All Better

For those who have been following the adventures of our cats, here is the status report:

1. Murjan (pictured above at the vet's office, waiting to get his sutures removed) is fine now. Clean surgical site with no infection. Hair will return with time. Stitches gone. Clown collar gone. Isolation past. He is almost a happy camper, except that he is now getting to know his new little sister, which is taking a little time. He is warming up to her, though, and she is starting to understand that he is the alpha cat.

2. Intrepid is fine now, too. Had I known that all we needed was a little Peptobismol mixed in with his food, I could have avoided a nearly $600 vet bill, x-rays, and a night of no sleep! He, too, is out of isolation and definitely a happy camper. He is even happy with the new kitten, Woopka.

3. Simone is fine, has been fine, but her turn is coming. Her long Himalayan hair has matted to the point that she has to go see the vet for some help with de-matting. At least, that won't be until September.

4. Little Woopka, the abandoned kitten we brought home from the vet's, has settled in and made our home her home. Just as fearless as Intrepid, she has imprinted on him and is starting to display most of his mannerisms. Good golly, did she have to imprint on the naughtiest cat?

And the cat tales go on...next chapter in September.

A Cat Knows

Sometimes pictures tell it all.

(1) Before picture: Murjan goes to the vet. He has a boo-boo on his butt, and he is hurting. He wants to be comforted and quickly exits his carrier to be held while waiting for the vet.

THEN COMES THE SURGERY, STITCHES, DRAINS, AND CLOWN COLLAR -- FOLLOWED BY A TRIP BACK TO THE VET.

(2) After picture: This time no amount of coaxing is going to get Murjan out of his carrier. He knows exactly where he is now!

A Surprising Life Change (Small, Really) at the End of a Long Week

Last night when I came home from a long week, mostly spent in suicide intervention training, a lugubrious topic if nothing else, Murjan, my dog cat (too big for a cat carrier and loves his belly rubbed) did not bound to the door, then flop down on the floor and put all four paws in the air for his daily Mommy-is-home belly rub. Instead, he limped out to meet me, with Simone and Intrepid following, as if concerned. It turns out that his bottom was bleeding. It looked like a puncture wound, but I could see nothing in sight where he might have hurt himself.

Our vet has no evening or weekend hours, so we checked around to see what care was available in our remote location. Nothing in the evening, and one vet two cities away was open on Saturday morning. So, we put Murjan on bedwatch at home. He seemed to be doing okay, but clearly he was in pain.

This morning we put him our medium-size dog carrier. (Yep, he is too big for a small dog carrier. Not fat, just big.) Actually, he put himself into it. Now, we knew he was in pain!

Off we went to the doctor. It turns out that he had a really deep abscess, again no idea where it came from. The abscess required outpatient surgery. While we waited for the surgery, we went for brunch. We also spent time playing with a cute little highly curious lovable and loving tiny girl kitten brought in for adoption. Apparently, she had been adopted before but brought back because of incompatibility with the house dog.

After a few hours and the loss of a few hundred dollars, Murjan was ready to come home. He came home with sutures, two (!) drains, a clown collar -- and a new little sister, whom we have named Lyupka (the Russian word for curiosity, lyubopytstvo, being a rather long name for a tiny little kitten; lyupka is also connected with the word, lyubov, love).

Lyupka (Donnie has taken to calling her Loopy) is now bravely and curiously exploring the cat room, bonding with Simone, our other girl. Murjan is spending his time in our bedroom -- he has to have his own litter and be isolated from any kind of jumping and playing for ten days. (This will be fun!) Intrepid is moping around the living room, feeling unfairly isolated from his playmates.

One thing at a time...

Picture above is of Murjan, taken while waiting for care at the vet's: "Mommy, please help, I don't feel good." Pictures of Intrepid and Simone can be found in various, earlier posts. I will put one up of Lyupka soon.