The trials of being a cat owner

A while back, I mentioned my lovely new cats, Freddie and Millie. Well, last week they had to go to the vets for some dental work. The bill that had originally been quoted as around £270 actually came to £390 in the end. Our hopes that Millie would just need a scale and polish were dashed when we were told she'd had a tooth out, but not nearly as badly as our hopes that Freddie would need less than four teeth our thus only incurring a charge for minor extractions - he ended up with eight out, very major indeed. A cautionary tale on getting rescue cats from someone other than a rescue centre if ever I heard one.

But it's not just the cost that hurt. I wasn't prepared for the anxiety I felt when they went in. I became convinced that Freddie was going to die under anaesthetic just because he'd had a bit of a cough, and I actually cried after dropping them off at the vets. Not only had we starved them overnight then forced them into their carriers, we then abandoned them at the vets. All day at work I couldn't stop thinking of them, hungry and scared.

Then they came home. I was heartbroken to see bald patches on their necks, and really upset by how the anaesthetic had made their eyes glazed. What was worse was that evening, when hubby had gone out and I stroked Freddie on the head, only for him to raise his head and reveal blood all over his chin. It stopped eventually thankfully, but I was terrified, and my attempts to get through to the vets' emergency helpline were met with recorded messages every time.

The next trial was giving them their antibiotics. After several attempts at putting the tablets in their mouths, and a few resulting scratches, we gave up, crushed the pills and mixed them in with their food. Cheating, I know, but you can hardly blaim a cat with sore gums for lashing out when someone forces his mouth open!

They're a lot better now and hopefully everything's healed nicely. But I was amazed at just how emotional the whole process made me. I used to think treating pets like your children was weird, but now I totally understand it!

This Week I will mostly be ...

... not at work! Hurray!
... going to Brussels and London
... reading 'The Brothers Karamazov' (hoping to get a chunk out of the way whilst travelling)
... listening to 'Drastic Fantastic'
... eating Easter eggs
... generally chilling out!

My birthday

Bit of a random post but Shoegal asked me what I got for my birthday - so I'll tell the whole of cyberspace! I got:

Books: 'Stitch'n'Bitch Nation' (knitting geekery), 'Little Women', 'The Book of General Ignorance' (a spin-off from QI, I love random trivia!), a book about Renoir, 'Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit', 'Geisha of Gion' and 'True Grit' by Charles Portis

DVDs: 'All About Eve' (classic Bette Davis, never seen a film of hers so excited about this!), 'An Affair to Remember' (possibly in the top five romantic films ever) and 'How to Start Your Own Country' by Danny Wallace

CDs: 'Drastic Fantastic' by KT Tunstall (the woman is a legend) and 'Music from 31 Songs', based on the book by Nick Hornby (which I haven't read yet!)

Other stuff: Two Next giftcards (yippee, I'll be well-dressed this spring/summer!), a ring holder shaped like a cat, some posh cherry lip balm, £10 and my Mum's paying for my subscription to 'Let's Knit' magazine

So I've done pretty well I think! Plenty to keep my busy, and it softens the blow of turning 24!!

This Week I will mostly be ...

... reading 'The Brothers Karamazov' (nearly a third of the way through now!)
... eating chocolate now Lent is over
... 24 :(
... gazing lovingly at my birthday pressies
... chilling out - only four days of work this week, no singing class and no youth club!
... watching 'The Bridge to Terabithia' and possibly also 'All About Eve' and 'An Affair to Remember'
... continuing to knit a carrier bag
... trying to get on the PC more!

This Week I will mostly be ...

... reading 'The Brothers Karamazov'
... watching 'The History Boys'
... looking forward to the end of Lent on Sunday
... hoping the bad weather doesn't flood the train line again (I know, there's a bigger picture, but hey, when it comes to transport I'm selfish!)
... 23 (for the last time ...)

This Week I will mostly be ...

... reading 'The Brothers Karamazov' STILL (and it's not really getting interesting)
... not eating chocolate
... craving hot chocolate as a result
... feeling much better than last week when I got an infection in my cheek (nice)
... finishing my course of antibiotics for said infection
... knitting a carrier bag

P.S. I've joined a theatre group now so This Weeks will probably be done on Tuesdays