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Nov. 24th, 2006 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
checkers65477I woke up this morning to the sound of Ozzie throwing up. In my slipper. What's with that? It's as if he did that on purpose. Needless to say, I have a brand new pair of slippers now.
I mentioned in one of my first LJ entries that my cat is a miracle of modern science, but I didn't explain why. I will now.
Things like this illustrate to me that we do what we have to do. People demonstrate that every day, and my little unpleasantness is minor compared to what many people deal with in life. Keeping things in perspective--that's what it's all about. Wow. How philosophical.
Click on both photos of Oz. He is darling.
I mentioned in one of my first LJ entries that my cat is a miracle of modern science, but I didn't explain why. I will now.
When Ozzie was three, he stopped eating. I took him to the vet and received very bad news. Ozzie was in kidney failure, and they didn't know why. All they knew was that he had lost 75% of his kidney function and that it would only get worse. They said they might be able to get him stablized, and if so, he might live three months. That was five years ago. Since receiving his death sentence, Ozzie has led a spoiled and happy life.
Subcutaneous fluids are what is keeping him alive. Here's what I have to do. Twice a week, I grab him (making certain first that he is in a relatively good mood--as good a mood as a cat can be in, that is) and I stab him with a needle between his shoulder blades and pump 150 ml. of sodium chloride under his skin. That flushes his kidneys out and keeps him going. For the first year or so it was so horrendous that I could barely make myself do it. I'm real squeamish, and the feeling of that needle going in---ew, ew, ew. But Ozzie is the best cat I've ever had. We've both gotten used to it now, and it isn't so bad anymore.
Subcutaneous fluids are what is keeping him alive. Here's what I have to do. Twice a week, I grab him (making certain first that he is in a relatively good mood--as good a mood as a cat can be in, that is) and I stab him with a needle between his shoulder blades and pump 150 ml. of sodium chloride under his skin. That flushes his kidneys out and keeps him going. For the first year or so it was so horrendous that I could barely make myself do it. I'm real squeamish, and the feeling of that needle going in---ew, ew, ew. But Ozzie is the best cat I've ever had. We've both gotten used to it now, and it isn't so bad anymore.
Things like this illustrate to me that we do what we have to do. People demonstrate that every day, and my little unpleasantness is minor compared to what many people deal with in life. Keeping things in perspective--that's what it's all about. Wow. How philosophical.
Click on both photos of Oz. He is darling.
