Friday Pet Blogging | Hush

Otis had to visit the vet yesterday... This is a recent photo, but it was not taken during the vet session or even yesterday evening. However, I am fairly certain that it accurately represents Otis' state of mind at the end of his rather long day (clicky for larger version):

::: sigh :::

Where to start this little tale...? Well, you see, Otis was having a little ... er, litter ... trouble. For about a 24-hour period, we noticed that he was making frequent, but unproductive, visits to the litter box. After placing a phone call to the vet on Thursday morning and telling the doctor everything we had observed, my lovely wife was out of her office and enroute to gather up Otis for a little appointment. Have I mentioned that the boys "love" the vet? Well, to be honest, they actually fare pretty well at the office. It's the drive to and fro that they could do without. Otis in particular meows frequently and pants. I'm surprised he doesn't hyperventilate. Mrs. Brainwise makes up little songs for the cats. Here are the lyrics to the song she sang on Thursday in an attempt to calm poor Otis' nerves:

Hush little kitty don't mew a word Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird If that mockingbird tastes stale Mama's gonna buy you a mousie tail If that mousie tail is dry Mama's gonna buy you a turkey pie

He complained even louder. Mrs. Brainwise stopped singing. Now, I was not at the vet (not for lack of volunteering, mind you), so I only caught the proceedings in snippets of phone calls and voice mails. But I do know the following:

• Otis was a very good boy for the vet. In fact, all the vet techs loved him.
• He has some kind of [medical babble] [blah blah dee dah] [and more medi-babble] urinary tract infection. Oh, I heard the medical babble, I just can't spell any of it.
• The doc had to squeeze Otis' kidney. Squeeze it! I don't even want to try to empathize with that.
• Doc ran some tests on the urine sample and found a bunch of odd things. Individually, no problem. But together, with our observations, it's all indicative of ... something. Not certain what that something is because other symptoms are missing. But somethis is definitely amiss.
• Doc gave Otis a little something to open him up. And, yes, Otis received the first dose at the office. (More on that in a bit).

The vet kept Otis for only half a day. No overnight stay necessary (yea!). So Mrs. Brainwise trudged on over after work to pick him up and take him home. We have some antibiotics and stuff for him to take over the next several days. One dose in the morning, two in the evening. Oh, and remember I mentioned that he got a dose of something to "open him up" back at the doctor's office? Well ... it worked. Opened him right up. Wide open. Flowing. Unfortunately, he was in the kitty caddy ... in Mrs. Brainwise's car. About 15 minutes from home. Poor guy was mess. Number one and number two. Well, Mrs. Brainwise cleaned Otis as best she could when she finally got home (that 15 minute drive probably felt like an eternity with eau de Otis wafting in the air). Otis' brother, Milo, took one whiff and dashed off to hide. After enduring a cleaning and towling down, Otis himself went to hide behind the sofa. We didn't see either one of them until well after 8pm. But when he finally showed himself again, Otis snuggled up next to his mommy. His positioning was somewhat reminiscent of today's photo. I hope the little guy gets better soon.

The Modulator has a compilation of today's pet posts from other bloggers. Previous Milo & Otis appearances on Prophet or Madman are indexed here ... just in case you missed one. And do keep your eyes peeled for the next installment of the Carnival of the Cats.

Photo Date: April 2004