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Colby, my tubby wannabe-kitten is once again sick with a feline Herpes virus. He got this a few years ago when our other cat Lulu brought it into the household when she came to live with us. Fortunately for Lulu, she hasn't had any real flare up of this virus in well over a year and a half. But I can count on Colby to get flare ups at least twice a year, and anytime we leave the house for an extended period of time. Over the years, this has racked up hundreds of dollars in vet bills for him. But as this sort of thing has become more routine, I feel more like a nurse than a distraught pet owner. The big upside for Colby is that it means less time being stressed out by trips to the vet.
Today I'm working from home to keep an eye on him. His symptoms had Kevin and I up most of the night making sure he wasn't getting drastically worse. Fortunately, he hasn't and has been able to drink a bit of water, which is an improvement from last night. My current challenge is getting him to digest some meds that will help with his nausea and respiratory infection. He's quite the strong kitty, and smart, too. So the standard pop the pill in his mouth method does not work (and I've got the scars to prove it). I often try crushing the pill and mixing the powder with some of his favorite food, but that method is apparently losing its effectiveness as well. So I'm back to the drawing board. Seeing as I've always enjoyed a good challenge, I guess Colby was always meant to be my cat.
Right now, Colby's loudly snore-wheezing by my piano while trying to nap and catch a bit of the morning sunshine. Lu has apparently stepped up to take care of Colby's duties and is sprawled out on my legs while I try and work on my laptop. She doesn't have quite the girth of Colby to make my legs go numb, but she's doing her best to fill his shoes (or, rather, his bum). I certainly don't mind, as it's keeping her from her typical neurotic behavior of chewing on laptop cords. But now, with Lu stepping up to the lead weight/attention-whore role, and Colby rattling the walls with his wheezing, I have no idea how I'm to accomplish any real work today. Le Sigh.