It’s been one of those weeks… or months.
It’s been CRAZY busy at work. We have a huge project going on that I’m immersed in and we’re under the gun. So, I’ve been putting in extra hours, staying late, and doing some work from home in the evenings and on weekends.
I had the brilliant idea to schedule dentals for three of my cats: Rumpelmintz, Omaha, and Jellybean. Jellybean had been for a regular exam in November, and the vet noted severe tartar, etc., so she needed a cleaning. Rumpelmintz had been acting funny around mealtime – eating a few bites, then running away from the bowl and stealing food from another cat instead – a possible indication she was having some pain eating (and thought it was caused by her particular bowl). Omaha almost always indicates tooth pain, pawing at his mouth. Has since before I adopted him. Since he can’t be examined while conscious, I just schedule a dental about once a year, and they gas him down and examine and clean him all at once.
I decided that rather than take a cat for a dental once every couple weeks, I’d take all three at once. It’d be time-effective, and I could charge the cost to my Care Credit card and pay it off over time with interest deferred. One thing I neglected to consider in all this, is I now have THREE CATS on antibiotics and pain meds twice daily – in addition to all the usual cat medications, sub-q fluids, and insulin injections. Jellybean and Rumpelmintz are both very difficult to pill, though I manage. Pilling them twice daily does NOT add joy and sunshine to my mornings or evenings.
To top it off, we got some bad news. Omaha’s always had the mouth issues, as well as issues with arthritis and hip problems. He had a couple surgeries on his hips before I adopted him. X-rays Wednesday revealed a bone chip in one hip, also that he had malformed carpas (wrists). The vet was surprised he could walk at all. In addition, when they went to clean his teeth, they discovered his enamel was just flaking off. That means his teeth are very sensitive and uncomfortable. I guess neither the hips or teeth are something new, but now I know about them and can worry about them. My poor little man. They gave me a referral to a dentistry/surgery specialist who he will see in early January.
On top of that, when I got Rumpelmintz home she was falling over and her back legs didn’t work properly. She was the last one to be gassed down, so perhaps it was just the anesthesia wearing off – but now it’s Friday and one back leg still isn’t right. So, now I’m concerned she may have thrown a blood clot. She’ll go back to the vet Saturday to be examined.
I don’t want to ask “what else can happen?” because I don’t want to find out.
