DIN DIN MANOEUVRES!

Having a foster kitty that has any sort of "special" needs whether that be medical, or otherwise, can prove to be challenging at the best of times. Depending upon the magnitude of the issue at hand and the kitty your dealing with, your efforts to ensure that a schedule and/or plan are followed can begin to resemble a covert operation or even a cat and mouse game of always keeping the upper hand (pardon the pun).

In our Farley's case, it's imperative that his diet is strict in nature in order to ensure that he's given the best possible chance of shedding afew of the 22 Ibs of weight that have been his. When he first arrived, I was full of confidance that we'd be more than successful in helping him with this task, infact I'd say I may have been overly optimistic. That was probably due in part to my having forgotten (or preferring to deny to myself), that kitties like Farley who reach weights of this nature are not those who normally would be found to be finicky eaters, or ones that you have to coax to the food bowl at dinner time. No, big boys like Farley are normally first to the bowl, and oftentimes can be found eagerly sitting close by in case there are seconds to be had - whether those come in the form of additional kibble on their plates, or on the plates of their roommates who perhaps aren't as "intense" about consuming everything within the first 5 minutes of the meal!

Now that Farley is completely settled in, meaning his food bowl now resides in the same area of the house as our own two boys, and he's feeling totally part of the family, his love of eating is in full display. Not only does he swallow his meals faster than any cat we've ever had, he also waits patiently for opportunities to help Rocky with his, just in case Rocky has any difficulty in that department!

We've had to become way more diligent in ensuring that after Rocky has had the first few mouthfuls of breakfast or dinner (and being the grazer that he is), we lift his bowl off the floor and out of Farley's line of sight. This proves especially challenging when during the week, the boys are fed just before 5:00am, and I might not be as bright eyed and bushy tailed at that hour, and so it is that I suddenly realize after making my way back upstairs to begin getting ready for the day, that Farley sure to be sure, can be found consuming whatever Rocky hasn't!! Some mornings, I wait nearby so that I can remove Rocky's bowl as soon as he's had his first taste of breakfast........the most hilarious thing is watching Farley watch me, watch Rocky. It quite literally can resemble some sort of board game in which all the players are trying to anticipate the other's next move.

Right about now it's thank goodness for being taller and somewhat faster - although this assignment is proving we will need all our wits to outsmart this particular opponent!!