The View From Wisconsin

I love my cat.

The other day, as she was laying on the table behind my desk, getting petted, I noticed something on her left foreleg.

It looked like she had either licked her fur off, or had either scraped or bit herself. I called the vet, and I took her in this morning.

After some spitting, hissing, fur samples, two shots and two liquid dropper meds later, I still don't really know what the problem is.

The vet suggested that it could be an allergic reaction to her diet - possibly something with the treats we give her. The seafood treats may have had something in them that is making her allergic, which caused her to lick or bite herself.

The fur samples were to try to determine if she may have contracted ringworm. Meanwhile, they gave her an antibiotic shot and gave us two liquid meds (Lincocin Aquadrops and Pedia-pred) to give her, on the assumption that this is an allergy.

It's also possible that she got into a scrape trying to jump in/out of a close space in our home. She likes to sneak into closets and hide, and (to paraphrase Toby Keith) she's not as young as she once was.

The total bill for this little escapade - the first time we've had to do this since we got her - was $198.

We paid, I think, only $50 for her back in 1996. That's about $62 now, but still.

Her opinion, I think, is that she's worth it.

I love my cat. I have to keep saying that.

She's been lazing around today, still groggy from the shots she got.

I don't blame her.