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Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

There was no smoke outside! There was no weird maze outside! There was no tainted monster water out there and the place wasn't full of murderers or supermutants!

Zack didn't mind most of those things personally, nah. He had plenty of experience with all of the above. It went hand-in-hand with being SOLDIER. But the fact that the island seemed to be taking another break week meant that he was going to do so many outside things today. So many. He was putting the chickens back into the coop up on the roof so that they could enjoy the fresh air, he was leaving the front door to the shelter propped open, and the puppy playpen was being set up outside today with plenty of toys and water and a big umbrella for shade, to entice people to stop by and give all those good little dogs a visit.

You know you wanted to.

Visit the doggos. They were all good doggos and today was a beautiful day.

[OOC: Open!]

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Hernando was enjoying the relatively hellscape-free island. He'd checked in at his store and fed the fish, cleaned their tank, spent some time snuggling Dave, and decided not to open the shop today. Today, he was going to do the thing he kept putting off. Not through any desire to put it off, but going to look at shelter cats when the island was Dinotopia or underwater or post-apocalyptic or radioactive or nightmare steampunk or hellscape wasn't exactly on his list of 'things that are good life decisions'.

But today was normal, so far as he could tell and off to the shelter he went. He saw the puppies outside and smiled at them. He would pet them later, for now he wanted to find Zack and talk to him about cats. "Zack?" he called when he passed the threshold, "Are you here?" He wasn't certain if it was Zack's day or if it would be the other boy who worked here.

[ooc: I am not passing up a normal week to at least start the cat shopping, goddamnit, they are adopting a cat if I have to do it right now *stompstompstomp* but for now Hernando's just looking.]

"Just back here," came a bright call from the back room. A moment later, a sceltie nose poked out from the back door, followed by the rest of the dog, and a moment later than that came the much larger puppy who had replied. Girl took a seat next to the counter, looking at Hernando almost thoughtfully, and Zack stepped up beside her, resting a hand on her head. "Hey, Hernando!"

They'd met like twice. They were besties now.

"How are things?"

"Hello, Zack. Good morning, Girl. Things for me are well, I have been staying off the island while it.." He raised a hand and just sort of gestured at the island, "I am not cut out for most of this stuff, but I've been where I am safe and that is good. It seems to be a normal sort of week this week and I've been meaning to come in and talk to you for some time."

He offered a smile, "To catch up, of course, but also because I could use your advice about cats. I've never had one before but Sparkle and I would like to adopt one." A brief hesitation, "Maybe once the island is .. done. Though it could not hurt to learn more about cat care and maybe to look at the cats here, yes?"

Zack's smile was a little sympathetic, yes. He was made - quite literally - for most of the things the island was throwing at them, but he could definitely see how someone who hadn't had the SOLDIER treatments might be struggling with these constant states of danger.

"Once the island is done," he agreed. "We'll always have cats, after all." A pause. "I guess unless they turn into saber-toothed tigers again, anyway."

Which had been cool, but maybe wasn't for everyone?

"Have you done any research into cat care yet?"

Or was that this? Zack wasn't judging, only curious. Any excuse to babble at a friend, after all.

"My home is not large enough for a saber toothed tiger," Hernando said logically. "I've done quite a lot of reading about cats and their care and it's a little confusing. There seems to be a war over whether dry kibble food is acceptable or whether it's some form of animal abuse," he said, a little mystified by that whole argument, "There is also .. too much.. advice whether to get a kitten or adopt an older cat. We just want .. Well, no. I just want one, Sparkle would be very happy with a dozen right away, but one cat for now so I think an older cat that is used to being the only pet would be a good fit? But then people say you should never have just one cat and.."

He turned woebegone eyes to Zack and just flailed a little. "Can you help, please?"

Aw, Hernando. Zack wasn't even being subtle about the grin that was crossing his face during that whole spiel, his luminous blue eyes practically dancing with amusement.

"Dry food should be fine," he replied, "if you get the right quality, and you can have the wet food as a treat from time to time. Our vet prescribes specific kibbles for cats with digestive conditions, even." A shrug. "For animals who have been neglected so badly they can't process most foods properly anymore. It's not abuse. Neither is having a single cat-- some do much better alone. They establish a pecking order, so a more timid cat might not just submit, but be bullied and stressed out, depending on the pair. A single cat is fine. Especially if one of you is going to be there to keep it company. And..." He shrugged. "If you want a kitten or an older cat is really a matter of personal preference. It's harder to adopt older cats out, and so people will insist that you consider one of those first, but if it's your first pet?"

He shrugged.

"I'd suggest getting a cat that's a few years old, not a senior citizen, so you're past the 'chewing on books and climbing the curtains' kitten stage, but you don't have to worry about learning your way around the potential health problems of an elderly feline quite so soon. That'll be up to you and your partner to decide, of course."

Hernando listened and gave a hesitant nod. "I think starting with one would be best, to ensure that the quokka can get along with a cat. It would break Sparkle's heart if we had to bring animals back and I don't know how territorial the quokka might be. One cat would be better than many that they might see as a territorial challenge or.. something." He had no idea how the quokka would react. It wasn't that they shared space but it was almost a guarantee that the cat would eventually run out into the tea shop because that was what cats did.

"It would be nice to get a kitten of the age you say, so we can see its personality and make sure it would be happy in our home," he offered.

Zack nodded a little, looking thoughtful.

"How well do the quokka travel? Maybe you could bring one in and see if the cats stress them out, before making a commitment? Easier to find out with the pets you've got already than to bring something home and then have to surrender it, you know?"

"I don't know," Hernando admitted, "I've never seen them leave the shop yard. I don't have any carrier for them. They aren't really pets. I don't know if trying to bring one here would be the best idea. And.. well, they are not pets, they don't get vaccinations or anything."

Zack blinked.

"So... they're free-range quokka?"

Hernando, you fed them every day. Multiple times.

"I'd be worried about, um, parasites, then," he hedged. "Even if they do get along."

"They lived in the building when I bought it," Hernando explained, "For the most part they take care of themselves. There is very little information about them in captivity and in the wild, they are found on only one island. I give them vegetables and water but they also forage in the front of the shop for greens."

He lifted a shoulder, "I don't know if they could share parasites with a cat or dog but I would be concerned for the bunnies. Their diet is similar. The quokka do not have topical parasites; this I know."

"If they get along, I'd worry," Zack offered. "Cats lick as a bonding thing. Grooming, you know? And they're a little less, um, picky, about where they put their tongues, than, uh, people are?"

Their butts, Hernando. The cats would totally lick those quokka butts.

"I.. am more worried that they won't get along," Hernando said sort of timidly, "Quokka have very large teeth and they are social animals. I'm not certain I want our pet interacting with them, I'm afraid the cat might try to play and the quokka wouldn't understand and they will greatly outnumber our poor pet."

He smiled lopsidedly, "Please don't ever tell Sparkle I said that. His solution would be an equal number of cats and I adore him but that is too many litter boxes for me to even think about having in our house. The plan isn't to have the pet and quokka together, you understand, the worry is if the cat got out of the house into the shop. I don't.. know what to do about that. They're wild animals and there's no information what to give them, what would be safe for them."

Edited 2019-07-17 17:25 (UTC)

Zack blinked. There was a lot of information coming at him, but he was processing it as best as he could.

"Okay, so you're worried that the quokka would get violent if your cat got loose," he surmised. See, a saber-toothed cat would totally have been the solution, there! "We could try to make sure we have all the bases covered, then. Bring one of our cats over there for supervised playtime - keep the cat in the carrier at first, just to see how the quokka react to it being there in the first place. Maybe have our vet check out the quokka too, just to make sure they've got a clean bill of health in case biting does happen? I'm sure you'd know if they had anything blatant like rabies, but if there's a chance they'll be interacting with a family pet, it might be best to be, uh... sure?"

Hernando nodded. "I would like to think they would not but.. they are wild animals and I don't know what feral animals they may have encountered before. None since I have taken over the building." Because a feral cat would have wound up in his living room by now with his boyfriend making big innocent eyes and claiming he had no idea how it got there but clearly they can't just toss the kitty back outside. He chewed his lip a moment and asked, "If the vet would be willing, could they come out and see the quokka while there are no other animals involved? I am happy to pay for the visit if they will make a house call."

Small flail. "There is no information on them. For cats, it is give these shots and vaccinations and use this medicine for worms and this for fleas and ticks and this for ear mites and for quokka, it is 'they are indigenous to Rottnest island and please don't interfere with them'."

Zack nodded a little bit.

"That makes sense. We've had a few animals come through here en route to zoos before. People bringing pets from their home realities that just... shouldn't be. Since the quokka found their own way there, we'll leave them be, but our vet has plenty of experience with animals that you wouldn't typically think of as pet animals."

Because Fandom.

"She'll totally do a housecall, if that's easiest. Probably for the best, really, just to be on the safe side. Wouldn't want any getting loose between there and here and running amok around town, right?"

He was relieved and nodded. "That would be best. I am not worried about them running amok.." Hernando paused and said, "..Other than Dave.. the rest of them are quite well behaved and gentle. I would worry that they would become stressed at the travel and I do not know what to do for stress in them. I don't know if it can kill them, like it can kill bunnies."

Was the grown man wibbling a tiny bit at the idea that his quokka might stress out and die? Yup.

"I didn't bring them," he assured Zack, "They were in the building when I found it. They are.. basically the reason I bought the building. They needed a home." And he, perhaps, had needed something to care about. The shop and quokka had given him that at a particularly vulnerable time.

"And you gave them one," Zack replied, nodding and smiling. Hey, he got it.

... Really. He'd hauled a man who was very nearly a corpse around for a year for companionship while being hunted down like an animal.

"So we'll make an appointment. Is there any day in particular that would work best for you?"

"If the week stays stable and relatively normal, I will be opening the shop tomorrow for the first time all summer," Hernando offered, "Otherwise, any day that is convenient for your vet."

Zack, you have some strange hobbies there, buddy.

IT HAD BEEN A ROUGH YEAR.

"Tomorrow, then," Zack replied, nodding. "I'll check with her to see if she has openings, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Unless she needs to get medication or something, I guess." A beat. "I'll have her call you? At the shop, you said?"

"At the shop or my cell phone," Hernando said, reaching for his wallet. He extracted one of his business cards that had both numbers on it and handed it over. He was pretty sure Zack had those numbers but this was a piece of paper the vet could keep.

And then, not sure now that they'd been talking parasites and he'd fed the quokka this morning even though he'd washed his hands.. "Can I see the kitties today or should I wait until we're sure the quokka are safe?"

Zack took the card, looked at it, and nodded, setting it aside and jotting down a quick note for the vet.

"I don't see why you can't," he replied easily. "You're not the one who might potentially need distemper shots, I mean." He nodded toward the back room. "It's playtime, so they'll be a little underfoot, but that's the best time, really."

"Can humans get distemper?" Hernando wondered with a frown, "I know they can get rabies.." With a sort of helpless little laugh, he headed toward the back room to see the cats.

He wasn't expecting quite so many cats and stopped just inside the door to reassess. "Oh my. Zack? Please do not let Sparkle in here unsupervised." They would have ten cats in two minutes.

"Humans can't get distemper," Zack assured Hernando. "Apparently the disease needs a few stages of mutation before it gets to that point?"

He was just parroting back what the vet had told him once, now.

"And," he laughed, "don't worry, playtime with the cats happens with supervision. Less because we don't trust the people looking and more because some cats have certain needs that we want to make certain are met."

Some were very much not 'pick me up and cuddle me' cats.

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Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

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