Warning! This post will be rather matter-of-fact. I'm in quite a productive mood this morning - probably a function of the DJ Tiesto that is currently blasting into my aural receptors.
Teaching in the mountains was really short last Thursday and Friday. D drove his new car (red!), which is pretty sweet. I'm trying very hard to encourage my "happy for him" feeling to overwhelm my "jealous of him" feeling. The drive up was lovely, but we got lost, naturally, because I had it in my stubborn brain that I knew exactly where I was going. The hotel was nice, and had Nautilus fitness equipment in the gym, and we spent the evening wandering around downtown and eventually found a suitably-expensive-for-pretend-vacation place to eat. I can now attest that spicy pumpkin puree does indeed go well with trout, as do goat cheese and pecans... Delicious!
Friday was saved only by my attitude and natural hyperactivity, because it basically sucked. Woke up at 5:30, worked out, got kitted up, and noticed that it was DELUGING outside. I mean, it was an INUNDATION, a TORRENT, and I had no umbrella. The two classes I taught went smoothly, after finding the college pretty quickly, but D got a migraine and had to sleep it off at the hotel. I found a snack on campus for lunch and taught my 2nd class. By that time, D was feeling better, and we booked it home. The end.
Saturday was tons o' fun. Lots of shopping and hanging out with Lovely, and then food and movies. Sunday was a whirlwind of dance practices; I had a private lesson with my coach, and then met Partner #2 in the fantastically-appointed Grand Ballroom of a nearby country club, and we practiced for a few hours. I feel like we could actually pull this off.
Things went downhill yesterday morning. I had just finished blowdrying my hair in time to witness Jesper projectile vomiting all over the hardwood floor in my living room. I wasn't too concerned about it, he has a sensitive tummy, and there was a hairball in there too. So I cleaned everything up and headed off to work. When I got home, he had been sick everywhere. It was a disaster zone. And not only was he sick, but there was blood. He came running up to me eagerly like it was the best day of his life, and I held him and cried. After getting myself under control, I put him in his carrier and ported him to the vet. On the way, I lost control on the phone with D, and then again on the phone with my mother, who agreed to meet me at the vet in case something dire was going to happen (i.e. I couldn't afford another emergency surgery and would have to... NO I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT!!!).
However, the vet was not concerned...! He flattened Jessy like a pancake with his fingers and felt every inch of his belly, and couldn't detect anything abnormal. He took his temperature (normal), gave him an anti-emetic injection and told me to watch him for the next 24 hours. He said that the little hairball had probably irritated his tender tummy, and he'd probably popped a capillary with his violent retching, and it had snowballed from there. As soon as I freed Jessy into the apartment, he downed about a pound of food and rampaged happily and generally. God, dear God, PLEASE let this cat be ok. PLEASE. I love this cat.
1 year ago
3 comments:
I'm glad he's okay! We had to put one of my budgies down this weekend, and it was really hard. They're such tiny little things, and he was in such bad shape the stress (physical and fear-response) from the blood work would have killed him anyway. It was either euthanize or let him suffer through a night of seizures. :(
Oh no! Was he an old budgie? I've heard that birds and tropical fish are especially difficult to take care of and that they can be killed by stress alone if their physical environments aren't kept stable. Euthanization is so much more humane than letting an animal suffer until it dies naturally, and seizures are some of the worst things to watch. I'm sorry for your loss. :(
He was almost four (which is middling the life span), but he's always been a little goofy because of his bum leg--hence the name FDR. I know nil about fish, but birds appear a lot more fragile than they are because they hide sickness so well. In budgie flocks, healthy birds are known to attack and even cannibalize the sick ones. The vet thought FDR might have had kidney or liver failure, so by the time he was having the seizures and unable to perch there wasn't much we could do.
It was a hard decision, but it really was the only humane thing to do. Can't let a former president die without at least a little bit of dignity. :)
I still have his cage mate, Johnny, and Icarus, the 'tiel. I'm starting to keep an eye out for unwanted budgies so maybe I can take in another rescue.
I didn't realize I was a bird person until one sort of wandered into my life... But I guess people are that way too.
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