The Continuing Adventures of Miss Beowulf (aka Wolfe)

On Thursday afternoon Marius came home on an earlier bus from the site and we took Beowulf to our Vet.

She hated being put in the carrier - really went mad with gymnastics and then heart-rending howls - but she settled down when Marius out the bag on my lap and I spoke to her.  I ended up telling her a long tale about her own adventures - to keep talking and because I get bored saying 'it's okay Wolfe, you're alright'.  It's the quiet voice they need, not the words.

We were worried how she would cope sitting on the floor of the Vet's, waiting for our appointment with all the smells and dogs and cats and people.  She sat quietly and didn't cry.

When we took her in, we first asked the Vet to scan her and see if she had a microchip.  She didn't.  The Vet said there is no national data base  - they have one and possibly other vets have their animals recorded - so her previous owners most likely didn't think to have her chipped.  I was disappointed:  I'd hoped we would have found out something about her, even if we were unable to re-unite her with her previous family.

The Vet pronounced her healthy - no ear mites, no fleas, no signs of disease - and vaccinated her and gave her a couple of worming tablets.  She (the Vet) confirmed Wolfe is a female, as I had suspected.  And agreed that she had most likely been spayed as we hadn't noticed her going into heat.  She is estimated to be between eighteen months and two years old.

The Vet was surprised she was so healthy for a cat who had been on the street since April. And then we came up with a theory about her.

Wolfe has a notch out of the top of her right ear.  This is a universal (well, global) sign that a cat has been TNR (trapped, neutered and returned).  It is possible that she got swept up in a trapping program, spayed, notched and then returned to somewhere else.  Apparently the officials here are not too careful about who they trap or whether they are returned to the same place.

If this had happened, it would explain why Wolfe freaked out in the carrier initially - she may have thought she was going to be dumped somewhere else, again.  It would also explain why such a fine cat was ear-notched and why she was homeless.

The vet also said she thought Wolfe is a cross-breed, at least, if not a full Norwegian Forest Cat.  She might have some British Blue in her.  Wolfe's face is more pointed than the pictures we've seen of the British Blue.  And she does have an amazing purr.

We kept her in on Thursday evening as we were concerned she might head for the hills after her vet-experience.  She went out yesterday a couple of times and is currently lying across the entrance to the kitchen.

Last night she sat next to us on the lounge while Macc sat on the other seat - in sight of each other, not growling, and relaxing.  We are making progress.

As for the future - we are in limbo.  All our cats will be travelling with us if we move.
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An after thought:  when I wanted to take the cat to the vet, I rang up on Wednesday afternoon, my call was answered straight away (this doesn't always happen, sometimes the line is engaged), I had a nice chat with the receptionist about Beowulf being new to the family, and I was able to make an appointment for the following evening.  What a contrast to last week when I was trying to get in to see a GP for my wounds!

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