These are the days

Yesterday afternoon the husband was supposed to fly home from a quickie business trip to Seattle. In fact, his plane was diverted due to some pretty spectacular storms - and when all was said and done, we didn't get to bed until nearly 3:00 a.m., at which point the cat began vomiting up mucus like nobody else was doing it right. After that, she seemed okay for a bit, and then a few hours later she was at it again.

I figured a hairball was the culprit, so I dosed her with some Vaseline* and went back to bed, because I was very damn near comatose with exhaustion. Later, when I'd rallied enough brain cells to get out of bed and start the day, she was shaky and sitting around in the "hunker" position which broadcasts "I don't feel good" to anyone who's ever dealt with cats.

So here we are, back in Tennessee without a dedicated vet. Luckily, we'd had a number of recommendations for the (new since last time we lived here) Cat Clinic of Chattanooga - where they were kind enough to work Spainy into the schedule. Of course, by the time we got her there, she was more or less acting like her usual self ... except that she hadn't eaten or used the litter box since yesterday.

The vet was a sweetheart - in fact, she also does the cat-vetting for the Pet Placement Center, from whence we adopted Spainy all those years ago. The verdict: The kitty has worms(?!), picked up from the fleas she acquired as soon as we got here; she was also a bit dehydrated, and may or may not have a blockage ... but if she does, it's probably not very bad and will likely pass and/or be helped along with Vaseline, since that's worked so far. Deworming, claw-trimming, fluids, and anti-nausea meds followed, and now the cat is camped out on my office day-bed, looking a little greasy from the topical stuff and maybe a little stoned, but otherwise okay.

Still, if she'd just take a great big poop or grab a bite to eat, I'd feel a whole lot better.

Anyway. Because it was just that kind of day - I've also been without internet since this morning. Apparently the storms last night took a lightning-bolt parting-shot at our internet (and TV) service provider, and it took them until about 6:00 p.m. to get everything up and running again. Thank God for smart phones, but I'm kind of behind on my emails and whatnot - so if you've expected to hear from me, or if you need a response, my apologies. I'm working through the queue, I swear.

Yes. Well.

Tomorrow my dad and stepmom come to visit for a couple of days, in order to see the new house and generally hang out - since I haven't seen them for over a year, and now they're only a few hours away. I very much hope I don't have to send the husband running back to the doc while they're here, but like I said, the vet doesn't think this is a major problem - though she's scheduled a follow-up phone call tomorrow to make sure - so I'm telling myself that all will be well.

If I seem particularly twitchy about the cat's condition, I have my reasons. Okay, I have one major reason - and if you're on my Twitter or Facebook, then you probably know about it already. But if not, that's okay. I think I'll save the blogging until all is set in stone, lest I somehow jinx things all to hell.

For now, I'm going to go do some laundry and watch a little TV ... since it's back up again, and I can do that.


* Works just as well as Petromalt or any of the flavored "cat lubes," and for some reason, Spain finds it less offensive than the stuff that's actually intended to be used for the explicit purpose of greasing up her insides. So long as you get 100% petroleum jelly - with no fillers, additives, or fragrances - it's perfectly safe, and pretty effective on hairballs.