And the beat goes on . . .
I arrived as usual to visit Colleen and she, as usual, was snuggled in her cat bed, half asleep, as content as any cat can be. But I have my expectations, and I walk into the Adoption Room, find my favorite chair, sit down, and call out her name.
One eye opens. Colleen lifts her head off the blanket and peruses the environment. We make eye contact. She smiles, then slowly climbs to her paws.
“Well, come on now,” I say, sweetly coaxing her nearer.
It doesn’t take much. Not anymore. I have made a friend for life, and there is nothing more satisfying to have a kitty glad to see you.
In the beginning of our relationship, Colleen enjoyed being petted. She liked the occasional hug, but now she climbs on my lap, doesn’t mind being picked up and really hugged–and she even tolerates an occasional belly rub. Only occasional. When she is in the midst of a very deep purr, and my hand is on her belly, sometimes she’ll delicately place her teeth on my hand as a warning–watch it there, Kate–but then sometimes she doesn’t seem to mind having her belly rubbed at all.
On those special days, all is right with the world!
I know our little girl is happy and getting the best of care. She is like one of those kids who always seems to be suffering with some version of the sniffles. She had another upper respiratory infection to deal with this month, which meant she had to endure another round of antibiotics and steroids. Luckily, the infection responded to standard antibiotics and she was spared the horrible tasting liquid antibiotics that she likes to spit out.
In addition to that one issue, we are wondering if Colleen is also responsible for “over urinating.” Some kitty in that Adoption Room urinating a little excessively, and Colleen’s steroid use makes her the likely candidate. We will monitor her for this, especially since she has early renal disease. Colleen has also been pawing at her face more than usual, which could be seizure-related, so we’re sending a video of her to a specialist for an consultation.
But these pesky medical issues are not getting her down. Colleen is hanging out with her roomies, and rumor has it that even the shy Sylvia is coming out of her shell.
Thanks, as always, for your continued generosity to Tabby’s Place. Your help makes it possible to continue to give Colleen such good medical care.
Colleen and I are both hoping the good weather holds up so we can all enjoy the beautiful autumn before the snow comes.