1.19.2009

RETURN VISIT

In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods. They have not forgotten this."
Unknown

Friday was a hard day. Wondering what Panga was going through. I nip out of the store six on the dot and head over to the vets office to pick her up.

Dr. Vet takes me to her cage, a cage, the Duchess in a cage. Of course I knew she would be, where else?

But she looked so bedraggled. So dopped.

When she sees me, she perks up, as if she thought I'd abondoned her. She had wet in the cage and her tail was laying in it. I picked her up holding her backside away from me so Dr. Vet could dry her off and clean her up a bit. He touches her tail and she turns and hisses at him.

Very politely, of course.

Then he proceeds to show me how to pop the pills neatly down her throat with a long pill plunger. He makes it look so easy! Panga looks so willing. No problem! I can do that.

NOT!

As we're leaving, half way to the door, Panga turns back to him and hisses tiredly, "And that's what I think of your establishment!"

He laughs, "I like you a whole lot more than you like me, I think."

I thank him, take the meds, the weary cat, and my jangled nevers and go home. Panga is so please to see home. She wants in the bed, under the covers right away. I wash her up with a warm, damp cloth and tuck her in. She sleeps till around nine or so, till Duncan goes to check on her.

She comes out and sits in her nightly throne of Duncan's lap.

Everything seems to be getting back to normal. Right. I take her to work with me. She hibernats in the Pangalarium, (her nest place in the back room), doesn't come out to visit till late in the day. I understand, she's been through a truma. (Me too!)

At home that night, the big pill event.

Duncan and I both try. One holds, one shoots. She spits it out. "Hmmm, I don't understand what we're doing wrong? It's exactly what he showed me to do. Only she never really fought him like this."

So the pills went into some wet food, something she has never eatten before that day. (She has always been a dry food cat - with small servings of banana, cantalope, and watermelon on the side ocassionally.) I had tried the wet food at the store around fivish, so I knew she would eat it. Was delighted with that, as Dr. Vet said she should have it once a day.

Panga took one sniff of the pill ladden food and walked away. Just two small spoonful and she turned her nose up at it.

Someone suggested Velveta cheese as a cloking device, "Works every time!" She likes cheese once in a while. Sure, I'll try it.

Last night we went back to the pill plunger. This time Duncan was successful and managed to get two of the three down her and she hadn't eaten anything all day so I mixed the thrid pill with some wet food, and Bingo, she ate it.

Big sigh of relief. Maybe we will all make it through this inflamed bladder after all.

Now that we know there are no stones, no crystals, no tumors, just odd kidneys.

"Maybe now you guys can get back to the proper adoration and respect due me." says Panga, the Duchess of Leaf House

2 comments:

  1. Hmmm, what's inflaming the kidneys?

    I will say, as someone who worked at a vet's for years and who has rescued 135 cats to date (DIRECTLY), I never use the pill plunger. I put some butter on my fingers and hold the pill with them. With the other hand, put your thumb and index finger over the top of the head, like a big "C," gripping the upper jaw (my fingers usually go into the mouth at the very back/sides of the mouth), and tilt back. This opens the mouth. Put the pill on the tongue and poke it down quickly, let the head tilt forward a bit and keep the mouth shut until you see the kitty swallow. This is the A&M way of it, and it truly works and is easy on the pet. Putting it in the food is sort of unwittingly mean, I think, because many pills are nasty and start to dissolve and make the food taste terrible. And we dealt with quite a few injuries from people who mishandled the pill plunger. We used it on the toy dogs, though.

    Hope your kitty continues on the mend.

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  2. I use the same method as Olde Dame Penniwig but I've never used butter and I think I'll try adding that in.

    I had to get the vet to show me how to do it and then do it in front of him and even then it took a while before I got confident at it. The trick seems to be to get the pill far enough back in the mouth.

    I'm having to give my cat pills for an inflamed colon at the moment and she doesn't like it one little bit.

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