26 July, 2009
Simon Sunday: Cheer Up, Big Guy!
So last Wednesday Simon had a follow-up appointment to have his eye re-checked and it was a good thing he did. He experienced a setback on Saturday when, after I had taken the e-collar off so he could groom and get a decent nap, his eye became irritated again and teared up. By the time he finished his supper he was really trying to dig at that eye with his paw, so I had to shove the e-collar back on him. It did not come off again until he went into the carrier before his appointment.
He seemed to steadily improve for the next few days, though he whimpered a couple of times when I tried to pick him up. Since both times were just prior to putting ointment in his eye, it was hard to tell if he was in pain or if he was dreading another eye-gooping. When we got up Wednesday morning, outside of the pre-treatment whimper, everything seemed fine until he barfed up his breakfast. I felt so horrible for him and was trying to not show how worried and dismayed I was. I had given him a little bit of Prescription i/d canned food (about 1 tsp. Monday night and another tsp. Tuesday night). It was supposed to be easy on his stomach, though. I couldn't believe that small amount would upset his system like that! I went to work and proceeded to worry all day long.
When I came home from work I did my now daily Barf Check. I found that, after I left for work, Simon had horked up a hairball. A very very HUGE hairball.
"OH MY GOD, YOU ATE BILLIE!" I cried. But then she meowed behind me, so I knew she was safe and wholly intact. I reckoned that that hairball was the likely culprit for this morning's mess and felt quite relieved. A few minutes later we were off to the vet's office, Simon singing a tragic opera aria in his carrier in the back seat. (Damn, that cat can hold a note!)
I reported the recent events to the vet and she agreed with me that it must have been the hairball that triggered the morning's Barf-O-Rama and she said to go ahead and continue feeding him the canned i/d. She then took him in the other room so she could examine his eye. While they were in the back, I remembered he was getting low on kibble so I got a bag, wondering if it would really be terribly uncouth to request some sort of Frequent Buyer plan where I could get a packet of Advantage or a free visit for every $1,000 I spend there (I think we're at $1,500 for this year already).
A few minutes later the vet brought him out and said his eye was completely healed (much to MY relief) and that we didn't have to have any more ointment or e-collar (much to SIMON'S relief). Then they tallied the bill. They only charged me for the bag of food, so I got that free office visit after all! WIN!
Simon is pretty much back to his old self, now. He's been having his nightly cat crazies, he'll randomly walk over and slap Billie and he's back into full swing with his Wake-Up-Routine, even using an old favorite tactic of his (brushing the hair from my face with his paw then grabbing a chunk in his mouth and yanking on it).
So, at least for today, Simon is healthy, Billie is eating well (in fact, as I write this, she is yelling at me for more food!), and I'm feeling more human and less dizzy. May this last for a very very long time.
Labels: Billie, cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 6:30 PM ~~ 0 comments
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