Mara's Little Adventure...

Edward called me at work this morning. "I think we need to take Mara in." Ok. What's she doing...? "Well, she was in the box for about a minute and didn't pee much." That's a bad sign. It usually indicates a UTI or something serious.

I called the Mobile Vet. "The Doctor's not in today. I can put you on the schedule for tomorrow." Not sure we wanted to wait that long. So I called our old vet. "How about 11:15?" Sounds good. So, I went home at 10:15, picked up Edward and Mara and off we went.

We thought it would take both of us to get her there. Turns out she was better then we thought she would be. She was hiding under the bed when it was time to leave so Edward pulled her out. Then we wrapped her in a towel and I covered her head with it. She didn't realize what was going on until she was half way into the carrier and the door rattled. I could feel her tense up, but by that point all I had to do was put a hand on her behind and push. By the time she got untangled from the towel, we had the door latched. She was not a happy girl. But she didn't struggle or try to get out of the carrier like last time, and she didn't cry much at all on the way to the vet. She even started out of the carrier when we opened the door once we were in the examining room, instead of cowering in the back and having to be unceremoniously dumped out.

We kept telling her she wasn't going back to PetSmart, and we promised we'd take her back home just as soon as the doctor was finished with her. I don't think she believed us.

The doctor gave her a good look over, felt her bladder and said it felt a little thick, like she had an infection. She also took a blood sample to check her kidneys and other organ function. Then she sent us home with some antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory to help her feel better.

Grand total: $179.57. Vet trips ain't cheap.

We put her back in the carrier and took her home. She cried a little more this time and once tried to dig her way out of the carrier before we got here. When we opened the door we had to catch her and give her the first antibiotic. Luckily, she's not a hard cat to pill. Then she got the anti-inflammatory. Then she got some treats... We were both surprised that she didn't run and go hide under the bed again. She stayed out, had a few mouthfuls of dry food and rubbed on everything she got near. It was like she was marking everything to make sure it was all still hers. Or maybe, she was saying "I'm so glad to be home!" Like a frightened flier kissing the ground after a particularly rough flight.

We think this all may have been brought on by the rough last few days we've all had. During all the tree work, she was hiding under the beds. It was unnerving enough for us to listen to the thud, thud of heavy branches hitting the ground on top of the roar of the chain saws. Add to that visitors for two days earlier in the week. She hides then, too. It's entirely likely that she just hadn't been drinking enough. But we think we caught this early enough. While she's been hiding under the bed some, it hasn't been all the time. Last night she was on the bed and up on the bookcases, the only place in the whole house where she chases her own tail. I'm pretty sure she'll be OK... I hope so. 'Cause we don't like these little adventures any more then she does....