The Cat Is Looking Better

In my last cat post, I mentioned that we were taking Juno to the vet, because it was acting really sick, and I was a little afraid that it might be curtains for the old cat, who is now 14 years old.

The vet ran tests, and they, of course, came up inconclusive. Could be this, could be that. It was looking bad. The vet was talking a lot about trying to make Juno comfortable. I'm sure she would have done whatever we were willing to pay for to keep the cat alive, but we couldn't afford to break the bank to string a very old cat along if it's reached the end of its ability to stay alive on its own.

She gave us a few medications that we had to give Juno, and hopefully that could help her to stabilize. One was an anti-nausea medicine. The second was an antibiotic. The last was a pain reliever. One came in pills that we had to hide in her food. The other two were liquid that we had to get down the cat's throat somehow.

We were not looking forward to that. The vet had barely been able to examine Juno, because she's so cantankerous that she wouldn't allow her even close without hissing and slashing at her. 

My daughter had paid attention, though, and noticed how they'd used a blanket to shield themselves from danger, and adapted that strategy. Since the cat trusts her much better than a stranger, she was able to pick up the cat and wrap her in a blanket, immobilizing the threat before any of us could suffer any grievous bodily harm.

Pinned down, we were able to get that medicine in, though she did foil us a time or two by thrashing her head at just the right moment. She has her share of cat medicine stuck in her fur now, but most of it got in her mouth.

The very night after we left the vet, the cat started eating again. She didn't puke for once. She ate again, and again. She was getting her strength back and quickly. And now, the cat is looking much, much better.

I don't know if it's just the medicine, though. Has she stopped puking constantly because she's on anti-nausea medication, and as soon as that stops, she'll go back to it? Or was she just sick, and because she's 14 years old she doesn't have the immune system to fight it off by herself? It's up in the air. I guess we'll see. But for now, she's doing much better, and has lived to fight another day.