Internet

Born:  March 15, 1989
Gender:  Male
Type:  Domestic Shorthair
Coloring:  Orange & White
Origin of Name:  Ummm -- the Internet?
Nicknames:  Nettie, Net-Net, Nettie-Pooh
Unique Habits/Characteristics:   New Kitty Welcome Wagon;  King of Head Butts
Diseases/Illnesses:  digestive difficulties; URIs; dental problems; enlarged heart; asthma

 Yes, Internet is one strange name for a kitty.  But that's what he chose for himself.

We went to the local cat shelter three days after losing Tiki, in part because Cosmo was so depressed after Tiki's death, and in part because I hadn't had just one cat in so many years, I felt like everything was completely wrong with only one cat.  I knew we had plenty of room and love to give to another feline friend.

We went to Cat Welfare with the idea that we were not picking a cat, but that a cat was picking us.  We did think, though, that we did want a younger, playful female cat, to go with the older, male Cosmo.  My husband had to go to work that day, so we only had about an hour to find and adopt a new cat.

We wandered around the shelter, petting and meeting kitties, for what seemed like forever.  We found one cat that we got a big kick out that we called "The Log Cat" because that's what s/he looked like!  Absolutely huge and log-shaped.  We had almost decided that was the one, and went looking for her/him.  The Log Cat had disappeared, and the staff didn't know which one we were talking about.  We never did see him/her again.

Well, that one wasn't it, obviously.  We wandered around some more, and nothing seemed to click.  We were about to give up and leave; perhaps this wasn't the day for a new friend to join us.  My husband was already out to the entrance/office, when I walked by a cage with two orange and white kitties in it.  I was very close, and one little rascal reached out and grabbed my coat with his claw, stopping me (literally) in my tracks.  I stopped and looked at him.  He looked at me with huge eyes, and meowed loudly at me as if to say "Hey, you idiot!  I'm it!"  I laughed, and grabbed a close kitty toy and dangled it in front of the cage.  He reached out through the bars and batted it around with great glee.  Could this be the right one?  I wondered why he was in a cage; most of the cats in cages there either have illnesses, major health or behavioral problems, or are recovering from surgery.  The note on the cage only said "Found on floor Nov. thin."

I went out into the office and motioned to my husband.  We went back into the shelter area, and I asked "What about him?"  Richard said "Oh-oh, orange cats are trouble!."  I had never had an orange-and-white cat.  For some bizarre reason known only to Bast, all my cats had been black, white, or black-and-white.  There was just something about this little guy I couldn't resist.  I asked the volunteer to take him out of the cage.  We held him, and he purred furiously, obviously delighted with the human contact.  He did a wondrous cute act (you know, the way cats do), and I asked the volunteer why he was in the cage.  She looked up his info, and told us that he had lost a lot of weight when he had been allowed to run around freely in the shelter (which they allow at this shelter, so long as the cats are healthy, fixed, etc.).  So they had put him in the cage to make sure he was eating.  He was up to normal weight now.  She also told us he had been taken out of a house where he lived with other animals; they had been abused and neglected.

He was older, a male, and orange-and-white.  He didn't fit anything we expected.  But I knew he was the one that was supposed to come home with us.  He literally reached out and chose us to take him home.

We brought him home, and Richard had to rush off to work immediately.  Internet ran around the apartment for about 15 minutes, sniffing everything, and then plopped himself down in the middle of the living/dining room dividing line, as though to say "I'm home!"  He was a little disoriented, I'm sure, and did not eat that night at all, which worried me.

We had Macaroni and Cheese for dinner that night, and had left a bowl of some of it out in case we could tempt him with that.  He still didn't touch it, but we left it out overnight.  The next day when I got up, he started ravenously eating the leftover Mac & Cheese (gross, I know, but it was the first thing he ate so I wasn't going to take it away from him).

We thought about calling him Macaroni after that, but it really didn't fit (okay, he is kind of an American cheese color, but it just wasn't *him*).  I have a book of cat names, and went through it, trying at least 100 names on him.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  No reaction.

Then one night, I was watching the X-Files.  As a joke, I threw out "Scully" and "Mulder".  Then, thinking of the intense X-Files following on the Internet, I said "Internet!"  He meowed and looked straight at me.  I thought "You have to be kidding me!  That can't be a cat's name!  Nah, that had to be a fluke."  I waited a few more minutes, and then tried it again.  Same reaction.  Several times I walked away, waited several minutes, tried again.  He meowed and responded each time.  I could *not* believe he picked the name Internet, but that's my funny little Internet cat.

From that, I figured he had to have Gemini in his chart.  At first, I thought it was his sun-sign, but his incredibly patient and sweet (too sweet, sometimes) nature made me realize he's a Pisces, with Gemini rising.  He's a talker, bi-colored -- yep, that's Gemini rising.  He obviously has planets in Cancer, including the Moon, because he does have food issues.  That was the problem with him becoming skinny at Cat Welfare:  he was terribly intimidated by too many other cats, and would back down and let them eat instead of him.  Make no mistake, he *worships* food; but he hates confrontation and competition.

Internet's name variations include Nettie, Nettie-pooh, and Pooh-pooh.  He *does* have eating and digestive problems still, but we're working on getting to the bottom of the digestive problems.  I suspect he is just extremely sensitive, and so is his digestive system.

Internet is a *strong* empath.   I know, *all* cats are empaths, but Internet's extremely strong with it.  He sucks up good energy whenever he can.  When my husband and I cuddle or are affectionate, he comes from wherever he is and jumps up on the couch to be close to us.  He'll sit there and purr loudly with his eyes closed.

It was obvious to us that he had been abused, and that at least a couple of things had happened.  First, when we would go to pet him on top of his head, he would duck and close his eyes.  Clearly, someone had hit him on top of the head on a regular basis.  This made me so angry; I do not understand how someone could do something like that to such a sweet, loving cat.  It took Internet probably six months to learn that heads are for petting, not hitting, as we slowly worked with him to reassure him.  Now he purrs and enjoys being petted anywhere.  In fact, he loves being massaged, and will stick his legs out for me to gently massage each one, even between his claws.

Internet is my buddy cat.  We adore each other, and we rub faces when he's up in high places, first the left side, then the right, and back and forth.  It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

He is the sweetest cat I've ever known.  He is too sweet, sometimes.  Younger male cats who have come into our home unneutered have decided Internet is their -- um, girlfriend -- before they get neutered.  I sometimes wonder if Internet is gay, as he's put up with it graciously early on, although he's gotten very tired of it after the third cat that thinks he's a great girlfriend.  Even the now-neutered cats occasionally want to -- um -- party with him.  He looks a little pathetic sometimes, and if it looks like it's really bothering him, I'll break it up.  Usually these things start out with a bath-fest, and he *adores* bathing and being bathed by the other kitties.

Internet is our Kitty Welcome Wagon.  Every time a new cat has come in, he gets very excited and wants to rush up and greet the new one and welcome him.  Occasionally, I take in strays and keep them in a separate room until I can get them to Cat Welfare or track down owners; Internet always knows, and looks at me like "I want to welcome the kitty!  Why won't you let me welcome the new kitty?"

It was Internet who drew my attention to Mojo.  When I brought Mojo in, Internet immediately took over as Mother Cat to Mojo, and was that way for a long time, until Mojo hit sexual maturity and decided Internet was his girlfriend.  I don't think poor Internet ever quite understood or got over that; he was the only one that didn't seem to mourn Mojo's loss.  He was tired of Mojo's rough play with him, and occasional -- ummm -- sexual behavior, I suppose.  Very sad for the sweetest cat I've ever known who mothered Mojo as a kitten.

Internet has never been a terribly healthy cat.  When we adopted him, the shelter gave us Amoxicillin to give him for two weeks, as he had respiratory problems.  We gave it to him, it didn't help, we had to take advantage of their policy of two free vet visits for any problems, plus a third visit for extra medicine.  The bacterial infection was cleared up, but the other respiratory problem was not.

We were broke, and had no idea what to do for Internet.  I decided to take a risky, radical approach.  I believed that he had been overmedicated, and become immune to most of the medications.  So we took him off everything.  Instead, we shoved Vick's Vaporub under his nose (not a pleasant thing for him, I'm sure), and took him in with us whenever we took a bath, closing the bathroom door and basically "steaming" him to help clear out his lungs and sinuses.  It took awhile, but it worked.  He occasionally has a problem, but it's rare now, and he's doing much better.

Giving Internet medication is an exercise in futility.  Cats can't spit, but he comes close to it.  Liquid medication he will hold in his mouth, refusing to swallow, just letting it dribble out.  Luckily, when we do have to medicate him now, we have syringes, and can shoot the liquid medicine into the back of his throat, which is the *only* way it will work with him.  He also spits pills back out with great regularity.

Internet's food loves are a little bizarre.  He will go absolutely nutsy if I try to eat cheese around him; it's the only time he becomes a somewhat aggressive cat.  He'll try to grab the cheese from me (or my husband), and will be very intense about it.  He also adores pizza crust, pasta, spaghetti sauce, hot sauce -- go figure.  We don't give him those things anymore (with the exception of a little cheese on occasion), because of Cosmo's urinary problems, and because of Internet's digestive difficulties.  I'm sure he's not happy, but his digestion is a little better.

Internet's teeth were never very good, but they got much worse in a short period of time.  One day, I took a good look in his mouth, and was horrified at what I saw.  I saved up money and got him into the veterinarian.  Unfortunately, his teeth were so bad that the only solution at that point was to remove all his teeth.  He is now our poor little toothless guy who gums the other cats when they're irritating him rather than being able to bite them.  He still has his ravenous appetite, and always gets extra canned food, although he will eat dry food if he feels the need.

As I write this, Internet is semi-sleeping with his head on one of my shoes.  He is the most sweet, precious little guy I could ever imagine.  I thank the Goddess that he found his way into our lives.  He is a treasure.
 

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