Sam is curled up on the couch (on a towel) next to me sleeping comfortably with what looks like much relief and contentment. David left work early and met me at the vet to pick him up around 4:30 this afternoon. We paid our bill and talked to the vet about what we need to do for him for the next few days. She wants us to keep him inside for 5 days which will be hard. This is a cat who wants to be outside; who will only use a litter box if you lock the cat door and won't let him out. Right now he doesn't seem to want to wander, but I worry about days 3 - 5.
he smelled pretty bad when we picked him up. The vet said when she pulled the catheter, it is normal for him to be a little incontinent at first. So he had pee all over himself. She recommended a bath.
Any of you that have met my Sam understand what a terrifying prospect that would be. Sam is an alley cat, a touch-me-not, as Andrea puts it. He shows affection by biting you. He is kind of a cranky guy. Happy being a curmudgeon. And very strong. But boy, did he stink. So we locked ourselves in the bathroom with the cat and the handheld showerhead. It took us both, but we got him hosed down a little with baby shampoo and warm water. We were planning to keep him in the bathroom for a little while because of the leaking pee possibility. But he was really unhappy in there. We let him out and he followed David around and rubbed all over him. I think he is really happy to be home.
When David left for rehearsal he put Sam back in the bathroom, but I let him out again after I finally got Jackson settled into bed for the night. He followed me just as closely, which is unheard of for Sam, and he even sat in my towel-draped lap for half an hour wanting to be pet. Poor boy probably thought we had abandoned him and was surprised we brought him home again.
And we were quite happy that the bill was less than we thought it would be. 2 days and nights at the vets, meds, tests, IV and catheter ran us $368. I expected at least $500. But the vet that we go to has a reputation for no nonsense, upselling, and reasonable pricing. He has been in the same location since before I was born. And I am pleased that they took good care of Sam. Mcleod Animal Clinic on Mays in Round Rock.
On to the Pooh Paci saga.
So what is this? Day 4? We have survived thus far. The first night saw Jackson in my room at 3:00 in the morning missing his paci. He stood in the doorway and simply and matter-of-factly said, "Paci." This is the way he talks when he is trying to convince you that his request is reasonable and your refusal is not acceptable. he usually uses this tone of voice when seeking candy. Such as:
Jackson: Can I have some candy?
Mom/Dad: Not before dinner.
Jackson: (deadpan)Candy.
So he stood in the door saying, "Paci" a few times, then he climbed into my arms and settled in to sleep.
The next day, Wednesday, I guess it was, he was sitting on the potty at work, the very potty that took his paci, when he sighed sadly and lamented, "I wish the pooh paci would come back to me." I started encouraging him to tell people what had happened to his paci. He seemed to really want to talk about it and even developed a story - said the same way every time with the same arm movements. He'd say, "There was one yellow pooh paci (holding up one finger) it fell in the potty and mom tried to get it and couldn't get it and it went around and around and back and forth and down." (circular motions moving downward)
It wasn't long before he added to the story. I was shocked when he began the story with, "There was one green pooh paci (holding up one finger)." Because there was once a green pooh paci which was his favorite. It had Pooh and Piglet on it. It must have been a month or more ago. We were in the bathroom at home and I was rinsing out his nasty underpants back when he thought they were an alternative to pooing in the potty. So the potty was full of yucky brown water. He leaned over to see what I was doing (see a pattern here?) and the green paci fell into the potty. I fished it out and immediately trashed it. I couldn't give it back to him after it fell into the nasty toilet. He was a bit upset about it, but we still had the yellow pooh paci which he liked almost as much. So you can see that the potty taking his paci was the second time he had been robbed of a beloved pooh paci by a commode.
So the story now begins with, "There was one green pooh paci (holding up one finger) and it fell in the poopy potty and Mama threw it in the trash. And there was one yellow pooh paci (holding up one finger) it fell in the potty and mom tried to get it and couldn't get it and it went around and around and back and forth and down." ( circular motions moving downward). What a story teller.
Nap on Wednesday he fussed for quite some time before settling down to sleep. He didn't want me to leave the room, kept grabbing at my arm. He was obviously at a loss without his sleeping crutch. Wednesday night he showed up in my room in the middle of the night asking, "Can we go to the store and get a new paci, pleeeaaasse?" It breaks my heart that he misses it so much, but I didn't answer the question, just held him for a little while.
He halved the fuss time for his nap yesterday. Since I had a meeting last night, Elaine came and put him to bed for me. She said he asked her for a paci. She said she didn't have one and he asked, "Can you find one, please?" So sad.
Today at work, after telling his story a couple of times to interested parties, he asked me if we could get another paci and flush it down the potty. I guess he isn't traumatized so much. He went down for his nap without much trouble.
Course this morning we had an incident that made me laugh. Jackson has a purple helium balloon that has been slowly losing flight and tooling around the house for a few days, being blown about by the air conditioning. And in our house, when balloons get to this slow-death stage they inevitably end up in the guest bathroom hovering over the commode. So this morning when I took Jackson in there to pee, we turned on the light to discover his balloon hovering over the potty with its string hanging down into the water. Jackson reacted immediately with horror, : Noooooo! Don't take my balloon!" Poor baby is gonna develop a complex thinking the toilet is the evil entity that steals all your favorite belongings. "Muuuhahahahaha, I am the commode, I eat pooh paci's and I'm gonna get your purple car!"
So far this has not affected his potty training. He is still perfectly happy to deposit his wastes there, and he is possibly wanting to recreate the great paci flush of 08. But he just doesn't want it to take anything else he treasures.
Bedtime tonight has been a trial. He just couldn't settle down. Crys, yells and calls me in to say things like, "I need something. I need something to make me feel better. I'm sick. I need some medicine." These are not brand new statements from him. He oftens calls us in after bedtime to say he needs something to make him happy. It is just magnified right now and taking longer to get him to settle in. Hopefully this will calm down soon as he adjusts to a paci-less existance.
I guess I should talk about my birthday. I had such a bad day with my worry and guilt for Sam-cat. But it wasn't a terrible birthday. David, Jackson and I met Andrea at Tokyo Steakhouse for dinner and I ate way too much. Andrea gave me a spa gift bag - champagne, chocolates, bath salts, 'diamond' earrings and fancy glasses for the champagne. David asked me what I wanted last week and sent him a link to a jewelry organizer that I liked. So he bought it for me, opened it up and put a gorgeous pair of sapphire earrings in one of the pouches and put it back in the package. He is an awesome gift-giver. He really thinks about what he gets. Probably stood at the jewelry counter for an hour deciding. I know this because I have shopped for many a gift with him. Heh, the amount of time it takes or him to choose a simple birthday card for someone is amazing. "Pick one already," I often beg him. But that just shows how much it means to him that he get the right one.
Sam continues to sleep deeply here next to me. He is so glad to be home. I am happy too.
1 comment:
Yea for Sam!!!! :)
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