February 13, 2003
Crazy insane
Crazy insane day around here. As I was getting ready for school this morning, I noticed Pooka was acting strangely. She's been hiding since last night, woke me up snarling at Rumpus (well, sort of waking me up--I remember stirring briefly in the middle of the night to remind her that she was a cat and not a dog, so quit the growling).
Then I got a good look at her this morning, and she looked terrible. Eyes puffy, crouching, couldn't stop shaking her head or twitching her left ear. When she finally came to see me, I saw that her ear was really inflamed. Bright red, hot to the touch. When she jumped off the bed and fell over, I knew I had to take her to the vet. I was pretty sure she had an ear infection.
Her vet, by the way, is marvelous. If anybody reading this is in Ann Arbor and has cats, I can't recommend the Ann Arbor Cat Clinic highly enough. After taking a good look at Pooka's ear and skin (this is acne cat, remember), the vet says she's probably got allergies and recommended changing her food. Then sent Pooka home after giving her a steroid shot, some ear drops, and what essentially looks like amoxicillin.
As soon as we got home, Pooka ran and hid. I hear her growl every so often, but I haven't seen her since. This could prove a problem when medication time comes. I may have to camp the food bowl. (Whoa, where'd that EQ-ism come from?)
So, day of little school and much worry. I hate having a sick animal. Pooka's skittish enough as it is, but when I have to do something like this (or give her medicine or cut her claws) she just acts like I've committed an act of betrayal. It's unfair that we can't explain to our cats that we're really tormenting them because we love them. Seriously.
