Dinner routine for Anchovy. Greeted with lively loud meows, hoping that bodes well.

Got the space heater down to low today but swaddled the carrier better, still pretty toasty. Heating mat and insulation on its way for a more efficient shelter soon.

Big vet visit scheduled for Saturday morning.

Oh yeah! Anchovy had a big vet visit today. We slipped her a big breakfast with gabapentin mixed in for a more relaxed time.

The vet wants her quarantined for another 3-4 weeks before thinking about introducing her into the house.

Beyond that, though, her blood work looks great and she seems in generally good health except for the low weight & malnutrition. A parasite screening is in progress. They sent us home with some high-caloric food and advice to double her portions.

One more Anchovy-related update for the evening: So, I bought a pack of wireless thermometers.

Assuming they’re at all accurate, the base station says it’s 62F at this kitchen window. It’s 40F outside. It’s 51F at my workbench.

And, uhh… 88F inside the cat carrier under my workbench. I think she’s doing just fine with the space heater on low.

No wonder she looks so cashed out in there. She's a little baked cat roll. (The wireless themometer widget is gaffer-taped to the back of the carrier)

Not so much worried about her getting overheated, since she's got basically no mass to her and she can exit the carrier whenever she wants to wander the larger shed / workshop area

But, I'm just facepalming that I've over-rotated on the project of keeping this cat warm to such a degree that I've given her a warmer house than my own

Like, Anchovy is going to be disappointed when we eventually move her into the house proper. So cold. (Well, until she discovers lying on a furnace vent)

Slacking a bit on Anchovy updates. Main thing is we tried switching her to a high cal food but made the mistake of doing it abruptly, which caused… problems. Working on getting her sorted out and back on the road to fattening up.

Also got a big 300 watt heated mat (thanks @Macross for the pointer) and her carrier is up to 70F with some better insulation. That’ll look better on the power bill than 1500 watts 😅

Anchovy is ready for lunch

Also, I put out some peanuts, so she has some quality cat TV going on in the yard

Just about dinner time for Anchovy.

Dinner arrives. Anchovy looks cranky but she’s purring the whole time

One more late night snack for Anchovy. It’s getting pretty cold out tonight, 🤞 that her shelter situation stays toasty. (Hell, 🤞 that my own shelter stays toasty.)

Wrapped things a bit better and gave her a smaller exit, but the temps are staying up around 75F despite a 30F shop.

Continues to be very cold today, but looks like Anchovy was warm overnight. Gave her some lunch and tried to thaw her water bowl (yikes)

Lunch for Anchovy, still quite cold today but her space has been holding in the mid-70Fs

Also trying to get increasing amounts of food into her. Like other cats I’ve taken care of, for some reason mounding up the food makes her think it’s interesting to start eating again. Could also be I’m keeping it from freezing 🥶

Also, I turned on the space heater while I was out there encouraging her to chow down. I think in conjunction with the heated mat I boosted her carrier temp a bit higher than intended. But she’s not complaining

These Anchovy updates are looking a bit repetitive, especially with the cold. We check on her every 5-6 hours with food. Many pets are given. Then she retreats back into the warm carrier and we go back in the house. Not a lot of wandering around in the cold shop

Forecast calls for things to warm above freezing tomorrow, so that’ll be a relief. Glad the power and heat have held up with all our ice-encased wires around town

And one last picture before I turn in. Camera's in an awkward spot now, since I wrapped the carrier in more layers. It's mostly there now so we can check from the couch whether she's napping

BTW Anchovy’s still doing pretty good. We seem to be over the cold snap, so she’s hanging out outside the carrier longer and gobbling down more food. Still very skinny but seems like she’s putting on a little substance. Got a vet follow up for her at the end of the week, so we’ll see how she does then

Been slacking on Anchovy updates since things warmed up. Less of a crisis and more routine now, we’re getting about a can and a half of high-calorie wet food into her every day across 3 to 4 meals accompanied by occasional lap time.

Her carrier continues to stay up in the semi-luxuriously warm 70-80F range. She naps most of the time with an occasional roam around the shed.

Vet visit tomorrow, for another weigh-in and vaccination. Will also be hoping for a green light to move her from shed to house and start introducing her to the gang inside.

Speaking of naps, Anchovy is done eating and socializing for now

Today’s big Anchovy update: visited the vet, unfortunately she hasn’t gained weight but at least she hasn’t lost any. Could be a thyroid issue or intestinal inflammation from malnutrition, both treatable pending test results.

Better news is that she’s clear to move into the house, so now she’s isolated in a bedroom sleeping off the gabapentin we slipped her for a better vet experience. Hope she’s okay with a less-than-80 degree F house 😅

The orange cat gang knows something is up in that bedroom, but the drama is low level so far

We found a soft fortune cookie bed in the attic and Anchovy is now absolutely zonked out in it

Anchovy waits for dinner; Anchovy has eaten dinner.

Anchovy update: she’s still isolated in a bedroom, but she’s adjusted just fine to being in the house so far. She obviously knows what indoor living is about, and has been enjoying a furnace vent. She also fell asleep nose first in a snack.

News from the vet is a hyperthyroid condition explains her weight loss. Treatable with meds, on which she started this morning. Between that and an anti-nausea pill, we aim to turn her into a small football

Anchovy updates will become more scarce as things 🤞continue to go well. She’s eating, taking meds, chilling out by herself for now. An update for today, though is she got a new indoor heating pad

Checked on Anchovy before bed. I think she likes the heating pad. Gave her a pet and she chirped at me before passing back out

Years ago, I got my wife one of those hoodies with the giant pocket meant for carrying a cat. So, just now, down the stairs she comes with Anchovy in that pocket. Looked pretty cozy.

With me is the orange gang, in various spots on the couch. Cosmo looks up at her and yawns. Catsby sits up and makes a move on my dinner plate (we had burgers). Cheddars, in my lap, stretches out a paw.

Anchovy looks kind of stressed and lets out a real loud meow / growl at these three. Cosmo yawns again and blinks. The other two seem similarly non-plussed. Anchovy yowls some more.

The girl heads back upstairs with Anchovy, since she seems not chill with all this. I didn't manage to get any pictures.

I really thought these three would be total territorial jerks, but they seem unexpectedly chill with the sudden appearance of a 4th cat

Pictures of the cat introduction aftermath (with bonus bunnies)

Anchovy update: not much to report. Eating well, taking meds, another weigh-in next week.

She’s getting occasional sessions on the couch with us, but after awhile, she gets a little alarmed by the presence of the other critters and is then whisked back to her room. Trying to take it easy. Other critters seem unfazed by her appearance in the house.

Current status is cozy.

One more Anchovy update: still cosy, just on the other side

Oh hey, ling time no Anchovy update: she’s eating and sleeping plenty. Been getting occasional sessions being held on the couch to get more used to the other critters. She’s still pretty thin and not up to roaming the house yet, but she seems pleased with her setup in the spare room

Another long while since an Anchovy update, but: she’s doing pretty well, chilling in our spare bedroom.

We’ve started leaving the door open and the other cats have been making tentative visits, with only a little growling and hissing. Cosmo seems unexpectedly sweet & respectful, other than wanting to steal her special high-cal food.

Today she ventured into my office. And when I carried her downstairs to let her see the other cats eating, she got super excited by their dry food.

She’s missing a lot of teeth. She hadn’t been interested in dry food, and we’ve been trying to pump wet food into her. But, for some reason, Science Diet was her jam tonight and she ate almost 2 small bowls.

So, tl;dr: quite an adventurous day for a little cat

Anchovy got a bell & collar and wandered the house a bit today. We think she’s starting to gain a little weight finally? She hisses at the other cats occasionally, but they keep a polite distance and there’ve been no fights #caturday

It appears Anchovy can find my office. Felt a little nudge against my ankle and she started climbing my leg when I noticed her.

So, Anchovy's in the vet's care today. She got a small nose bleed last night that seemed to resolve but returned overnight. Vet's going to run tests and are working to keep her warm and delivering fluids. Might be a reaction to the thyroid medication we've been giving her.

Don't want to bum anyone out, but not sure what's up for her next.

I guess the good news is she gained a whole 5oz of weight in the past few weeks?

Anchovy is back home. She seems done with today so we stuck the heating pad in the carrier and tried to give her a warm quiet cave to hide in

Anchovy is still with us. Thought we were going to have to make a rough decision about her yesterday, but then she started eating & drinking a bit and walked around on her own. Current notion from vet is she had a reaction to the thyroid meds that caused anemia. Nose bleed stopped, but she is very wobbly & tired. 🤞 hoping she improves with rest

We've had Anchovy for not quite 2 months yet. And I knew when we brought her in that we might have limited time with her, but I keep hoping the time is years not days. She is a really great cat and I hate that it seems like someone just dumped her on the street. Will never really know what her story is though.