Rusty's Moving to Upstate NY!!

Update 11/17/10--Ella and Stu is adopting Rusty from Phoebe. Rusty want to be an only cat, and he will be at Ella's, and likely become King Russell. We are organizing his transport. The preliminary map for the transport is HERE. We would like to reduce the length of some of these legs. In particular, the leg from A to B, which Phoebe is driving, would have her on the road (and sitting in border crossings) for more than 10 hours. This is a two day transport. Transport from A to B will be done on Friday November 26 (the day after US Thanksgiving). Transport from B to D will be done on Saturday the 27th. Please let me know if you can help drive this transport, particularly the eastern parts of leg A-B and leg B-C in Ontario, CA. The parts we need help with are within Canada and won't require a border crossing. Rusty is neutered, up-to-date with shots, is FIV/FeLV negative, and will be traveling with an international health certificate and in a carrier. He is insulin dependent, but will not be given insulin on the morning of his travels. Thank you!! ********************************************************************************* Update 8-3-10--New photos of Rusty ... **************************************************************************** Update 7/14/10--In March, DCIN placed Rusty with Phoebe, and it is not working out between Rusty and her cats. At present, Phoebe and her husband have Rusty in a large cage, which he likes. Let me have Phoebe tell the story--

Rusty is a very lovable cat, and has already made a place in our hearts, so this decision is extremely hard. Rusty is very friendly with people and loves cuddles and brushing. He likes to sleep on the bed with us, and doesn't hog the covers. Rusty is a big furry cat and easy to handle -- he doesn't mind the ear pokes for blood sugar tests, and just meows a bit at the insulin injection. He is currently well regulated on Levemir - getting 0.5u if his PS BG is 100 or less, and getting 1.0u if his PS BG is over 100. (if no insulin is given, he is up to 280-300, so he still needs the insulin) He is currently eating canned Wellness - chicken and turkey flavors, with snacks of low carb Fancy Feast or Friskies. He has an excellent appetite, and occasional hair balls since he is so furry. He uses the litter box very well, but he is a big boy used to living outdoors. He pees standing up, so we got plastic bins the size of footlockers for litter boxes. He uses the scratching post - we haven't seen him use the furniture inappropriately. Rusty loves to lay in windows or high places to watch the world go by. He loves to lay on the desk while you're on the computer, or put his arms around your neck and cuddle nose-to-nose in bed or on the couch. Unfortunately, Rusty just doesn't fit in with my 4 cats -- the most dominant one is OK but not happy, but the others are not OK to the point of endangering their health and well-being. My two shyest cats have been hiding for months -- not eating much, and not using the litter box anymore. They have gone from 11-12 lbs down to 7 lbs and very skinny. Our other diabetic cat, Tiggy, was on the receiving end of battles -- bitten and scratched, and we just found out that his cataracts have recently gotten worse to the point he is nearly blind. He couldn't see when Rusty was about to pounce! Unfortunately, Rusty is just not fitting in with my cats, and it breaks my heart, but we need to find him another home - preferably with no cats. --------------- I just had another appt with Dawn Allen about an hour ago. She confirmed that Tiggy is nearly blind -- can only see out of the corner of his eyes - not straight ahead. He can get around because he has our house memorized, having been with us ~15 months. She said that Rusty is relieved to be in the cage, and he agrees that he needs to live somewhere else - our home is too stressful. She confirmed that all the cats agree this is the right decision - finding Rusty a new home. I've been surprised at how comfortable Rusty is in the cage -- I thought I was being a very mean mom, but he doesn't complain (meowing to get out). When I do open the cage to give him some exercise, he stands there looking at me, like, "aren't you going to close the door again?" I thought perhaps Claudia kept him penned, but she said no - just occasional segregation to a room alone. I don't know if Rusty needs to be an ONLY cat, or if he just needs younger, bigger and braver companions. Rusty received a dental procedure yesterday. I can provide a litterbox, food, Levemir and supplies to get him started in his new home.

Phoebe and her husband have done everything appropriately to integrate Rusty. They do have a small place, so separate parts of the house are not possible. Yes Feliway, yes Rescue Remedy, yes Prozac. Phoebe is very sad to have to rehome Rusty. She feels like an adoption failure, but I don't see it that way, and neither does Claudia, who had fostered Rusty for more than a year. He's a beautiful Maine Coon that loves people, but is aggressive with other cats. Anyone need an "only" or otherwise feel they can deal with Rusty with other cats? ************************************************************************** Update 4/26/10--Rusty and two other diabetic shared a ride from the Boston area into Canada and Michigan on March 19 and 20, 2010. The details of the transport are here. On 4/19/10, Phoebe wrote on the FDMB:

Rusty is settling in well -- he considers that he is home. He is a great cuddler with the beans, but his confidence and big fluffy size are off-putting to my timid crew. Tiggy joined us a little over a year ago, and he settled in very well -- this was about 8 months after Norton crossed the bridge, and everyone was still feeling the hole he left in our lives. My original 3 cats are currently having problems -- they've led a pretty sheltered life for 10 years, and having these confident cats walk in has shaken them up. Anyway, the first 3 are being all scaredy-cat and cringing / hissing / running away -- and they are extending this treatment to Tiggy, poor guy! When they run away, Rusty chases -- sometimes in play and sometimes in irritation (it seems). Hence - the broken window on the porch. I had another session with Dawn Allen, animal communicator. I was worried that maybe Mauser and Rusty BOTH hit the window and Mauser had a wound on his neck that might have been a bite (it is not). Turns out that just Mauser hit the window in a panic when Rusty approached him. Anyway, at this point, I'm going to try either Feliway or calming collars. We're close but no cigar yet.

When asked how Rusty's diabetes treatment was going, Phoebe replied:

Rusty is doing well diabetically speaking -- we feed pretty much just Wellness Chicken and Turkey flavors which is a bit lower carb than Claudia feeds (she mixes several types for her 9 cats). He has adjusted well to Levemir and gets ~1u BID (below 100 PS, he gets 0.5u). This morning, his AMPS was 128. We're writing down his records -- need to start a spreadsheet. We have not done a full curve yet -- soon. He went on a social visit to the vet last week just to meet & greet and explore the office. The two FD cat juggle is getting easier - test-test shoot-shoot -- haven't mixed up their shots yet (*anti-jinx*) but they are similar in dose at least. Tiggy gets slightly less than Rusty. Just plugged in some Feliway last night -- no miracles yet though. This morning, Tiggy slinked by the bedroom door in "No-one can see me, I'm invisible" mode, and Rusty leaped off the bed and chased him -- so obviously Tiggy's invisibility cloak is defective.

********************************************************************* Update 2/15/10--It appears that Rusty will be moving to Detroit to live with Phoebe and her DH Charlie. The transport is scheduled for the weekend of March 19, 2010. Claudia will take Rusty as far as Rochester, NY, and we are working on finding folks to continue the transport to or around London Ontario on March 20, 2010. If you can help or know someone who can, please contact me through PM on the FDMB or email at ennis93 AT att DOT net. ***************************************************************** Claudia (cjleo) fosters cat, I mean, she really fosters cats. She is known among her rescue group and local circles as the person who will foster feline diabetics. Rusty is one of Claudia's FDs that she would like to find a home for. About Rusty, Claudia writes the following. You can trust what CJ says, and she wouldn't omit something important about a cat's behavior. She's had too many surprises herself.

Yes, he is a big boy. He free feeds and thinks it is all his. One of my nick names for him is Mr. Piggy Wiggy. He really could stand to lose a couple of pounds, but not in my multi-cat household. He is up-to-date medically, including a dental done in February. He’s on Lantus 1.5 bid. He is fine with testing. But, what a love. He crawls up on my lap and puts his paws around my neck and purrs and purrs. He plays with toys and is just a delight. He does, however, harass Sorianna no end. He has good taste, I must say. He seems to remember mating protocol although he is neutered. That behavior has diminished since I took Makita, another male. He and Makita seemed to have bonded over the last couple of months. So, Rusty is now leaving Sorianna alone. Rusty was found wandering the street of Plymouth Massachusetts in the fall of 2008. The pound picked him up, and they were going to put him down. A volunteer took him and started his diabetic treatment. He was harassing one of her females, so I took him. This one will be hard to see go. He will adapt anywhere.