Some Relevant Title that I Can't Decide On

Some Relevant Title that I Can't Decide On - Days 47 and 48

We're hitting 7 weeks tomorrow. It's hard to believe it's almost been 2 months with Phoenix in our lives. It also means I'm coming onto the last two weeks of my blog. We're at the tail end of my own adventure into blogging!

Poop Problems

Our poop issues continue. I've started adding some pedialyte to Phoenix's food to help with dehydration. He drinks water fairly regularly as well. Overall, he seems healthy, but his poop tells another story.

I'll call the vet tomorrow and see what they suggest. At the very least, if I could get some symptoms I should be wary about, then that would make me feel better. But I think it might be worth getting a fecal analysis as well. I would have called them this weekend, but our vet isn't open on the weekends. So I'll call first thing in the morning and see if I can bring him in.

On the bright side, dealing with the poop is much easier now. When he was a kitten, there were accidents almost every time he went to bed. Since he uses the litterbox now, there isn't that much cleanup. But today, I noticed a bit of poop on his butt. I tried to use the baby wipes, but it wasn't as successful as I thought it would be. And that's when I had the brilliant idea of just giving him a quick butt bath, just like in the old days.

Bad idea.

I don't think it ever hit me so hard how big this little guy has gotten until I tried to bathe him in the sink. It went poorly. I have a fair number of scratches on my hands, and he got a really got one in around my pinky 😂. My shirt was wet and his tail sprayed shampooey water in my face. I had to put him down and try again at least twice to try and get some of the shampoo off of him. Somehow in this struggle, the piece of poo I had been trying to get off ended up on his back. It was a fantastic experience. But also... this happened, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Here's a short video afterwards as well. You can even see the tiny piece of poo on his back (don't worry, I eventually got it off with a baby wipe).

Anyway - it seems like we're way past the butt bath days.

Brotherly Love Update

Outside of this, there isn't too much to be said. Asher and Phoenix continue to try to get to know each other. Nguyen and I continue to try to understand what's "too much". I'm a little worried I step in a bit too often when they're "fighting", but given the huge size difference, I'm afraid of letting things go too far. Here's a video of the two playing together that caused me to stop in.

I told them to stop right after finishing the video. Right before I stopped recording, you can hear Asher hiss/growl. Did I overreact? I have no idea. But generally hisses don't make it into their play, so I figure that's a good sign to use as a stopping point for now. It'll be a little easier to tell once their sizes are more similar.

But that being said, there are WAY more positive moments where we let them be than there are moments where we step in. Here's how many interactions go:

Phoenix is generally wary of Asher - or more specifically Asher's face. Phoenix will back up when Asher is really close to him and looking at him. Asher will smell Phoenix often (without wrestling or hissing), and Phoenix will sometimes back up. But at the same time, you can catch Phoenix trying to "stalk" Asher. He'll get low from time to time watching Asher, as if he's trying to find the perfect time to pounce. I look forward to when their sizes are similar. I think this will actually be really good for Asher, who's been getting more and more interested in playing with Phoenix around.

Also, check out some of the other progress from this weekend! They were actually touching!

Of course, Asher didn't really realize the little guy was there. He was sleeping on my legs and Phoenix came by and started lying down here. Eventually he got a bit too playful and walked right next to Asher's face. Asher hissed, got up, and ran away.

And then, earlier today, Phoenix was in my lap falling asleep. Asher jumped up and came over right next to Phoenix to lie down in my lap as well. And once he lied down, he started hissing. Poor guy - wanted to come cuddle, but was stressed out about it. He stayed for about 5-10 seconds while I pet him, but he eventually got up and ran away.

Either way - if anyone has thoughts on helping these two develop a healthy relationship with one another, I'm happy to hear it!

Also, my next post will likely come on Wednesday! If I make time for it tomorrow, then maybe I'll do something quick then. Otherwise, will aim for a Wednesday update!