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| "I don't want to leave my carrier" |
Dancer and I made an unplanned visit to the vet's clinic, today (Friday).
I might have mentioned earlier that he had been sneezing. Last night, it looked like his right eye was bothering him and there was a slight discharge:
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| Dancer, Thursday Night |
Today, both eyes seemed to be discharging, with the right eye seeming to be worse. He was rubbing his face against me, nudging my hand and nuzzling his head into my clothes. I didn't know whether to wait and see if it gets better on its own or if I should have him checked. I was concerned that it might become worse over the weekend when the vet clinic will be closed and, also, that I might accidentally get some of the discharge in my eyes.
In the end, around 3:00 p.m., I decided to call the vet's clinic and they said to bring him in, that they had a 6:00 p.m. appointment available, but with a different vet than the one he saw on May 26th. I figured it would be fine. So, I texted my daughter to let her know (Dancer is really her cat) and texted my gardener M to let him know that I will not be home when he arrives to tend to the garden and asked him to water and tidy as needed. Then, at around 5:00 p.m., I bundled Dancer into his carrier and took him to see the vet. He protested quite loudly all the way there and then, didn't want to come out of the carrier once we were at the clinic!
Of course, by the time we got to the clinic, not only had he stopped sneezing, his eyes were clear! And I felt rather foolish trying to explain to the vet what was wrong! I wish I had thought to take a picture of him when his eyes were discharging. I wondered if he was allergic to something in the house or perhaps the pollen from the plants?
Anyway, the vet checked his eyes and listened to his heart, etc., and said he could be having a bit of a respiratory infection. She had them do an eye scan and told me that he seems to have a scratch in his right cornea, but, it's not a single scratch, but, rather, like dots, which seemed unusual. He was given an antibiotics injection and prescribed an antibiotic eye cream to be applied to the right eye twice a day and some probiotics supplements to be sprinkled on his food once a day to help his gut bacteria after the antibiotics injection. My own eyes watered a bit when I saw the bill, but, I paid it and we came home. He was rather subdued during the ride home and didn't complain too much, which was nice.
I have to take him back for a follow-up visit next Friday. I made the appointment before I left the clinic.
We got home around 7:00 p.m. and M was just finishing up in the garden, so I got to chat with him a bit.
After we got home, I fed Dancer; he ate the new cat food with the probiotic powder sprinkled on top without any fuss, which was nice.
I was both tired and hungry when we got home. Brunch had been two slices of bread, toasted, with butter and peach jam and I hadn't eaten anything else after that. It was too late for my evening tea, so I had dinner right away (leftover rice, shrimp curry, cucumber salad, and peach chutney), ate some yogurt with palm treacle, and took a nap on the sofa while "watching/listening" to something on the TV!
Between worrying about Dancer and getting him to the vet, and taking naps afterwards, I didn't get much housework done. But, I did handwash one of my wool sweaters and lay it flat to dry. I also picked a few peaches, even though they were not ripe. I'm hoping they will ripen inside the house. I noticed that a bird or a squirrel had eaten part of a peach higher up in the tree, so maybe there are riper peaches further up. It's so damp and cold that the peaches are molding on the tree without getting ripe! There's rain in the forecast for Sunday and Monday, but, it's supposed to be sunny after that - the peaches need some sun and warmth to ripen!
On Friday, I was grateful for:
- A working heater (yes, I put it on for a bit, this morning, because I was tired of being so cold!)
- I was able to get a same day appointment for Dancer
- Medications to treat Dancer if he does. in fact, have a respiratory infection (although his symptoms seemed to have cleared by the time we got to the vet's)
- Medications to treat Dancer if he does. in fact, have a respiratory infection (although his symptoms seemed to have cleared by the time we got to the vet's)
- Money to pay for his vet bills
- M tending to the garden
Today's joyful activity was picking peaches.
In other news, the white sage (a native plant) is flowering and the bees are loving it (hummingbirds, too, but, I have not been able to photograph them).
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| Do you see the bees? (In the pictures on the right) |
How was your Friday? What are your plans for the weekend?
I'm so sorry to learn that Dancer has been unwell and hopefully he will soon be back to normal. Vets are expensive here too. I was speaking to a neighbour who had paid silly money for her dogs ear treatments and she was hoping to recoup the cost from her pet insurance. I haven't taken pet insurance for Tilly as I know sometimes the insurers are difficult to deal with but maybe I should!
ReplyDeleteWe are having a heatwave here and maybe I shouldn't complain about that but I haven't slept well in this heat.
Thank you, Eileen. Poor Dancer is starting to feel his age, I think! Anyway, he seems to like the probiotic powder I am adding to his food and he's eating well. So, that's a good sign, I think. He didn't like getting the eye cream applied to his eye this morning, but, I rewarded him with some of the special cat food I bought for him (I've ordered more of it) and he was happy. I don't have pet insurance for him, but, I do budget each month for his care and so far, it's worked out well.
DeleteI'm sorry you are finding it difficult to sleep with it being so hot, but, oh, please, send me some of that heat! It's 68F here (20C) which is still cold for me! Our normal June temperatures should be around 80F/26C.
Owning a pet is not cheap, but the rewards are many. Does the vet think the cornea scratches came from the respiratory infection? I've never heard of that.
ReplyDeleteApparently cats can get corneal scratches (usually called corneal ulcers) due to feline herpes virus and the vet suggested getting him tested for that, but, decided against testing him yesterday because he has recently had a whole panel of blood work and a urinalysis done just 2 weeks ago. Apparently, corneal ulcers form as a result of trauma and that includes respiratory infections. We don't know exactly what caused the respiratory infection, but, the vet said that maybe he got stressed on his previous visit. He wasn't sneezing before that prior visit. Maybe they had another cat at the back of the clinic where they take them in to treat them and that cat had some respiratory infection and Dancer caught it from that cat? Maybe I brought in some mold spores or something on the bottom of my shoes when I came in from the garden and he was allergic to that?
DeleteI applied the first dose of eye cream this morning (he didn't like that!) and we shall see if he is better when I take him in on Friday. His appetite has improved, though!
Poor Dancer, and poor Bless, I can imagine the bill for the vet was not insignificant. You did well to get him help immediately. Thank goodness he ate his food with the probiotics on top! I was thinking of him yesterday when I saw some fancy cat food in tiny containers in the store. I guess you will catch up on other things. I had plans yesterday for a nap when I got back from shopping, but a flat tire on the way home delayed me! I was so thankful for a kind lady across the highway who ran me home, and that DH had recovered enough to call a neighbour to take him to put the spare tire on and deliver the car to have it fixed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. Yes, having read up a bit more on cornea scratches (or corneal ulcers as they are called) I realize I did the right thing to get him to the vet before it could become worse.
DeleteWe have ordered a box of the fancy food he seems to be partial to, although he has been eating his regular food lately. He turned his nose up at the tuna I gave him this morning, but, after I sprinkled the probiotics on it, he ate the whole thing and asked for more! I guess it smells and tastes good?!
Yes, what is that saying about plans going awry? :D I'm glad you had a kind lady who helped you get home when you had the flat tire and your husband was able to put the spare tire on and take the car to be fixed. Help when we most need it is a blessing, isn't it? I do hope you can get a nap, today. My housework can wait another day or two. :)
Oh I do hope the medicine works and Dancer recovers quickly. It is so stressful when our pets are not well. You did right calling the vet and taking him in. I think he is as much your cat as your daughter's, if not more so by now! Housework can wait. I hope you can rest more.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie; yes, you are right, I did the right thing taking him in to be seen. I applied the first dose of the eye ointment, today (he didn't like it); there is a second dose for later in the evening and, hopefully, we will see some improvement, soon.
DeleteYes, I suppose he is now more my cat than my daughter's!
Housework will wait, won't it?
Hope all is well with you and your kitty, Celie. :)
That's quite a mystery isn't it? I hope that it passes without a repeat. Never heard of a cat with hayfever before but if that's what it is, I can sympathise with Dancer as mine's been dreadful these past few days. They keep forecasting rain but it hasn't come so far.
ReplyDeleteElla
It is a mystery and Dancer has sneezed a couple of times since coming home. Maybe it's a comment about my housekeeping, because my house is probably dustier than the vet clinic! Colder, too, as I don't have the heater on (it was nice and warm at the vet clinic!).
DeleteSorry to hear about your hayfever issues. I hope you get some rain to wash away the pollen. I used to get really bad hayfever; then it went away or rather, it turned into asthma!
Poor Dancer. I do hope he's feeling better now. That's how I always feel when I go to the doctors - the symptoms disappear and I feel like an idiot! Is he allergic to anything?
ReplyDeleteIt often happens with me, too, Sharon! Go to the doctor's and everything is fine! I'm wondering if he's allergic to something, myself, but, I don't know for sure. I've been applying the eye ointment and hopefully it will help.
DeletePoor Dancer. I hope he will be better soon, but it was good you could get an early appointment for him.
ReplyDeleteMy dad always used to say he would prefer to be treated by a vet himself. No problem in getting an appointment, and all the treatment is done under one roof :)
Thank you, Jules; I felt a bit silly because his eye was clear when we got there, but, I didn't want to wait until the weekend was over to see if he was worse before taking him in.
DeleteYes, I had another friend tell me that he would prefer to be seen by a vet because they had to figure out what was wrong by examining the patient as opposed to being told the symptoms by the patient! :D
Dear Dancer,
ReplyDeleteYou are having some issues aren't you. I hope you feel well soon. I am glad to hear you are eating your new food. You need to gain a couple of pounds. You've been running your mom around here and there haven't you?
Try and be nicer about the carrier this Friday. It is just something you have to put up with. We all have those moments, believe me.
Your friend over the internet,
Debra
Dear Debra,
DeleteThank you for the get well wishes. Yes, I'm not feeling 100%, but, I'm getting better. I really like the new food and my appetite has improved. Mummy spends too much time seated on the sofa being on the computer, so, she needs me to get her to run around a bit! :D
I still don't like being in the carrier. I don't like it at all! I protested all the way to the vet's clinic and back. But Mummy gave me some of the new food as a treat.
A big "meow-you" for writing to me,
Dancer