In for a long healing process I'm thinking

We have our good days and our bad days. I was despairing there for a while - it seemed we'd take one step forward and then four steps back.

I've been using a particularly smelly skin lotion at night before I go to bed and for some reason it seemed to interest Jypsy and entice her into playing just a bit. It started me thinking of my friend Jan up in Oregon who was having some problems with her two kitties. Her vet suggested some homeopathic smelly stuff and it seemed to work for her cats. I found out what it was and searched out a store reasonably close that sold it. It's just a bottle of drops that have some flower essences distilled into them and are supposed to relax cats that are stressed out. I've been using them for about 4 days now and it's like I see improvement almost every day. Small improvements, but improvements none the less. She has flashes of her old self and plays and runs and meows between her paranoid and sleep phases. Tonight she seemed 'almost normal' for most of the evening. Well, let's just say she's been more herself. She still has this absolute terror of flip-flops which I can't quite figure out, and probably never will. I've learned to put all shoes either in the closet and keep the door closed or put them up where she can't see them.

Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully she'll soon be well enough to come steal the computer away from me again. I'm sure she's going to have a lot to talk about...

On the mend...hopefully

So, I've had a sick kitty for a while now. When it finally registered with me she was, um, shall we say, 'not herself', I got her in to the vet's as quickly as I could. I won't go into the really gross details, but turns out she was having some 'gland' problems. The vet and assistant vet spent quite a bit of time with us, and she wound up having to take some antibiotic medications for a while. Ever try and give a cat a pill? They even gave me this little pill thing so I could keep my hands out of the way of her sharp teeth. All in all, it was a horrible experience for both of us. The worst part however, was that she just didn't seem to be herself, even after she'd had a week of the medicines. She was paranoid - scared of things she's been around all her life (like my shoes) - and she slept even more than usual. She didn't play. She didn't come in my room, or the roommates room. She was skittish going out the back door to the backyard. Once outside she would just plop down on the deck and not go exploring like she usually does. I was very worried. When I took her back to the vet for a followup appointment I talked with him about it and he said it does happen that animals have psychological problems, just as humans do, and suggested we put her on 'mood altering drugs'. I was uncomfortable with it, but bought them and brought them home.

I tossed and turned that night. I want her to enjoy her life, and I know that she isn't acting normally right now. After looking at all the pros and cons, I elected not to give her the pills. She's very sensitive to any medication and I decided to wait until all the antibiotics had made their way through her system. She's been a sick kitty for a while now, and I didn't realize it, and I think part of her problem was she just flat didn't feel well. Both the roommate and I have noticed she seems to be doing better. She actually sat in the doorway to my room this morning and meowed loudly to wake me up and let me know her food bowl was empty! She hasn't done that in quite a while. Friends came over last night and she didn't hide (like she did the night before when the plumber came over!), but came right over and sniffed their feet. Needless to say I'm much happier. I think she's happier. She's not fully recovered, but she seems much better than even 4 days ago.

Hopefully, she'll continue to improve. I'll keep all her friends posted...