Bea is a bit of a drama queen. She makes all kinds of noise about all kinds of things on any given day for any number of reasons. She is a very proud huntress and especially loves to hunt skinks. She will go into the woods and catch one and bring it back and howl by the door for us to come take notice of her prize and accept her gift to us. Oftentimes the skink is still alive, and when she sees us, she howls all the louder and drops the skink and it skitters off. She expects nothing less than high praise for her skill and prowess and generosity towards us as her favorite humans. She is very vocal about it if she is hungry and we are late getting her breakfast. She parades about the barnyard like a fashion model on a catwalk - just because she can. Her personality lends itself to the dramatic. Naturally therefore it only stands to reason that if she isn't feeling well she is likely to exhibit strange and theatrical symptoms. The first time I became acquainted with her flair for the sensational while not feeling well was when my friend, who was living in our place at the time, called to tell me that Bea had pooped in the top of her child's swing set and then rolled in it. I was confused. Cats just don't do that! Sure enough, when I came to collect my cat, I found her coat rather, ahem, stinky... I put her into the cat carrier and carried her to the vet, stinky coat and all, while I left my husband instructions to spray down and bleach the swing set. I'm sure vets have heard all kinds of crazy stories from pet owners, but I was hoping I wasn't going to be "that lady" by the time this was over with. "Please tell me my cat hasn't lost her ever- loving mind," I said as I finished telling my sordid and unusual tale. The kind vet agreed to examine her and I left her with him. Later that day he called me to tell me that my cat had a hairball. I thought cats were just supposed to hack up a pesky hairball and be done with it. Apparently sometimes a hairball can make a cat feel quite bad. Actually a hairball can be a real problem for a cat, especially if it gets stuck and blocks things off. Sometimes certain cats act a little, um, out of sorts when they don't feel well. Fortunately Bea responded well to the treatment. She got a much-needed bath (we decided $25 to have the cat bathed at the vet's office was well worth the cost in this case) and managed to return quickly to her normal self. She never again repeated the behavior, for which I was very grateful! Now we try to remember to take the special hairball prevention stuff.
This time, the first thing I noticed was that she peed on my rug. REALLY?! She had only been inside for maybe 45 minutes! I picked her up and put her outside. The next day I discovered that she had found an old camp chair in the barn and was peeing on that. Ugh. I tossed it into the trash can. It was old and wasn't worth much anyway so oh well. I should have taken my clue from there, but I didn't. The next couple days I began to notice her mood deteriorating. She can be ugly sometimes anyway if she doesn't get her way (or if I try to brush her heaven forbid) but this was more than just that. It was a persistent foul mood that involved a lot more hissing and growling than normal. She was acting like Oscar the Grouch. Finally I decided to take her in. The vet ran a urinalysis on her and discovered that she has a urinary tract infection. Poor cat. No wonder she was in a bad mood. I felt terrible for not catching it sooner. Since she spends most of her time outside, I wouldn't have noticed other symptoms such as frequent urination. She got a shot of antibiotics and was sent home with oral antibiotics for the rest of the week and an anti-inflammatory to help keep her more comfortable. She is currently milking the situation for all it's worth and enjoying her chance to lounge on the couch in the house.
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AuthorI'm Debbie. I love listening to chickens cackle and sing. I love Lindt chocolate truffles, a good cup of coffee, and a good book. Archives
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