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When travelling, expect
the unexpected at home

OUR MOST cherished hope, when we leave for a vacation,
is that everything here at home will be as good as when we
left, if not better, when we return.

_We arrange babysitters, house
Sitters, mail collectors,
neighborhood alert and every other
precaution we can think of.

Usually, all is well.

Last weekend we left for four
days. Our daughter was feeding
the cats and generally looking after
the house. Before we left, I did, as
always count furry noses and ex-
plain that they were to be good
kids and stay in the backyard. To
my little Emily (a Siamese blue-
point) I mentioned that she was
getting to be one tacky-looking girl
and she’d better do something
about her fur. Shedding in the spr-
ing isn’t all that unusual, but she
did look a little dandruffy,

- travel
wise
by Barbara McCreadie’

Pease

She yowled a reply and looked
quite perky, despite the dull coat.

* We returned about dinner time
Sunday.’ The house: was: spotless,
the cat food dishes, full and all the
cats present. and accounted-for. It
was nearly an hour-before I ‘‘talk-
ed”’ with each of the cats.

Five of the six were A-one.: Emi-

ly was death-warmed-over. ° Her

eyes were. crusty and her mouth
swollen. She drooled, When I tried

to pick ,her’ up she groaned. The’

. tacky Coat. had deteriorated and
her sides were sunken.
I freaked. oe,
Veterinary hospitals -are ‘closed
weekends. Fortunately, we have
the Animal Emergency: Clinic
(1590 West 4th Ave., Vancouver)
_where you can run for help at
anytime. We tucked Emily in the
cat-carrier and ran for the car.
‘The vet looked her over and
_ Shook her head.--Temperature?
Skyrocketing. General condition?
Poor. Survival? Unlikely. Cause?
Unknown."

A blood test indicated that Emi-
ly’s. white cells were practically -

non-existent and her red cells

were only. slightly’ better. Her:

mouth was a mass of ulcers and
the infection had spread to her
vagina.

_T howled like a kid. The little cat
.purred so loudly- that it was im-
possible to listen to her heart with

=. a stethoscope.

There was little hope that she’d
last the night. © © :

We left her there, knowing that
they’d do their best. Emily was
hooked up to an intravenous to
counteract the dehydration. She
got antibiotics to try to control the
infections. She also got a lot of
T.L.C.

“Phone anytime,’’ | was reas-
sured. ‘Come to visit. We'll
call you if there is any change.”’

But, the most ominous, ‘‘We

- don’t expect her to live.””

Want to ask me how much sleep
I got that night? At 8:30 a.m. our
own vet was on the phone. He
would keep in touch with the clinic
and participate in Emily’s care. I
called the clinic and although she
had shown a slight improvement

“with treatment, the veterinarian
_ explainéd that J-shouldn’t count on

her survival, :‘‘We'd be quite sur-

_ prised if she lives.” ;
peut, Emily was described asa
wonderful cat and that if “‘person-
- ality and sweetness”’ were the key
factors, she’d survive. Would I like
_ to come and visit?
Later that day, my youngest
daughter and | drove over to the

“velinic. « -Emily.,-was-,ih~2.

spotless cage with an intravenous
in her right front paw. She looked
very ill but talked to us with low
yowls. She reached out her left
paw to my daughter and tried to

“make a little bread”? with it. We

told her that she’d better cooperate
and get better or she’d be one
sorry cat.

Later that evening, I called the
clinic. They had all the time in the
world to reassure me. First, our
visit perked Emily up and she had
it noted on her chart. Isn’t it funny
what a visit can do-for anyone
sick? :

Next morning, I called and had
another good chat with the vet.
Blood tests were due back from the
lab in the middle of the day.
They'd call me.

About noon, I received the call.
The good news was that Emily
hasn’t: got leukemia. Better news
was that there was a slight in-
provement in her condition.

Other tests were scheduled. They
discovered that her blood was

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showing high glucose — possible
diabetes, or possible ‘‘red herr-
ing’’. She also showed signs of
kidney problems. Which came
first, the kidney stuff or the infec-
tion? What, in short, was making
little Emily sick?

But, if you want to hear the
nicest, most sensitive thing that
happened, the vet phoned back in
a few minutes and said, ‘‘I’ve
hooked up the phone into Emily’s
cage. Would you like to talk to
her?”’

Wow! How often do you get to
chat to your cat when she’s in
hospital? °

Will Emily live? I don’t know.

But I know this for sure: no
cat could have better, more ur
derstanding care than my little -
one is having now.

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