Juxtaposition

So, last night I walked into the apartment, only to walk out of it 5 minutes later with Ally in her travel carrier, on our way to the Animal 911 emergency room.

When I woke up in the morning, Ally had a couple of scabbed-over scratches right between her shoulder blades. She also had a slightly swollen area right under her chin at her neck.

In the last 10 months, I've been worried about Ally several times for things like this that just end up going away with a little time. The vet told us that she would probably be a little more prone to sickness than Bo. So, I didn't think too much about it.

When I left for class at 1 pm, the condition was pretty much the same. When I arrived from class, the couple of scratches were now a quarter-sized patch of missing fur and raw skin on her back and the swelling around her neck was still there. That's why we ended up in the emergency room for three hours, during which time the swelling got worse.

After all was said and done, it appears that she had an allergic reaction (something else the vet warned us about). She got a shot of adrenaline, a shot of antihistamine, a shot of an antibiotic and a Pepcid. Now she has to take an oral antihistamine and antibiotic for a week.

She looks much better today, but we have an appointment with the vet for Monday to check things out. Finding and eliminating the source of a cat allergy is a long and arduous process, keep your fingers crossed.

The title of the post comes from the writing in one of the framed prints hanging on the waiting room wall:

"I think one day I'll end up in a cold apartment all alone and eating cat food out of a can I guess that's okay since I am a cat after all."

The words were snaking around the drawing of a cat standing on its hind legs. I thought it was an odd selection for a vet's office. I understand that it's supposed to be a little funny, but in the end, the idea of a cat all alone in a cold apartment is not comforting to pet owners. I am sure that they could find a print that conveys a much clearer yet still amusing anecdote about life as a cat.