I’ll Still Be Thankful (30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 30)
Posted By jayna on November 30, 2010
30 minutes until my little personal goal is up. 30 days of thankfulness. And? I’m only a little thankful it’s over.
Despite my near week-long stretch over the holidays, I managed not to slack off each day. I kept my notes and soaked up each joyous thing. And? I’ve saved my most depressing thing for last.
My sweet cat, Rascal, has been a royal pain in the ass for the last two years. He peed all over the basement that we renovated at my mom’s house, ruined the carpet in her upstairs hallway and left his mark everywhere. Then, we moved here to our rental and he kept at it. I went through stain remover by the case full. We saw vet after vet, and had one diagnosis after another. Recurring UTIs, crystals, anxiety, territoriality, depression, on and on. We put in new litter boxes, gave him his own food and water, went through round after round of anitbiotics, began special food and, my favorite, put him on kitty anti-depressants. This cat, to say the least, has become rather expensive for a stray that I found while at work one night. Seven years ago I hid that cat in a box behind the front desk of a Hilton hotel for the entire second half of my shift. He came home with me, bound for a new family somewhere else the next day and the husband named him, lobbying for him to stay.
I always pull out that fateful night when the husband gives me grief about “his cat” becoming a nuisance.
For a while, everything was fine. The peeing calmed down long enough for me to douse the entire house in anti-stain chemicals. He fattened up, lounged about like a good cat and found himself back in everyone’s good graces.
Then, he started again.
Everywhere.
And then, he dropped almost two pounds in a month.
Back to the vet, hundreds more in testing to wring my hands and hope like hell we figure this out before the house begins to smell like an old litter box.
The tests came back.
He’s off the hook.
Diagnosed with kidney failure, with an uncertain length of a future, he’s most definitely off the hook.
So now, I mash up his special food coated in special medicines. I hold him down for his pills. And I drop what I’m doing every time he wants to be petted. He gets the warm spot under the covers. The sunny patch on the clean bedspread. My lap, even if I was about to get up.
Even with the bills and the cleaning and the complaining, I’m so thankful for this cat. This odd looking, lanky cat with his incredibly long tail and always-cold paws. And I’m going to cherish every bit we have left with him.
(and yes, that is a 2×4 propping up my christmas tree as it balances on the fireplace. we like to live on the edge around here.)
Our cat sometimes gives us grief but I would never in a million years think of rehoming the lovable little guy. I hope your time with Rascal is precious….
(awe)
Love the 2×4 prop! I couldnt have a Christmas tree with my demon kitty. She replaced the Angel on the top on more than ONE occasion.
Here’s hoping Rascal lives a long time. It was a little over a year ago that I had to put Mom’s cat, Bandit, to sleep because of renal failure that I didn’t catch in time. Give Rascal a kiss from me, will you?
((Hugs)))