“Mom, my cat is sad,” David told me on Monday night.

It was the next day before I had the chance to stop and consider the cat.  David had also said, “If my cat dies, I die.” so I knew I had to make sure everybody was okay.  After all, it’s my job to keep everyone as alive and healthy as possible.

“Hmmmmmm”, I thought as I opened the front door and let the sad cat outside,  “For heaven’s sake I think I see a lump on his shoulder.”  I bent down and gently felt around in his fur.  Sure enough, he had a large lump and gave up a sad little meow of protest.

I called the vet and made an appointment for 9:30 Wednesday morning.

This was already after getting the children off to school, laundry, cleaning, and so forth.

I showered and dressed and then did “the old heave ho ” to get up into the storage space under the addition to locate the cat carrier.  Then  went back upstairs, found the cat and attempted to put him inside it.  We’ve all seen videos of people trying to put cats into things and the cats spreading out all four of their limbs and leaning out instead of agreeably going in.  It was kind of funny the first time but I eventually was able to zip him up.

I took the carrier and my purse out to the car and away we went, driving down the road.  The carrier was in the front seat next to me and moving around as Gentleman Gray yowled in a very unnatural voice every 5 seconds.  He pressed his head into every nook and cranny of the carrier until he found The Old Hole.  The old hole had been repaired with masking tape years ago but this cat was stronger than masking tape and out popped his head and then the rest of him.

I was driving so there was nothing I could do but keep my eyes on the road and hope the cat would keep control of his bowels.  (he had an accident once in Jacob’s car)  Gentleman Gray experiences an unusual amount of stress inside of cars but it seemed to help him be free from his carrier.  He went in and out of my lap and looked out the windows.

I arrived at the vet 15 minutes early which is oh so typical of me.  I am very conscientious about being on time.  In this instance it proved to be a blessing, as I had time to dash into the hardware store which was right next door to the vet.  I went inside and asked where the duct tape was and found a pair of little scissors, too.

I went back to my car and almost threw my hip out trying to get into it because the side boards didn’t come down so I could step up.  I realized later on that Gentleman Gray had pressed the button to disengage them.

I made the necessary repairs to the cat carrier and then attempted to put the cat back inside of it, again with the spreading of limbs, claws, meows, and super cat strength.  But I won.

I took him inside.  They were able to get us right into a room, where the vet promptly took a look at him and checked his temperature.  She immedietly thought “absess” which is what I was secretly thinking it was, myself.  (proudly)  She said that since he goes outdoors it was probably from a cat bite from another cat that became infected.  She and her assistant gently restrained Gentleman Gray and did a quick but careful shave over his lump.  Then she inserted a needle and pulled out some rather sick looking fluid.  She took out the needle and gave him three shots in the hind quarters; rabies booster, distemper booster, and a powerful antibiotic.  She retrieved another syringe “just for fun” and did one more attempt at draining as much of the pus as possible.  Meanwhile, I took a few pictures because I knew the children would enjoy the story later on.  I guess I was having fun, too.

I had to buy more special cat food for our other cat (Sherlock) who has urinary problems and then away I went, skipping down the sidewalk, 320 dollars out of pocket and a cat carrier in my hand moving around like there was a wild animal inside of it.  (He rolled it across the floor while I paid the bill.)

But the value our dear pets give to us in return is priceless.  That’s what I said to my husband when he made a few sarcastic comments about another trip to the vet for a common cat.  (I love you, Rich!)

Oblivious sad cat, right before I picked him up to begin our adventure together.

By the time we arrived at our destination, he had busted through an Old Hole in the cat carrier.  The lump is visable in this picture.

“I wonder if I could also bust through this old window?”

Gentleman Gray getting shaved.

When I showed 8 year old Seth the photo, he studied it and then said, “I like that guy.”

She got as much out as she could and then told me that it might open up at home eventually and finish draining.  Or it could just go down on its own and heal from the antibiotics, which would last for 2 weeks in his system.  Please oh please let it be the latter.

She said we could put warm compresses on it.  (so far he has had no warm compresses)

He did have a fever, by the way.  Pooooooooor kitty.  He was sad after all.

I put him in the back of the car for the ride home so I could have some peace and quiet.  When we arrived I opened up the back and let him out.  In the video you can see the repaired carrier and all the “special food”.

He said thank you, did you see that?  *heartmelts*

We came inside the house and Sherlock came over to console his friend.  He knew by sniffing him just where he had been.

Gentleman spent the rest of the day and night sleeping but this morning I found him playing nicely with a little red bead on the floor and then later on I noticed him spending a lot of time grooming himself so I knew he was perking up.

ah, adventures.