Pesto Fries

Pesto Fries, named for the french fry marking on his face, loves feet and food.  He's fascinated with his toe beans.  Can't blame him, they're adorable and I love them too.  Everything about the way he explores his toes is adorable.  

As a foodie, I can't fault him for loving food either.  But Pesto.... he was my problem child the first few weeks.  Even though brother Fish Taco laid in his food dish during feeding time, Pesto Fries managed to exceed all expectations for food on body:in mouth ratio. I have no idea how he put on any weight when he wore more food than he ingested.  

We had daily baths, but these babies ate CONSTANTLY.  I supplemented with baby wipe and warm wet towel wipes between our nightly baths, but Pesto was constantly crusty from food residue until they transitioned to dry kibble.  

Pesto is 90% sweet and curious- enjoyig long cuddles and interactive play.  He still loves to be belly up, showing off his toebeans to humans or his furry playmates.  He is a terror during treat time- assuring any guests that mom is cruel and NEVER feeds him- he is, of course, STARVING and must eat EVERYTHING.  Pesto will climb over anything to get to treats and has managed to steal large hunks of treats before scurrying away from the pack to vehemently defend his tasty prize from anyone who thinks about approaching him.  Even if we give out treats immediately following his dinner, he eats with a frantic frenzy. I find it charming and it makes me giggle, but it can sometimes be a bit dangerous if I haven't clipped his tiny murder mittens.

UPDATE 11/26/2023

Pesto was adopted with his brother Fish Taco in December 2022 by a lovely family. They loved their fur babies and kept me updated, especially when Pesto Fries (they called him Tux) started having "behavioral" issues.  They asked me for advice and I think they took him to the vet 5 times during the 3 months they had him. Their vet did almost no tests and indicated he had anxiety.  The family had two young, active boys and Pesto's brother also seemed to be bullying Pesto.  They tried a variety of treatments to help Pesto feel comfortable, but things continued to get worse.  His family loved him enough to bring him back to me, devastated and feeling dreadful because he seemed so unhappy despite their best efforts.  

I continued trying to treat Pesto for anxiety, but also reached out for support from our medical team through the rescue.  IBR volunteers quickly realized that Pesto was very sick and we filled our calendar with vet appointments, undergoing test after test.  Pesto was diagnosed with FIP, a disease that previously had a 100% mortality rate but now has treatment options in development.  Pesto was approved to be part of a clinical trial through UC Davis and put on a strict medication routine.  He was the EASIEST cat to medicate, gobbling up his pills wrapped in pill pockets- I have NEVER had a cat that liked the pill pockets before! He put on all the weight he had lost and his fur regained its luster.  3 months of pills seemed to work and he was transitioned to the 3 month observation period... but less than 3 weeks into that he began to regress.

We started a second round of treatment, but this time we tried daily shots.  Though the medicine is very thick and stings a lot, Pesto accepted his new fate like a champ!  We offered him a Churu treat with his shots, and he began to let us know when it was time for his shots, waiting at the door of my craft room turned medical treatment center.  He finished 3 months of shots and is currently done with 2 out of 3 months of post-treatment observation.  

Though he is now more concerned about change and strangers than he was before he got sick, he does not have problems with anxiety when he feels safe and secure.  Every single vet he's met has made sure to tell us what a good boy he is.  He is one of the most chillax cats we've met, most of the time.  Shortly after we got him back, we took in another litter of kittens and Pesto was very distressed.  At that point, we were still monitoring/treating him for anxiety, and I considered passing the new litter to another foster and not taking in other kittens while we had Pesto.  But within a few days, Pesto got used to them and his natural loving instinct took over.  He stopped growling and swatting at them and began to insist on snuggling with them.  He loves his hammock and spends a lot of time laying in it... he began waiting in his hammock until a kitten walked by close enough that he could grab them, drag them into his hammock, where he'd hug and groom them into a purring pile of adoration.  By the end of the week, we were letting him choose a kitten or two to take into his crate at night. 

Each time we get new kittens, Pesto has a day or two of grumpiness while he adjusts to the change.  Then he adopts the kittens as his own and smothers them with love.

At one point, Pesto had to stay at the vet overnight.  When we brought him home and put him in his crate to go potty and decompress, all 4 of the foster kittens and my foster win, Gizmo, all demanded to be let into his crate with him.  He's the best kitten foster dad.  

But Pesto LOVES his humans.  He will spend hours in my husband's lap while they play video games together. He likes to trap me on the potty- crawling into my lap and demanding to be pet with both hands.  But his favorite time of day is after we shower.  I almost always go directly to bed and he SPRINTS into bed with me, purring and chirping.  He seems to really love this Fall-Winter weather, as my husband tucks us both in under the covers for snuggle time.  When we went on vacation, he stayed with a foster friend for a few days.  At first, he slunk around the house, hiding.  But we encouraged her to sing to him, using his name and his favorite phrase: Pesto is the Besto.

She chose the tune Freres Jacques :

Pesto is the Besto

Pesto is the Besto

Yes he is

Yes he is

He is soooo handsome

He is soooo loving

Yes he is

Yes he is

We sent her audio clips of us singing to Disney songs
Small World:

It's a world of Pesto, a world of hugs

It's the bestest Pesto, our big love bug

And he goes everywhere with a diaper derriere

It's a pe-e-esto world!

Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me (when she let him run around with no diaper)

Pesto, Pesto! The diaperless life for me!!

After the songs we sent by phone, Pesto rubbed his face all over her phone.  And after she sang to him, he started rubbing up against her and then became her attachment.  She sent us several pictures of her trying to work with a Pesto in her lap, sitting up with his arms over her shoulder or his face in her face.  

I've had Pesto back for almost 9 months. He's a very special kitten. and one of my best snuggle bugs. He's also my kitten Gizmo's BFF- they adore each other. Unfortunately, my mom passed away and we took in her cats and we own too many cats to adopt him ourselves. 

I tried to highlight the best of Pesto in this video...it started at 30+ minutes- I have a LOT of Pesto content on my phone... but I managed to cut it down to 6 minutes... I hope you will enjoy it!