7 posts tagged “cat”
Yesterday I took Felicity back to the animal shelter after watching her go through what I believed to be an asthma attack (although it could just be pneumonia or a really bad upper respiratory infection). I was just so angry about everything.
I met with the clinic director (who, suprisingly is not a vet) and explained the situation. I asked her why they were adopting out cats that weren't tested for the FIV/FLV. Her response, "Because they're assholes."
I knew immediately that we were on the same page. I explained the tooth abscess and the cost for treatment. She asked me whether I would still keep Felicity if they were able to find a vet who would either do it for free or if the shelter could cover the payment. I said it would also depend on whether she does have asthma and how bad it was.
She did a FLV test (negative, HOORAY!) and called my vet. She then drew some more blood and sent it off to an outside lab to do a full blood panel. Since it would be needed for surgery, she figured why not find out everything that could be wrong with Felicity, and not just the FIV. I should find out the results today. If she has the FIV, the shelter will take her back and I can have another cat (if I want). If she is negative, we will wait until she gets over the respiratory infection and then see if she really does have asthma. If not, then off to surgery and back home with me.
On one hand, I'm not thrilled about still having her here (and continuing to get attached to her) when there is the possiblity I'll end up having to give her back anyway. But on the other, how fucking awesome is all of this?!?!?!!!!!!!!!
Dash thinks it's awesome.
Well, not as awesome as her butt smells.
I must be a magnet for the downtrodden.
Meet Felicity:
So, low and behold, Felicity, age unknown but perhaps 2 years old. She came into the shelter pregnant, all of her kittens were adopted out and no one wanted her. She had been adopted out a month ago, but the person returned her because she just "hid under the furniture." But she's so loving that's hard to believe. She came to me barely weighing 7 pounds and with a chipped tooth and the sniffles.
So not ready for this.
So, I take her to my vet for a physical. She has a cold (common with cats coming out of shelter, no big deal). But she's also wheezing....could indicate asthma, x-rays will be needed. But, even worse, that's no chipped tooth - that's a completely rottted, abscessed tooth. That will need extracted. She has extensive periodontal disease, especially for a 2 year old cat. Estimated cost: $600. Six hundred FUCKING dollars.
I called around other vets. The lowest I could get was $300. To pull one tooth.
My vet asks whether Felicity was tested for Feline Leukemia Virus and the Feline "AIDS" virus. I assumed so, because why would a shelter adopt out a cat who was positive for that?
Ha. Because, testing the cat prior to adopting out would be the RESPONSIBLE thing to do, right? And of course, the shelter would KNOW that giving the vaccination for those viruses can be DEADLY to an FIV/FLV positive cat. Right?
Well, apparently not. Little Felicity was/is getting progessively worse. So, yesterday I took her back to the shelter for the "free" medical care I get for 30 days post adoption. After waiting over 6 hours, I learned the following:
1. They do not test the cats prior to adopting them out
2. Her tooth needs extracting, and the shelter will not do that because the free 30 day health insurance doesn't cover it, even though they adopted her out like that (hmmmm could that be the REAL reason the last owner returned her?)
3. It looks like she has the FIV/FLV. However, since they VACCINATED her without testing her first, the test will always show a positive result so there is no way to really know whether she has it or not. This is a problem because my parents have cats and if I ever go home I can't have them exposed to her, just in case she actually has it.
4. The severe periodontal disease and upper respiratory condition are indicative of her having the virus.
So, the vet tech does the test (even though it should come up positive), we wait an hour, and she tells us that it comes back "invalid." They give me an antibiotic and instructions on how much to give her, tell us to bring her back in 2 weeks to do the test. (It turns out that she put the WRONG dosage on the bottle - but I only figured this out AFTER I gave the first dose today, which was 3x more than what she should have received for her body weight).
She says that they will do the tooth extraction after all, but they want to find out if she has the viruses first (because then they'd just put her down instead).
Great. So I get to have her at home with me for another 2 weeks so I can get even MORE attached to her. I don't know what I wanted, but I just wanted answers and something done. I don't want to go through this again. God, I just had to put a cat down. I can't go through that again. But she is sick, really, really sick. I don't want her hurting, either.
Basically, I just don't want to deal with this. That's really what it boils down to.
She is so loving. She gets along great with the dog (she actually let him lick her belly). Although now I'm thinking sh's just SO sick she could care less about anything.
I've melted down over this several times now. Spending the money on the kind of treatment the FIV/FLV requires is out of the question for me, as is the money it would cost to extract the tooth should the shelter refuse to cover it. It's just not an option right now. But if she really has the viruses, I can't risk exposing the other family cats.
It infuriates me that they adopted her out in that condition and weren't honest about it.
So, after crying and going through a box of tissues, I've decided that my apartment is officially a hospice for this little kitty. For the next two weeks, I will put food in her belly and affection. If she is dying, and I honestly think that she is, at least it will be in my apartment rather than in that horrible shelter.
Two days ago a friend of mine picked up a stray cat. As she was walking to her car to go to work, this orange cat that was sitting on the sidewalk came over to her, and proceeded to follow her 2 blocks to her car. So, my friend picked up the cat, threw her in the car, and set her up in the bathroom at her house. She can't keep her because she already has a cat and a 2 year old.
So, I offered to take the stray in at least until someone responded to her Lost & Found ad. Now, she's in MY bathroom.
I have to say, this is one of the friendliest cats I've ever met. She's skinny, but otherwise looks well cared for. I definitely think she's someone's pet. She's not declawed, as my dog quickly found out. So far, that's the only problem - she is NOT keen on the dog. Of course, he's so excited and fascinated by what's on the other side of the bathroom door.
When I checked on her this morning, she was "nursing" on my dirty clothes. Cute. She ate all of her food (good) and used her litter box (better). I don't know what I'm going to do.
She is SO friendly. Almost too friendly. Hmmmm....now that I think about it, maybe she's in HEAT!
I made an appointment with the vet for monday. My officemate's roommate really wants an orange cat, so if this doesn't work out at least the kitty has somewhere to go.
Last night I woke up to my dog humping my arm.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
He was really going to town. Totally freaked me out! It's the first time he's ever done that. Usually he just tries to hump all of the boy dogs in the park. When girl dogs come up he usually hides behind my legs. So I liked to think he was gay.
I was waiting for his blood test results to come back before I scheduled him for the big surgery. Up until now he didn't really seem to know what those 2 little things were for. And since he wasn't marking any of my furniture I was tempted to just let him keep them. Ha. Not after last night.
But he is so handsome in his little sweater:
Oh and I have soooooo many more pictures to post......
Seriously, though, this morning on our walk it was pouring. I felt so bad for him. He was miserable but he really wanted to run around. I need to get him a raincoat and boots. We were only out for 5 minutes and he was shivering so badly and whimpering, but at the same time couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to stay out or go in. Finally I picked him up and carried him home he was shivering so bad. :(
My headache is still pretty bad. Last night was the worst. This morning I was trying to get it together, but after having thrown up all last night I was pretty weak. So I called out of work, forgetting that we have off on Monday, so now I have to get a doctor's note for missing today. Argh. Now I have to haul myself over to the doctor's office. I made an appointment with the chiropractor. He's my doctor. I see him for these damn headaches so that should be good enough. Of course, I haven't gone in about 3 weeks which is why this headache was so much worse than usual. I don't even take drugs for the pain anymore. Nothing works. Not even the narcotics they gave me in the ER. I have some percocet left from my surgery, but that doesn't help at all so why waste it.
I have some really funny pictures of the first few days of the dog-cat interactions.
I can't imagine what it must be like to have a child. You must be wanting to take a picture ever 3 seconds. If I'm this bad with my dog, can you imagine me with a baby?
Finallly my computer is fixed! It really didn't occur to me how much work I had to redo now that I have a new harddrive. Like getting back all of those stored passwords, email addresses, contact numbers, web links. Re-installing a ton of software. Re-installing all of my music. Getting all of the Mac updates. It's been a major pain in the ass. But, my computer works, I have a brand new harddrive, and it didn't cost me any money.
Life has been insanely hectic. I don't even know where to begin. I have had no contact with Mr. X. I have had some contact with Mr. Wonderful, but I'm doing okay. I ran into him one day after work as I was cutting through the park. It wasn't as emotional as I thought it would be, probably because he didn't act like a jerk (well, at least any more than usual). We chatted for a few minutes, hugged, and that was it. The next day he called me at work to thank me for talking to him. We chatted a bit more, and it started to feel just like old times. It doesn't sounds as though the counseling is really doing anything. I think he's right back where he was when he first met me. On Monday he sent me an email saying he had skybox tickets to the NFL game and didn't want to go alone. He kept alluding to me coming along with him, but didn't outright ask me. I told him that I knew what he was doing -- he was trying to get me to volunteer to go so that he could say that he didn't actually invite me. So juvenile. After work, he called me and told me that he was taking his daughter. He sounded so down. Which only made me feel better.
This past weekend I went to Chicago for a work related conference. The conference was painfully boring, but I just love Chicago. I could totally live there. It's such a beautiful city. On the way back to the airport, I fell asleep on the Loop. When I woke up, this really cute guy next to me started to chat me up. It really was just what I needed. He was attractive, my age, NOT MARRIED, intelligent, employed, and even had a pulse! Unfortunately, he lives in Atlanta. Oh well. It was just a great feeling to have a guy chat me up and actually enjoy the conversation. It's a nice reminder that there are other fish in the sea.
So the dog update: Eli spent the weekend with my parents. He (and they) had a blast together. I'm really relieved that it worked out because he was having some serious separation anxiety issues. He's a doll and really the best thing that's happened to me this year. Getting him was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The distraction and all of the new responsibilities have been really good for me. Not just emotionallly, but physically too - I'm walking up a storm so I'm getting a lot of exercise. He and the cat have adjusted to one another pretty well - she tolerates him and he leaves her alone. She is still the boss of the house, though, which is good. At night, she sleeps on my right and he sleeps on my left :)
Ouch. I hate coldsores. Especially when its right in the corner of my mouth.
September 11th. The day it happened, I was arguing a bail reduction hearing in one of the judge's chambers. His secretary came into his chambers and told us that a plane had hit the twin towers. The judge immediately made a comment about the Middle East or asking whether any terrorist group had taken credit for it yet. I remember thinking, how does he know it's not another Timothy McVeigh?
We finished up the rest of the bail reduction motions, and I headed back to my office. All of our secretaries had their radios on and everyone was listening. The second plane had already hit, but the towers hadn't collapsed yet. The President Judge closed the courthouse and everyone ran home. I remember watching the television -- you could see little dots --- people --- jumping from the towers. It was such a horrific realization - death either by fire or jumping. Then the towers collapsed.
I immediately thought of the Oklahoma City bombing, how I had caught that on t.v. right before I went to my Sociology final in college. It had literally just happened, and the cameras, caught unawares, initially showed everything -- I remember seeing a woman running and screaming, she had no arms, just blood gushing.
I didn't know anyone who died in the World Trade Center. I later dated a pilot who had the unfortunate luck of training one of the bombers how to fly (maybe a year before 9/11 happened?) -- the plane that crashed in PA. He had failed the guy because his landing was terrible and because he was terrible with the communication aspect. Sadly ironic.
I have a picture of the second plane crashing into the Tower on my desk. I just think it's important to remember and when I start to get really stressed out and caught up in myself I catch a glimpse of the picture and it helps me to keep perspective. And to be grateful.
So, speaking of being grateful. Had an okay day today. Thought about Mr. Wonderful a few times, mostly because I have the urge to tell him about the dog. At lunchtime I picked up the phone to call a friend and dialed the first 3 numbers of Mr. Wonderful's phone number before realizing it. I also stopped by the new dog store, which is near his office, and felt very anxious about running into him. But I didn't.
Otherwise, today was very busy with trying to get all of my work done and filed before taking vacation next week. I don't want to have to worry about it while I'm away. Tonight I set up the puppy's crate and began puppy-proofing my apartment. The cat is very curious. She won't go near the crate but I can see her eyeing it. Oh, if she only knew what she was in for...
Yippeeeee!!!!! Today I went and saw the little guy and he had me at hello. I picked him up, and he wrapped his paws around my neck!!!! Isn't that just crazy? And then he nuzzled my neck. Who needs a man when I've got this little guy?
So. He is 18 months, probably 8-10 lbs. Needs to lose a pound or two. He's about as big as my cat, maybe a little bigger. Well, you can see his family here: Little Guy.
I am a bit humiliated that I bought a dog from a breeder. In my own defense, however, I went to 5 different shelter/rescue groups. Not one had a small dog. Not even small older dog The only one that did actually DENIED my application. If you rent, the shelters want proof that it's okay with the landlord. Understandable. My landlord however, has a don't ask don't tell policy. He was actually annoyed with me for telling him I had a cat before I signed the lease (he said, "you know I really wish you hadn't told me about this"). So at the shelter I used my parents' address (which is still on my DL). Didn't the shelter go and run a VOTER REGISTRATION check and found that I was registered in the city? Assholes. I had wanted to adopt this blind poodle (he actually didn't have any eyeballs at all) that was 4 years old. Makes me mad.
But I made a donation to the shelter, anyway.
Mom and dad came with me to check him out. He does have a name, but doesn't really seem to know it! So that leaves me free to come up with a different one. Any suggestions???
He did excellent on a leash (I took him for a walk), didn't jump, didn't bark very much at all (not compared to all the other dogs with him), and sat on command. He is definitely a lap dog, too. Just perfect. And he's got all of his shots but does need to get fixed. I'm going to pick him up this weekend and take him to the vet next week.
Had a great time at PetSmart. Bought a crate, new bed (of course the cat is sleeping on it right now), food, bowls, a Kong, brush, nail clippers. Tommorrow I'll pick out a leash and collar.
He is really beautiful. I'm just so excited. It's going to be great to have him around. And I definitely think this is going to help with things. I just hope the cat is okay with it..hee hee....
