Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Sleeping In and Almost-Dead Kitties

Today was my first day on the job. My boss suggested I arrive no earlier than 10:00 A.M., seeing as how he didn't plan on being there any earlier. I was agreeable. Then he took me out to a nice lunch. Then we figured out how to log in to my computer. Then he said he was going home for the day, and that I should do the same, since there wasn't much to do, and to have a nice trip tomorrow.

So at 2:00 I came home.

First day? Not so rough.

Except for Tatum. Who almost made me miss the glorious experience of a very difficult day at my best-paying job ever.

When I woke up this morning with the alarm, there was no crack kitty bouncing off the walls going, “MOUSE MOUSE MOUSE GIMME GIMME GIMME!” Instead, a sedate little kitten with sleepy eyes peered at me from under the covers where he had apparently snuggled with my armpit all night.

Sick monkey.

So I got up and took a shower, and was surprised at the lack of batting that normally comes from a Tatum bouncing between the shower curtain and liner, because apparently he thinks there is a chance I will produce a furry little mouse toy from my wet and steamy tile chamber.

When I got out of the shower, I left the towel and peered into the bedroom, looking to see if The Funasaurus had gotten up and taken care of the little ball of psychoticness. But no, The Funasaurus was fast asleep, with a little Tatum right next to him. I hissed his name, and slowly, his little head turned like an ancient turtle, and looked at me with big, sad eyes.

Something was NOT RIGHT.

I went downstairs, naked, in search of the cat toy that will normally make Tatum jump around with dilated pupils. No response. I went back upstairs, and the eyes looked at me, all, “Sadly, we are dying, and can no longer play with that little toy.”

And then my heart broke.

Ker-plunk.

So I put the mouse in front of his nose, and he sniffed at it sadly, and then laid his little head down, in an act of pure agony.

I fought back tears, hating myself, the vet, the car, and anything else that could have ever possibly traumatized my poor little angel. When I tried to pick him up and he squealed in pain, I ran for the phone, and called the vet, swearing to quit the job I had not yet really even begun. The vet assured me it was probably just a reaction to the vaccine, yesterday, and as long as he wasn't puking or hyperventilating, he would probably be just fine.

I was not so sure, and made The Funasaurus swear on his my, and his mom's life that he would come home at lunchtime to check in on our darling baby. Litigation be damned.

And he did, bless his heart. Which is reason #692 I am going to marry him.

Meanwhile, Tatum continued to look Very Sad, and curled up in a corner, resting his weary head on the ridge of the cat tree, making me want to kill myself if only it would lessen his apparent pain.

Sugar snored through the whole thing, all, "How nice that I am not being chewed upon as usual."

The Funasaurus convinced me I should probably try out work, that he would call at lunchtime, and I finally left, after four (not even kidding) about-faces from the garage, to go back in and check on Tatum one last time.

Fortunately, my day at work went well (see above) The Funasaurus did come home at lunch, and I got home around 2:30. And Tatum looked a little better. He was moving slowly.

And by the time our neighbors came over for dinner, he decided to crawl up the back of J's shirt, like the evil little hellion we all know and love.

They seemed a little incredulous that his darling little pokey clawed self was really all that out of sorts, EVER, but I assured them that he most certainly was. Then I plied them with alcohol.

Now I am off to Tucson for training. See you all on Friday night!

8 comments:

Lily said...

How sad for your kitty! I can just picture the big sad eyes....

You know, I went through hell with vets and my darling babies too.

I couldn't take how bad the shots and everything made them feel. And even though my vet was very kind, sometimes you have the impression that money is the biggest motivation.

So I did a bit of research and found out that there are more gentle ways (Google Holistic treatments) to prevent and cure then those pills that you have to jam down their throats and the frequent shots that leave them sick.

Maybe you could check out local health food stores for pets...the people who work there are so helpful.
Because I thought all those yearly shots were a must too....but then I found out it's the vets' way to make the biggest portion of their $$$$.

Now I've got much more happy cats.:) Sorry this turned into a small rent, but I find that subject so important!

jaded said...

Poor little dude. Veterinarian trips are a necessary evil.

v said...

Sorry to hear about Tatum. Hopefully he's feeling better by now.

Have a wonderful trip to Tucson. Get me Steve Nash's autograph while you're in Arizona. Thanks.

meno said...

The last time my cat got a vaccination and was a docile sleepy little snuggler all day, i called the vet and asked if he could get one every day. :)

Glad she's feeling better.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cat - it's Tara (Shooting Star's friend). When my cat received his 2nd rabies shot the same thing happened. I read up on it a little bit and a lot of what I read suggested that you don't really need to get shots for cats that don't got outdoors. In addition, there are some schools of thought that believe that giving cats unecessary repeated vaccinations decreases their life span. Just a thought. I don't get my cat annual shots now because of that. I feel the risk is low that anything is going to happen to a cat that lives strictly indoors. The perceived risk of the vaccinations does not exceed the risk of illness. Just my thoughts!

Anonymous said...

Oh poor kitty!!! I know the torture you felt, one of my pups was literally on deaths door for a few weeks when he was a baby and it truly just about killed me. I'm glad it turned out well though, and have an awesome time in Tucson!

Diane said...

Poor kitty - a sick animal is a very sad thing . . .

Glad to hear the new job is a keeper and that the Funasaurus is too

Andrea Frazer said...

ARrrrg. Isn't that the way it always goes? Conflicting responsibilites? Good for you for nabbing a man that can help you out during these times. Applauding abounds from L.A. Do you hear it? Or was it a hairball? Go check.