Friday, June 8, 2007

Picking China's nose


Yesterday was chemo day for China, once again. I thought her weight was about the same, but they called me while I was at lunch and said she had lost another 1/3 pound and they wanted to run a bunch of tests like abdominal ultrasound, blood tests, xrays and any other really expensive veterinary procedure you can think of. Now, I've spent $15,000 on her so far, so it's not like I'm unwilling to spend money on her because she's "just a cat", but 1.) it would be half the price to have these tests done at my local vet, 2.) when I suggested force-feeding her, they said I have to think about her quality of life if she needs to be force-fed (what about her quality of life if she has to spend all day getting prodded by needles and ultra-sounds and sedated for x-rays?) and 3.) they said I might try microwaving her food to make it "smellier".

I should mention that snot has been coming out of China's nose for months now. They tried to clear it up with several types of antibiotics, but nothing made the snot go away (and she especially loathed taking the liquid antibiotic). She will have these sneezing fits (and I can hear her sneezing right now) where long strands of snot come out of her nose and often go flying all over everything (the wall, windows, my clothes) and sometimes it just gets dried up and crusty. I mostly leave her nose alone, because she doesn't like having it touched.

So I get back to the vet (where she didn't have all the expensive tests, just her chemotherapy) and they tell me I should use saline nose drops on her nose and keep it clean and clear of snot, something they obviously did for her while she was there. Then, when I got her home, she started eating food like crazy! Maybe I don't have to force-feed her again...I just have to pick her nose for her.

You can pick your friends
You can pick your nose
but you can't pick your friend's nose
(but I pick my cat's nose)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's really good to see someone who cares so much for their pets. I have six cats and one dog (a bit much, I know) and I love them all very much. If I had to spend that much money on just one, if not all of my pets, there's not a doubt in the world that I'd do it. Anyone who says she's "just a cat" has obviously never had the joy of a pet in their life.

Ilsa Kasmar said...

Hehehe. To think getting kitty's nose picked makes her eat... *snerk* Makes me wonder..

She is quite cute. Looks rather relaxed. Heheh, I'd hate to see what she looks like with snot drippin out her nose. But I sypathize, cuz my cat pukes everywhere and I have to clean it up. XP I am rapidly losing taste for having 4 cats.o