Loving That Little Gray Kitty

Throughout this morning I have thought, wow, this time yesterday.... Glad to be twenty four hours away from yesterday. Yesterday began around 4:00 am when Buddy woke me up...she was in pain and she had trouble with her back legs. We came downstairs and she laid so quietly on my lap while I cried, no sobbed. The whole weak back leg thing reminded me of our dog Tiff's last day on earth and I began to think that this would be Buddy's. The crying must have bothered her because she slowly took the steps upstairs and hid. When she hid, that made my sobbing more intense. This was not good and I waited to call the vet once their office opened. Meanwhile, I found her hiding spot and I began to get cleaned up and ready for the morning ahead. The time passed slowly...I found myself out on the front porch praying and thinking while watching the fog gently roll away.

This whole adventure began Friday night when I gave Buddy a stool softener that leaked a bit into her mouth instead of going down her throat. This caused her to foam at the mouth and run. She ran into the bathroom and I was able to clean her up a bit as she settled down. Buddy was not happy and neither was I. Early, middle of the night early, Buddy woke me up. She threw up several times. There was a bit of a tremor going on but she settled and then slept most of the day Saturday. She didn't eat much but she was drinking water and went to the litter box once. Sunday, she seemed a bit better. I could tell because when I carried her and put her someplace, she didn't stay there but moved. Then came 4:00 am Monday morning.

I was beating myself up emotionally over the whole Friday night incident. Out there on the porch I felt I heard the gentle whisper that things would be fine. I couldn't see how that was even possible. I texted Roy and then cried on the phone when we talked. I texted Peggy and Lisa asking them to pray for our situation here. Finally, 7:30 came and I called the vet. You see I had vacillated on whether to call our regular vet or try someplace new. Buddy has been having issues for over a year and most visits, if she takes a swipe at them, they are done with her. Yet, a new vet might not be so quick to help her....I felt in my heart that I should call our regular office and pray that we see the right vet for Buddy. The Lord answered that prayer.

So I told the office the situation, through tears. I am ready to whisk Buddy up and get there as soon as possible. They had an opening at 9:30. Two hours more to wait. Because of the dense fog I left a little earlier than normal. Good thing because we were slowed down by a tractor on the road and then a truck pulling a loaded down trailer.  It was the quietest ride with Buddy ever.

We were called back to the little waiting room and the tech asked questions about Buddy etc. The Dr came in and from the get go, she was proactive on getting some answers. She looked at Buddy's records and stated this had been going on without any real progress. I told her I had not given Buddy a chill pill cause it felt like that would be too stressful on her. They made their first attempt to touch Buddy, strike one...she said we are going to have to sedate her to do anything and I agreed. I might have suggested a nail trim and maybe a few weeks early on her shots so that another stressful visit wouldn't be in order. The Dr agreed. So the reinforcements came to hold Buddy down and the good Doc got that shot in the first attempt. After a little wait she returned with Buddy's x-rays. Quite a bit of arthritis especially in her left hip which is causing lower back pain and it is painful for her to poop. So she is holding onto it as long as possible. They said when they got her ready for the exam, she pooped big time but still had trapped gas which caused the throw ups. The Dr explained the course of treatment and then told me to go run some errands and return around noon to pick her up. They were going to do blood work and let her wake up before releasing her.

I made a quick trip to the grocery store and home. I kept Roy in the loop, Peggy and Lisa kept me entertained with texts. That helped. On the way back to pick up Buddy, just down the road a small fawn had run onto the road and had been hit. Several people stopped to move it and I lost it once again, tears. Buddy received a huge amount of steroids and will have to have a shot every six weeks or so. Another option is to give her steroids in a liquid dose here at home. The steroids need to do their work because this is the only option to help her have a comfortable life.

Buddy so glad to home went upstairs directly and fell asleep. I did likewise.

Buddy is slowly but surely returning to the land of the living. I re-introduced her to water and food last night. She's not much interested in the food just the water and treats. The Dr should call today with the results of lab work to rule out pancreatitis and something else that I don't even know how to spell or say. Buddy, well she

pretty much didn't want to have anything to do with me yesterday but thankfully she timed it perfectly after I had fallen to sleep, to join me, sleeping on my arm just like the past few days hadn't even happened.

I know this post is long but I will wrap it up with this....that Friday night incident that I felt had been such a mistake and that I was so mad at myself over...if it hadn't happened...I think it would have been too late. This sped up the timeline and as Roy said last night bought us some more time with her. I tell y'all...I love that little gray kitty!