After Midnight

After Midnight
What is it about cats and young children after midnight--the witching hour?
My cat, Sebastian, has digestive issues. We've diagnosed, treated, observed, rediagnosed, and retreated. Now I think the treatments could be causing additional symptoms. Who knows? Who's on first?
Last night was particularly bewildering. Sebastian and I were napping on the sofa when it started. He woke abruptly and immediately started hissing. The internal issue was making an external debut. This was followed by intermittent crouching, racing around, and licking--obvious discomfort and distress. Looking for a safe place, Sebastian proceeded to dash behind a china cabinet filled with an array of breakables in the breakfast room. Apparently, he remembered doing this as a younger, thinner cat.
Now it's 1:00 in the morning, and I have a fat cat with bowel issues stuck behind a china cabinet. Go ahead, laugh. I did--eventually. At the time I thought, this can't end well but it turned out better than if I had not been there to assist. I gently slid the cabinet of crystal a few inches away from the wall and little Houdini escaped. Good enough for now. The total damage could have been so much worse.
Further discussion with the vet ensued first thing in the morning. We are revising our plan of attack, since the last plan royally failed.
After the late night escapade, I let Sebastian have run of the first floor, while I retreated to my bedroom on the second floor and firmly closed the door. Cat-parents are lucky like that. Sorry people-parents, you're out of luck, especially after midnight.
~ LowTide explorer, Carolyn Fjeran


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"War of the rubies ..."

Image
LowTide Morning - August 25, 2018 "War of the rubies ..." On my deck, a cherry tomato is climbing, clinging to life inside a wire cage. The vine looks like sin, but the hummingbirds love perching on the top of the cage as if they are king of the hill. Male hummingbirds are aggressive and territorial. I wonder, do birds have testosterone? I have a couple of ruby-throated hummers going at it in my backyard. "Your mama..." "I know you are, but what am I?" The fight is on. They dart, dive, twist, and smack talk. I just refilled the feeder yesterday. There is plenty of nectar for all. For now. But they don't understand that there is an endless supply. I suppose they fight for what they fear is expendable. I was about to say there is no need for all this fighting. But who knows what tomorrow will hold; I might forget to refill the feeder. Yes, that has been known to happen. Don't judge. Just as children fighting for love and attention, hummers don't ...
Read more

PIECES OF A PUZZLE

Image
January 31, 2016 Ann Crammond, second executive director of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, was looking forward to a post-retirement trip to the Antarctica. The trip was scheduled one year after her 11 year tenure as executive director. She was an avid horticulturist featured on Atlanta's WXIA TV "Noonday Gardener." In her lighthearted style, she quipped that she was looking forward to the Antarctica because, "No one would ask her to identify any plants." Understood. There are thousands of plants in cultivation and exponentially more in the wild. Gardeners are prone to share bits and pieces of a plant hoping for a positive ID. Horticulturists can be like a dog with a bone if they cannot immediately provide an answer. Plant keys are an old tried-and-true method, but slow and laborious. Today, one of my favorite gardeners presented a lovely clipping of a shrub neither of us could name. Next came an internet search for a plant key. In the process, I found an intrigu...
Read more