t live long. Cats with FIV tend to get opportunistic infections similar to people with HIV (so I am told). This was a few years ago. He’s been mostly an indoor kitty since then mainly because I don’t want him to infect another cat with FIV. He has gotten out a few times by accident, and now I supervise playtime in the backyard a few times a week.
He did get one opportunistic infection, luckily I caught it right away. His ears started getting very stinky, and the vet told me he was getting a yeast infection in both ears. Luckily a week of prescription ear drops took care of that.
Recently he became very finicky about eating. I thought perhaps we got a bad batch of his prescription food. Then in early February, I was giving him his breakfast, and he made the most horrible sound I ever heard him make (cross between a howl and a scream). He was frightened of me for the next 10 minutes (he hadn’t been scared of my since he was semi-feral). I was concerned, and thought maybe a piece of glass or something got in his food. A couple hours later I noticed his cute giant upper canine tooth was missing! I felt horrible! This was on a Saturday, and the vet wasn’t able to see him until Monday morning. I was so worried. He started sneezing a lot too, and getting watery discharge out of one eye.
Monday came, and the Vet told me he had a hole from where his tooth was up into his nose. When he eats and drinks he gets food stuck up in there. The Vet gave me antibiotics, and I need to make a follow up appointment. If the wound isn’t healing properly on it’s own he will need anesthesia and stitches. He had a blood test during this visit and it turns out he also has hyperthyroidism. I had absolutely no idea. He had lost weight (2 lbs lighter since previous visit).
There is a very expensive procedure that would cure him, but I can’t afford it. Luckily they have much cheaper medicated treats to help get rid of the excess thyroid hormone. I hope he doesn’t have any complications from this.
Currently
KryptoKitty has been amazing at taking his antibiotics. The first time was a struggle, and giving him medication in the past was always difficult. This time however was very different. After giving him medication twice, he got into the routine and didn’t object at all. At 7am and 7pm I’d say “time for your medication” and he jumps up on his chair and eagerly takes it!
He’s probably about 10 years old now, and I try not to think about how short his lifespan is compared to mine. I never planned on getting a cat, and I didn’t want a cat. He is the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. I never knew the bond between a human and a cat could be so mutually strong. He’s a one person cat, anytime friends or family visit he disappears. He almost always wants to be doing what I’m doing. When I’m working, he’s sitting next to me or is on my desk. At bath time, he’s sitting on the bathroom rug grooming himself. Yard work? He thinks I’m hunting and tries to help! Housework is the same thing especially when I’m sweeping or making the bed.
He is the most affectionate cat I have ever known, and has never hissed or tried to claw or bite me. Boyfriend is extremely respectful, and if I tell him “no” he listens. I almost miss the sweet yet gruesome presents he’d bring me when he was an outside kitty.
He’s my baby, and I will share some more fun stories about him when I can. I will try to get a video of him doing a few silly tricks. He and I even have our own games we play (hide and seek, peek a boo, etc). He even occasionally likes to play small funny pranks on me (I’ll elaborate another time). I also never knew cats could understand as much human language as they do.
I am so grateful he came into my life, and hope everyone gets to experience true unconditional love like this tiny wonderful animal has brought into my life.
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Forgot about this post- he's still doing good- still lots of health problems having trouble paying for, but he's happy and playful and loving as can be. 6-24-2019