Fargo

When we got Fargo he was 8 weeks and had distemper. We had to feed him wettish wet food with a syringe for three weeks, and he couldn't walk at all. So we slept, with me holding the little kitten next to my head all night, so he'd feel loved. And at midnight, and four, we'd get up and force-feed him a little more.

And after two weeks, he suddenly stood up and walked (he had never basically moved before, we had to carry him and put him in the litter box occasionally), and then he was "fine".

Of course, now to this day he thinks he has a god-given right to sleep next to our heads.

Just got back from the trip to the U of Mn vet emergency room - our strange cat, "Fargo", (very dark grey all over with shiny fur ("the cat with the silver lining") went out last night at midnight as usual, but didn't come in at 5am as usual. And didn't come in at all. Finally found him cowering behind a pile of wood in the garage at six this evening. Wouldn't let us hold him, wouldn't come... Thought maybe he had gotten into something with a raccoon - maybe a broken bone with no skin damage. No. Of course not.

$107 and a day of worrying later, basically it's just the generic cat we always had. (He had distemper when we got him from the humane society four years ago as about a 7 or 8 week old kitten - had to be fed food and water from a syringe for three weeks- we've always wondered about the effects of this). Which is to say, our "special needs" cat.

Fargo has always been the poster cat for the term "fraidy cat". However, I've never seen him be spooked for so long. That's what was odd about it. I do think a raccoon was probably involved - there aren't any dogs out in the dead of night in our neighborhood (which is why Fargo wants to go out then) - but we are only two blocks from the Mississippi river, which here is a long natural park corridor. I've seen raccoon, deer, foxes, beaver and eagles all within half a mile of my house (which is two miles from downtown Mpls).

Fargo walks on my clock, and switches it from "clock" mode to "alarm set" mode, at which point the display just stays constant. Last night I woke up at 12:30 and went to the bathroom. Later, I woke up again at 12:30. FARGO!!!

He also has been known to turn the alarm on - which I never use because I normally wake up when I need to, so it is often set to 4:30 or so from the last time I had to take an awful airline flight. He also knows how to turn the radio on in such a way that it can't be turned off, only have its volume turned down to zero.

How does he do this?

In Fargo's defense, it must be said that, while he doesn't exactly volunteer for them, he will cheerfully take baths. After my wife has a bath on Sunday morning, we catch him, and put him into the water. He sort of stands/swims around, licking up some soapy water, until he's been sudsed and rinsed. He hardly ever even meows about it, unless we have forgotten and the water is cold.

We have done this to him since he was two months old, so maybe he's like those kids that don't think screwing Uncle Harry is weird, but with my wife allergic to cats, and him wanting to sleep with us, it is handy.