Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Pets are friends




Tessa is my cat.. I didn't get her as a small kitten and I'm not sure how old she is.. 12ish, I think..
In any case, I paid about $450.00 for her. And right now you're probably saying exactly what I would have said 12 years ago, "who the hell pays $450.00 for a cat?".. I do.. But not on purpose..
My ex-husband actually took me to the pet store because there was a dog there that he wanted.. I looked in the little glass room at a puppy named Bo.. Bo had the worst ever case of ADHD.. This dog was bouncing off the ceilings.. And since I was 8 months pregnant with Ryleigh, and dealing with an 8 year old son that had ADHD, I had no desire to take the hyper puppy home..
Then I heard it.. This faint little cry from the back room.. So I asked the clerk and she said it was a cat in the back office.. They were resistant, but I insisted on seeing her.. And there she sat in this little cat carrier.. Her little Siamese face staring at me.. At that moment, I knew she was going home with me..
Her price tag, $99.00.. I said "wrap her up".. I was told she was sick and had ear mites... "I don't care, wrap her up".. So they packaged her up with an antibiotic and ear drops..
I mentioned she was Siamese.. But she wasn't registered.. So my plan was to get her papered, breed her and make a ton of money selling kittens... HA..
It was probably 2 weeks before I delivered Ryleigh when it happened.. I was sleeping on the couch because I was so big and pregnant, I couldn't lay flat.. And I woke up to Tessa squirming.. I could actually see her stomach contracting, and then she would bleed out of her little kitty Vajayjay.. And on that fine Sunday afternoon, we rushed her to the kitty hospital, where she had an emergency kitty hysterectomy.. And $350.00 later, I've got a cat I can't breed..
I guess I didn't realize how attached I had gotten to her, until now..
She's sick.. I think she's dying actually.. And in the last 48 hours, I've spent a ton of money at the vet (right before Christmas, and the plant shut down).. I've brought her food to her on the couch, given her antibiotics that she hates, and last night administered fluids with an IV bag and needle (she didn't like that much)..
In the evenings I put her on my lap and she falls asleep (she doesn't have the strength to get down, but I suspect she would rather be left alone).. Every couple of minutes I tickle her ear to see if she's still alive.. Otherwise, I refuse to disturb her.. Last night I sat there having to pee for like an hour.. But I wasn't going to move her and risk waking her up..
It's funny.. I've taken it for granted that she was going to be around forever.. I'm devastated at the idea that I won't have to pick up hair balls, or roll the cat hair off my clothes every morning..
I guess I'm an ol' softy after all.
Who's your favorite pet?

4 comments:

Amy said...

I didn't notice this post until now. How's your cat? My heart goes out to you.

My favorite pet was our dog Lupa. She was part pure bred husky and part mutt, which made her a mutt. But she was the smartest dog I've ever known. We got her before Cassidy was born. Unfortunately, she was hit after we moved back to Illinois from California. We still miss her.

Kerri said...

Thanks Amy..
She's still alive right now.. and on a new medication (prednisone). It seems like a little kitty stroke.. She has no balance and keeps tipping over.. She's improved a little bit.. I'm gonna wait a week or so before I talk about the next step (putting her down).
Mom question.. Ryleigh said if they put Tessa down, she wants to be there.. You think at 11 she could handle it?

Sorry about Lupa.. Pets are family, and it's tough to lose them..

Heard about the cutbacks there.. Looks like you're safe for awhile?

Amy said...

I would say that if she wants to be there, you should let her. She's 11 and should be able to handle it (although it will surely be difficult) and will understand. Tessa's been around since you were pregnant with Ryleigh, right? I would let her be there.

Yeah, I'm safe for now. Time will tell for all of us.

Kerri said...

Yeah you're right.. She asked to be there, I should let her.. Hopefully it won't come to that though..