I am sitting at my desk looking through photos. They are so few. I wish I had more to share. I do have memories, though. The first time I saw him, crouched behind the toilet and knew right then and there I could never give him up. The first time he (finally) ventured downstairs and befriended Mephisto (our Bearded Dragon). The time he darted out the front door and I thought we’d lost him for good. Finding out he had FUS and dealing with hardened stools and trying to get fluids into him. He was always so patient. Whatever he had to “endure”, I think he knew I was doing it to help him feel better.

I remember the velvety softness of his fur and the tail that curled up over his back. How he would cry, “Ma-am” whenever he went looking for me. His easygoing purrsonality when it came to the other cats in the household – and other cats, in general – and how startled I was when I heard him utter his first tomcat-like yowl. (“Did that come out of my sweet Loni-Loni?”) Sharing his pil-low with me. Me sharing my pillow with him at night. His sunny disposition.

The nicknames we gave him: Loni-Loni, Sweet Cheeks, Cheeky-Cheeks, and Cheddar Butt. (That last one comes from “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! “Jitterbug” became “Cheddar Butt”, and that’s they way we sing it here at Chez Rock Vixen.) At Christmastime it was Loni Baby (instead of “Santa Baby”). Ortoloni was the first cat I ever sang to: “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, “Kokomo”, and “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)”. He loved it all!

I asked Tim if there were any memories of Ortoloni that he wanted to share, and he reminded me of one time in particular. Tim was in the kitchen about to give Ortoloni a little piece of lunchmeat when I came downstairs and caught them. Not only did Ortoloni freeze, but he turned and walked away from the treat. LOL. This wasn’t the first time, either. Apparently, Loni never wanted me to see him taking goodies from Tim.

Once I got Ortoloni’s FUS under control with a proper diet, the problems that arose because of it dwindled down to once or twice a year. Those last four years Ortoloni was happy and healthy. It was good to see him full of piss and vinegar. My last and final memory was that morning. December 4, 2011. I heard Tim call out to me from downstairs: “Something’s wrong with Ortoloni.” He had just used the cat box and was doing his normal “I feel good” run-around when he just…collapsed. ♫♪ Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone. ♫♪

Recently, I found the entry I’d made in my diary that morning:

Dec 4, 2011
R.I.P. sweet Ortoloni

This morning my Loni-Loni – the sweetest, gentlest soul ever to grace this earth – passed away.

I wanted him cremated so that’s what we did. The box that holds his ashes sits on a shelf in my bedroom, next to Diego, with this inscription:

Ortoloni.
I will love you forever.

The love of my life: Ortoloni (RIP)

Ortoloni ~ I will always love you

Ortoloni & Diego

On His Pil-low

It’s good to be King

He aint’ got no money
His tail is kinda funny
His fur is kinda soft and free
Oh, but love grows
Where my Sweet Loni goes
And nobody knows like me

He meows kinda crazy
And humans say he’s lazy
And his life’s a mystery
Oh, but love grows
Where my Sweet Loni goes
And nobody knows like me

There’s something about
His paw holding mine
It’s a feeling that’s fine
And I just gotta say, hey!
He’s really got a magical spell
And it’s working so well
That I can’t get away

I’m a lucky human
And I just got to tell him
That I love him endlessly
Because love grows
Where my Sweet Loni goes
And nobody knows like me

What greater gift than the love of a cat.
– Charles Dickens

The world-wide pet food recalls of 2007 rocked the lives of pet owners and their pets. Many pets died. I was deeply concerned about the Hill’s Prescription food I was feeding Ortoloni because that brand was involved in the recall. I made a beeline to the family-owned pet store where I’d been buying our cats’ food. (Except for Hill’s which I schlepped to the vet’s office to purchase.) The owner spent 20 minutes going over what I should be looking for and gave me a dozen samples of dry food to take home. Anita shared with me that all the companies they did business with had to fill-out a questionnaire before FOLT would buy from them. If they left-out information or showed ingredients in their pet foods/treats that were from questionable sources, she didn’t buy from them. Period. That’s called integrity.

Because of that conversation I began paying as close attention to the ingredients in pet food as I did human food. (- and still do!)

I also did some research on my own and discovered that the key ingredient in cat food that helps with FUS is DL-Methionine. Armed to the teeth with pertinent information, I was able to choose suitable and heathier food for Ortoloni.

The folks at FOLT also shared with me the story (with before-and-after photos) of a dog who was so emaciated the vet had given him no chance of survival and suggested euthanasia. The special secret to getting this poor animal on the road to good health was…Homemade Chicken Broth – the recipe of which I took home with me that day.

I started giving Ortoloni a small bowl of this as his “second” course (after his OJ). Boy, did I see an immediate change in him! Ortoloni started acting liking a kitten – bounding around and bouncing off walls. I realized then how unwell he had been all those years…

Here’s the recipe for the broth, which I renamed “Mommy Broth”.

• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed*
• 4 cups water
• pinch or two of Kosher/uniodized salt (optional)

Simmer chicken in water for 20 minutes.
Take out chicken – but retain the cooking liquid!
Remove bones from chicken – return both meat & bones to broth.**
Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
Remove chicken & bones from broth and let cool.
You can offer bits of chicken to animal – or freeze for later use. (The thigh meat is great in enchiladas, chop suey, casseroles, etc.)
Bones should be thrown away.

Cool broth; skim fat from surface and refrigerate.

Before offering broth to your pet, warm slightly in microwave or on stovetop.

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*Because Ortoloni loved this so much (and consumed it twice a day), I increased the ratio to 6 thighs/6 cups water.
**The objective of simmering the bones is to extract all the wonderful nutrients in them.

2007 Pet Food Recalls
Urinary SO, Struvite Crystals, & DL-Methionine

Fast-forward to January of 2006…

We had retired for the night and both of us were in bed reading when Ortoloni jumped up beside me, but instead of settling down for the night he was “fussing” with his private parts. He was licking that area so much I finally sat up to take a look and found something protruding from his penis. Using a tissue I was able to grab hold and pull it out. (With never a peep out of my boy.) As I was familiar with FUS (Feline Urinary Syndrome) I suspected it was a stone he was trying to pass. So I put it in a zip-lock baggie and made an appointment with our Vet the next day.

I took the baggie with us to show the doctor. “You pulled this out?” “Yes,” I answered. He just shook his head and smiled. Long story short, they kept him overnight to perform fluid therapy and take x-rays of his bladder. Diagnotic tests were run on his urine which showed he did have FUS and was forming struvite stones. These stones form due to a high saturation of the urine with crystals, which will be deposited in the bladder or kidneys. Ortoloni was put on a special diet for cats with bladder issues – in this case, Hill’s Prescription Diet C/D dry and wet food.

One of the reasons domestic cats develop stones is a lack of fluids. I grew up with a male cat (another ginger named Puff) who had the same problem. We were told to salt his food in an effort to get him to drink more water which would help “flush” out the crystals. (This did not work with Ortoloni.)

It’s not unusual for a domestic cat to under-consume water as they are descended from North African desert cats such as the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) who had to rely on their prey for all the hydration they could obtain, since water sources were scarce.

Ortoloni seemed to do well on his new diet. All our cats had their separate bowls in specific places. They were pretty good about waiting until one cat walked away from his food before going over and polishing off the meal. Once or twice a year, Ortoloni would become constipated which I assumed was because he still refused to drink water. Trying to pass the stool would exhaust him to the point where he’d collapse, panting. Working as a team, he’d allow me to grab the hardened piece of stool and pull it out (using plastic gloves, of course) – knowing relief was soon to follow.

Two years later, he was back at the Vet. Overnight fluid therapy, x-rays, and diagnostics. This time the results also showed subnormal T4 values which the doctor said was tied to the FUS and his age (11 years). No change to his “prescription” diet was made but when I got him back home I did some research on my own. I discovered that acid can help dissolve crystals. (I had a urinary infection once and cured it by drinking cranberry juice.)

So every morning, as his “first course”, Ortoloni would receive a small syringe of freshly-squeezed organic juice – administered orally by his Mom.