Saturday, May 05, 2007
My Tateroo

Life happens, and things don't always work out as we plan. I know that when I'm older, I'll really miss having kids and grand kids, but they weren't in the "big plan" for me, and I have a great life.
Sometimes the three cats are more than enough to handle, and we are so thankful we don't have kids - if parenting 3 cats is so hard, what would we do with children??? Honestly, I adore kids, but I think I'd be a horrible mom. I worry too much; I'd be overprotective; I don't have enough patience. I would love my kids, but I might have held them too tightly, I don't know.
Then one of my fur babies gets sick, and I know that I couldn't handle having kids. My Tater is sick again. I can't even say how much I love this cat. He's just.....sweet, loving, affectionate, funny, gentle.....he's an angel. Scooter hates him, and we've had lots of problems with fighting. Scooter is a good boy, but he wants to be an only cat, and really resents having a new brother. It's been an ongoing problem and Scooter spends a lot of time in a "time out".
Anyway. The other day We were snuggling with Tater and smelled something so appalling it could only have been a horrible litter box mishap. It wasn't. It was an abscess from a puncture would on his rump where Scooter bit him. I went into mommy mode. I wanted to call the ER vet. I freaked, but we cleaned it well, let a lot of the puss drain, wiped him down with peroxide and decided to take him to our vet first thing in the morning. The vet said he's OK, gave him a shot and an RX for antibiotics and sent him home with instructions on how to clean it. This was Thursday.
Last night, Tate was lethargic and so not his normal cheerful self. We were worried. He felt really warm to me and I thought he had fever. Our vets office was closed, but we rushed him to the 24 hour emergency center. My poor baby had 104.6 fever. I can't understand how he had no fever when he had the infection, but spiked such a high fever after being on meds.
In any case. The vet thought he might be blocked and have a UTI, but did a sonogram and saw nothing. It ended up that we had to leave him overnight for observation because his fever was dangerously high, and it just doesn't make sense.
He so hated going in the car, and I promised him we'd take him home. I was crushed. I know he can't understand the words, but I couldn't get over promising him, and then leaving him behind. I know he's not a child - he's a cat; but he's my baby boy and I felt like I failed him.
The good news is, that the vet was GREAT! She was very young and I did the middle-aged snob thing of asking if she was old enough to be a vet and hoping she went to a good school. In fact, she went to U of P , where I, as an art-major undergrad, volunteered at the Veterinary ER. One of the BEST vet schools in the country.
So my Tater is in good hands, and they should call me within the hour and tell me how he is. I'm hoping to bring him home very soon. Many hundreds of dollars poorer, but grateful that we rushed to the vet and didn't wait for morning.
Good thought for my Tate, please. He's an angel kitty and he's going through a rough time.


4 Comments:

Blogger @Leslie said...

I hope your Tater tot pulls through. You do realize that this is umpteenth time Scooter has caused him bodily harm? May I gently suggest that if Tater comes home and is ok Scooter be given away to the pound? You KNOW how much I love animals and how many I have, so you know I don't make that suggestion lightly. Please don't be offended by it.

Blogger Wormie said...

Leslie, I do hear you loud and clear. After the bite, Honey said that one more injury and Scooter is going to the pound. This is the same injury, but Tate is really sick and almost $1000 later this is a real problem.
If we take Scooter to the pound, he'll be euthanized. He's 13 years old, not good with other cats, and has bitten.

Honey is ready to make that hard decision. I wish we could find a home for him with no kids and no pets - when he's the only cat he's quite sweet.

We have decided that he's no longer getting time outs. He's going to live in "his room". We put a litter box and food dish in the guest room, and he spends a LOT of time there. He will now be spending ALL his time there, and we'll have to go there for quality time with him. We won't have Tate getting sick and being terrorized in his own home.

If we can find a home for him we will give him away - better for him. If he hurts Tate (which he won't be able to do from his room) he'll go to the pound.

We also got a phone number for a bahaviorist Vet, but I don't think you can teach an old cat new tricks, so we'll see.

I love Scooter, but he's getting worse as he's getting older. He's aggressive and strong. A dangerous combo.

Blogger @Leslie said...

How is Tater today? Have you heard from the Vet?

Blogger Wormie said...

Tate is home. No fever, but on a lot of meds. He seems much better and relieved to be home if a bit out of sorts. Mommy and Daddy are quite relieved as well. Broke, but relieved.

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