Welcome Home Sebastian Purrbox

December 9, 2013--Sebastian found his new home and heart and will be moving in with his new Mom and two young fur siblings before Christmas. He sends a bunch of purrs and a neck hug to everyone who shared his need for a home or wished him well in that quest. He will miss his foster Mom and the kitties he has lived with; they have been his whole world for 41 months. But life has brought him a new adventure that he will face with purrs and a quirky smile. ~Venita

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November 1, 2013--Sebastian Purrbox is Mr. November -- DCIN's November 2013 Kitty of the Month. We hope to have an adoption commitment for Bastian before the end of the month.

Bastian is a healthy and playful 13 year old that has been in foster care in MD for 40 months -- almost three and a half years. That's just not right. Bastian is a dear boy who deserves to be told he is home. And the foster Mom can't tell him that. The situation in her home is that Bastian has to be kept separate from all other cats and that is very hard on him.

"He's a great cat, very handsome, he deserves much more than he is getting.  "

One of the foster Mom's cats died this summer from FeLV, which was a mystery because all the cats in her home always have snap (ELISA) tested negative for FeLV. After Miracle died, the remaining six cats again snap tested negative. However, the foster Mom learned that the snap test does not indicate that a cat is FeLV infected unless it is actively shedding the virus. The foster Mom had all her cats tested with the more-discerning polymerase chain reaction test, and found that three have the virus. When Miracle died, the foster Mom separated all the cats until she could identify which were FeLV positive and which were FeLV negative. The positive cats are now kept together and separate from the negative cats, but Bastian (PCR tested negative) is being kept isolated even from the negative cats because he is a foster and requires that isolation to make sure he presents no FeLV risk to cats in an adoptive home.

Bastian has not been insulin dependent for a couple years. He looks really good right now, and he is up to date on his dental, bloodwork, and urine, and other than occasional blood glucose test there are no concerns. He has been on wet food exclusively for a very long time. He's doing really well, but as we discussed, he's really not getting the level of attention he deserves. Also, Bastian will come to an adoptive home with a very generous, DCIN-administered medical trust fund from the foster Mom.

Sebastian is bright, inquisitive, and purrs a LOT!!! (Hence, the "Purrbox" middle name!). Sebastian loves to be brushed. He is playful. Sebastian is pretty good with other cats. He kind of ignores them and goes about his own business most of the time. He does not start fights and he will tolerate a little baiting and aggression before reacting, but once he reacts, he means business and will pursue. Except he's declawed so . . . . more bark than bite.

Sebastian is curious about the outdoors, and is the only cat the foster Mom takes for walks on a leash. The foster Mom says Bastian would be OK without the leash walks, but he REALLY seems to enjoy them (lies in the grass purring! And watching things!).

Sebastian likes to be petted and is a very good balance between being affectionate but not clingy. He's not a lapcat, but he likes little doses of love sprinkled thoughout the day. Some brushing, some loving, some playing. Then he wants to go be at some distance. He doesn't smother but he is very lovey too. He'd happily sleep near you, as opposed to ON you. He's got a kind of funny (as in humorous, NOT as in odd) way about him. Maybe it's his voice, he's kind of vocal -- or the way he looks wide eyed a lot. He is just a little goofy in a cute way. "He makes me laugh, I'm not sure what the quality is, but it is very dear and funny."

He loves his food, he's a great eater and isn't too picky. Bastian will hog food when fed with other cats, so he needs to be trained about that (which the foster Mom hasn't tried because she meal feeds her cats and always has fed Bastian separately).

Bastian is a medium hair with a good thick undercoat. This means his coat is beautiful and lush (especially his winter coat, which he's getting now) and of course as anyone can see he's got beautiful black and white markings with lovely stockings on his rear legs. This also means he needs to be brushed preferably daily. Otherwise there is lots of shedding. Since it's medium hair, he does not mat. But he does need his undercoat brushed out. Really thick, lush fur.

Bastian has had a handful of instances of inappropriate urination. This is not a habit, or a frequent occurrence but has occurred. For example, he peed on a calendar that was open lying on the kitchen counter. And he had peed twice on piles of mail lying inside the front door. But cats can confuse random clothes and paper laying about as kitty litter and the incidences of this has been very incidental.

Also on rare occasions, when the foster Mom has failed to heed a vocal warning when brushing Bastian, he lashed out at her. He had never drawn blood (he's declawed). It's like he's got a trip switch. He's really affable 99% of the time but just don't piss him off. (Similar to how he is with the cats. Tolerant . . . tolerant . . . tolerant . . . and then NOT!) Very catlike. Usually there is fair warning and he is very vocally expressive, so you can pick that language up fast. This should be heeded.


Following will be a gallery of photos and videos of Sebastian that we will grow as the month progresses.

More fall leaf-walking.

I can has furever home? Pleeze?

Bastian's beautiful and lush winter coat.

 

Sebastian takes a walkabout.

Sebastian is bright and inquisitive.

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Foster/Adoption Application
Ask about me at Venita@dcin.info.

December 2, 2012--It's been a good long while since we told you about Bastian, but the situation in Stefani's home (too many cats in too small a space) has gotten so that she would like DCIN to again promote her foster kitty (not a DCIN foster) for adoption. Bastian is a dear and funny cat. He doesn't start any fights, but he doesn't allow anyone to bully him. If you have room for an awesome food-controlled tuxie, Bastian might just be your boy.

  *************************************************************************** June 10, 2011--Bastian has been with Stefani a year now. He has been diet controlled, ummm, maybe a month or six weeks. Getting him regulated was a chore because he was a bouncy boy, and Stefani tried both Levemir and Lantus. He was on Levemir when he went OTJ. The secret to getting him regulated was using split shots. He just slowly started not to need insulin every 12 hours, then not everyday, and then not every few days until he was OTJ. Bastian remains a dear cat and socializes well with Stefani's other four cats. He will sleep on the bed with a bean or two, or be happy not sleeping with beans. He is curious and social with people. He loves open windows. The only downside to Bastian that I see is that he is a little piggy and his food portions need to be controlled or he will balloon up. He also will go after other cats' food dishes, so he needs to be fed alone. But he is used to that, and happy with it. *********************************************************************************** Update 7/28/10--Stefani has renamed this cat Sebastian Purrbox. A "real" name as the first name, a purrsonality name as his second name. Now we just have to find his last name. Sebastian (or Bastian as I call him) had been giving Stefani some trouble with his regulation. He was not getting 12 hours duration from the Lantus and getting alot of "bounce" from the insulin. However, he is now getting good duration and his curve is calming down. Bastian will be staying with me for a couple weeks starting August 4. We may switch him to Levemir at that time, unless he is fully settled into Lantus (which is more easily available for DCIN-sponsored cats). I will hopefully be able to confirm all the wonderful things that Stefani is saying about this black and white boy, and convince someone out there to adopt him.

As an aside, but definitely not off topic, Stefani's Mom Mary is starting treatment for breast cancer. Stefani is highly involved, and Mary is scared and stressed. Please take a quick moment to send good vibes to Mary. ****************************************************************** Initial post 6/23/10--Stefani brought in a foster insulin-dependent diabetic cat a couple weeks ago. She is fostering for the Montgomery County SPCA, but DCIN is helping with diabetic supplies. The cat's name in his home of 10 years was Boo Boo. (He doesn't answer to it.) The shelter renamed him Arthur, but Stefani is currently running a renaming contest to give him a new name. Please see this link to participate in the voting contest! Let's call him Arthur for now, even though I voted for the name Martin Blacktop. He is a 10YO (this is a known age) DMH, black and white, neutered male that is front declawed. He weighs 12.5 pounds and is a long, big boy. Stefani say:

This is a very adorable, very sweet boy cat who deserves a very good home. He will make you laugh. Just watch his videos and you will see how cute and adorable and funny he is! Please consider him, he is so easy to test. He is such an easy cat.

Arthur is being fed canned food, mostly Nature's Variety chicken. His appetite is average: not ravenous, not on a hunger strike either. He's a grazer. Arthur is not an outdoor cat (declawed), but he seems to have an interest in the outdoors. He would be happy with a porch or windows. Arthur is very friendly, vocal, and does not like being away from people. But he's not really a lapcat either. He wants to be in the room with you, and he will frequently come up to you purring, and rubbing, wanting to be petted. He loves to be brushed. He will show you his belly but might nip if you try to pet it. However he is very loving, it's just that the belly is off limits, in spite of his teasing you by showing it to you all the time. He's adorable. He loves to look out the window. He wants to be near you, but not ON you. He is subdued at the vet, but very upset in a carrier in the car. The former owner (who surrendered Arthur to a shelter after 10 years because of asthma that came on with her pregnancy) reported that he was good with other cats after an adjustment period, and good with kids. Stefani will be testing him out with other cats in her home soon. Stay tuned. Arthur was diagnosed diabetic in July 2009 based on urine glucose. He has no known history of DKA or hypoglycemia. Past clinical signs of diabetes were PU/PD, crying, and urine glucose. Currently he is doing well, although insulin dependent (bgs as high as 400s). When Arthur entered foster care on June 13th he had been on Novolin N 4 units BID. Stefani has switched him to Lantus, initially at 1.5 units BID. He is still adjusting to Lantus and Stefani has had to lower his dose to 1 unit BID. Stefani says he is the easiest cat to hometest she has ever had in her house. (Ennis is offended, but he will get over it.)

Arthur's BG lows are 50s and his highs are 400s. Preshots 300-450 with nadirs of 50, but the last two days preshots are coming down. Stefani says that these numbers are not a good indicator of his insulin response because he is still in an adjustment period after an insulin switch.

Arthur has a prior history of UTI, but it is resolved. Stefani has not noticed any problems with inappropriate urination. Arthur has an abscessed tooth and that will be treated soon through the rescue.

Arthur tested negative for FIV/FeLV as of early June 2010. 3-year rabies was given 9/09 but the certificate given was only for 1 year. Combo vaccination was given week of June 7th 2010 (panleuk etc). Vet records are available and a potential adopter can speak with Arthur's current vet.