Posted by bozeman on February 19, 2003, at 23:22:30
In reply to Re: Cranky, crabby, crappy day » bozeman, posted by IsoM on February 19, 2003, at 15:09:24
Kitty still very sick, has high fever still. Last week he had some weird intestinal abscess/blockage/rupture thing, expensive and hard to fix, and they seldom survive, so vets usually recommend putting them down instead of doing the surgery. But the vet looked at me and said, "You're not even going to consider that, are you?" I said, "No way. We can't put down this young, healthy-as-a-horse cat who has a will of iron, without at least giving him a chance to fight for it!" The vet said, "It will be very touchy surgery, he may not make it, even if he does he's going to have a hell of an infection, he may not survive the aftermath of that, but I'll give it my best shot if that's what you want." I said, "He's a tough little survivor or he wouldn't have survived on the street long enough to find me to take him in. And he's my *baby*. Can you fix him?" The vet looked at my file and said, "How many cats have you adopted off the street?" I said, "One . . . this year . . . and every year for the last five years . . . but I adopt them out to good cat homes if the people can convince me they are seriously good cat parents!" He said, "After you feed them, have me treat them, get their shots, get them neutered, and you nurse them back to health, then you adopt them out?" I told him "I sure can't adopt them out if they're skinny and sick, can I?" I have two other cats at home, but this one's special. He sleeps with me every night, gets mad if I won't come to bed with him at 10 pm sharp, and worries over me when I'm sick.
So, last week, we did a very long surgery and pulled two giant icky things out of his belly (I think they were impacted hairballs or something, he's got the softest silkiest fur I've ever felt, sheds like a cheap rug, and is always immaculately groomed.) He did fine over the weekend, but on Monday his pain came back so he couldn't lay down, and his wound drainage went cloudy, so I took him back in. There was another pocket of infection or pus or something, anyway, they had to open his wound back up and clean him out again. I think the vet is still amazed that he's alive and doing as well as he is, but he's still a very sick kitty. I poke drugs down his throat several times a day and he pretty much sleeps the rest of the time (in my lap, when possible.)
Boyfriend is still acting like a crazy man today. Think he's slipped a gear. If he'd shut up yelling for even thirty seconds, maybe I could find out what his problem is, or at least get a word in edgeways, but as long as he's stuck on listening to his own voice rant, there's no point in me wasting my breath. You can't reason with a crazy person, my Grandma always used to say. Boy, was she right! (or a depressed person, sometimes, too. Hmm, people in glass houses . . .) Maybe someone slipped him some LSD or something but I just don't have the energy to figure it out today. Too tired, and too blown away by the whole situation, and, besides, kitty boy needs me.
Thank you *bunches* to everyone who responded to my desperate howling last night. Tomorrow when I'm not so tired that I'm seeing double, I will give a more coherent response and explanation.
AND BTW . . . "too pooped to pop" . . . my Grandma used phrase that too, I think it's from a Chuck Berry song about an old guy trying to keep up with the young thangs on the dance floor . . . . unless the song was just "borrowing" the phrase that was already in use. Don't know about that.
Humor has always been my best defense against pain . . . but I'm low on jokes right now. Can't think of any witty remarks about kitty bandages or manic boyfriends. Lemme get back to you on that, I promise to do better tomorrow.
NOTINSANEJUSTPPMD -- Welcome to the surreality of Babbleland! Some of the finest people you will ever (virtually) meet are here. Look forward to hearing more from you soon.
Kar -- We *may* have been separated at birth -- not sure yet. :-) (yes, I'm a woman.)
Jodie -- I sincerely hope you can get some sleep tonight, dear. You're adorable when you're manic (at least from a distance :-D ) and deeply poignant when you're depressed. I wish I didn't need as much sleep so I could keep you company on your late-night insomnia runs.
IsoM -- As always, you have a way of adding a reality check to an otherwise runaway thought-train. And you're right, a purring kitty in your lap makes a lot of hogwash in your life just seem, well, irrelevant. Unfortunately, though, my biggest stress buster the last couple of years has been doing for others, and I suspect (actually, noa's perceptive comments are helping me figure out) that it's just another excuse for not facing my real stress -- which is my rapidly expiring biological clock. But that's another story, another post, for another day!!!Good night, all, and thanks bunches.
Big sweet hugs all around.bozeman
You guys are the best.
poster:bozeman
thread:201723
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030215/msgs/202019.html