Mr. May’s Musings

Boomer

 (Interview transcribed by Boomer's personal assistant)

Age: Just turned 1 year old

Weight: Great body condition (although Dr. Bailey calls me “fat cat”) 10.4 lbs.

Gender: neutered male

Demeanor at the vet’s office: Curious, but well behaved.

Feline friends: As of last month, I have a new brother named Bandit – 8 months old

How I found my home:  My family likes to think they chose me…but I chose them.  I was born under the front porch of their home and lived there undetected for about a month.  When my sibling and I became a bit more adventurous, they saw us playing under the watchful eye of our mother on the sidewalk.  At that time, they did not know that they were “closet cat lovers” – so they just watched us through the front window as we played.  We were irresistible!  They watched until our mom got scared and moved us to a new section of the ‘hood.  I didn’t like it there and two weeks later, I found my way back HOME.  I stood on the back of a chair on the front porch and looked in the window until my human dad noticed me.  He called my human mom and the kids.  The rest as they say…is history!  

How I got my name: My human parents decided to let the kids name me. Before they discovered I was a male, they wanted to name me Kitty Perry.  One of the kids thought I should be named Professor Kitty Pants!  While everyone thought those were pretty funny names, thankfully, my human mom refused to introduce me to the vet that way!  After much deliberation, they all landed on the name Boomer – likely from the thunderstorms that made them decide to take me in. 

Favorite food:  I love to eat both wet and dry food…and treats whenever I can get them.  I especially love the dry food – but I’m currently working on portion control at the advice of my doctor and with the unsolicited help of my brother, Bandit.  He is a much faster eater than me.  When he is done with the food in his dish, he pushes me out of the way and dives into my bowl!  I try my best to scoop some food out onto the floor with my paw – but I’m not too successful! 

Standout moment of my first year:  The day after Christmas, I became very sick.  The initial diagnosis was scary for everyone…FIP*.  My family was really sad and brought me to see Dr. Bailey.  He came up with a treatment protocol that had me taking lots of medicine and everyone watched me carefully.  I’m happy to report that I’m 100% again!   After this ‘Cat’astrophe, Dr. Bailey thought I needed a friend and so my parents rescued the newest addition to our family, Bandit! 

My favorite sleeping spots:  I really don’t require a lot of sleep and am always ready for fun! I’ve carved a little spot for myself under a bed in my human brother’s room.  He’s away at medical school and will be married soon – so the spot is available!  It’s pretty nice because he put a warm fleece blanket under there and there is a dust ruffle that keeps me hidden.  My little brother seems to like this spot, too.  My other favorite spot is on my parent’s bed nestled right up against my mom.  She thinks I’m better than an electric blanket! 

My favorite things to do:  Before I had a little brother, my favorite thing to do was follow my humans around the house – especially when they would play hide and seek with me.  I also liked to relax on the top level of my kitty condo and look down at everyone else.  Sitting in a sunny spot near an open door or window is also a favorite way to pass the time.   Since my brother arrived, my new favorite thing to do is to chase him.  When I catch him, we either rough house or groom each other.  It depends on our mood!  No kitten…it’s all true!

* Note from Dr. Bailey: Boomer was initially seen at an Emergency Hospital in December for possible ingestion of a lily. His family did the right thing in rushing him to the ER immediately since lily poisoning is a true emergency. Fortunately, lily ingestion was not the source of his illness. 

It was suspected, due to the "anterior uveitis" (a painful inflammation of the front portion of the eye that makes the eye look red and cloudy) noted in his eyes (see photo below) and the fact that he had a fever, that he may have had FIP, or Toxoplasmosis, but thankfully, further testing and favorable response to treatment suggest that neither of these diseases were the cause. Unfortunately, about 6 out of every 10 cases of uveitis cannot be linked to a specific cause, despite extensive testing. Chronic, untreated uveitis is very painful to the cat and can lead to blindness.  

Fortunately, most cases of uveitis respond very quickly to prompt treatment, as was the case with Boomer. 

Boomer with anterior uveitis (red cloudy areas) in both eyes.