An Abscess With a Side of...

Exposed Roots.

If you are eating...don't read this post. Don't read it if it's the first thing you look forward to...in fact, I won't blame you if you don't read any of this at all...But, your well wishes would be greatly appreciated.

Last Wednesday night after a journey out to the Airstream...I came home to Ms. Meena. Who had visited the big wide wilderness that constitutes the grounds at Foolsewoode...and I noticed she was pawing at the left corner of her mouth in kind of an urgent way. The first thing, after the thought...holy fish bones Batman...I'm not a vet! rushes through my head is...Oh no...the cat has something lodged in her tooth/mouth/throat, I'd better pry her jowels open and take a gander!

And I did.

Because we have that kind of trust. The cat and I. If I plonk her butt down, I know right where to squeeze and she opens right up for me. She tries to do the same for me...but, I'm bigger...plus? I floss regularly...

Ahem.

Well, I couldn't for the life of me see anything anywhere, and other than donning a miners cap and shining the light down her throat, I didn't think I was going to see anything. I decided to take her to the vet the next day if she didn't get better. Which quickly became a night of me listening to my littlest companion gag and choke all night...and make a lot of noisy chewing motions with her mouth....so, basically it became a no sleep night for either of us.

An appointment was made, the cat was caged up, and we fled to the vet...the vet popped her mouth open and said, "welllllll...she has a very badly infected tooth...come look..." and I interestedly peered in at her mouth, "...see all that horrible swollen area with all the red and brown stuff all over the place? Those are exposed roots!"

Oh good lord.

I am the worst pet owner ever.

I just had her in the vet for a respiratory thing before the Anza-Borrego trip(she's a bit wheezy and allergyish...plus I think she has mild asthma...I am still looking for a kitty sized inhaler) and all the vet said then was, "You may want to bring her in for a teeth cleaning at some point." I know, I know...it's already been explained to me in terms such as, "how many times do you check your cat's teeth!?!?!" (not enough apparently) and my sister jokingly said, "Cats have teeth?!?!?!" But, I still feel bad. Mostly because the vet raised his eyebrow and said in a rather suspicious manner, "are you sure that you just noticed this last night?"

Um, yeah.

Poor Cheese Beaver.

Needless to say, he gave her a huge shot of antibiotics and a bottle to take home with me to administer twice a day until it's all gone ...And, may I take a minute to say that she's quite the trooper with medication though...she doesn't like to take it...perhaps it's because it's pina colada flavor? (Although, I suppose it's better than the bubble gum flavor that she used to have to take.) But, she'll sit patiently and swallow it all anyway with no fighting. She's been a little puny since last Thursday (I'll say) and is climbing up on the back of the couch to crash in a most pathetic way...

Poor Chicken Cheese Butt.

She has an appointment Today to get her teeth cleaned with a possible extraction or two. Which means, no food after 10:30pm last night (cause they completely knock them out to clean and yank...making me wonder why it's necessary for me to be conscious during my dental visits...then again, they send pain medication home with humans) and an early morning drop off at 8:20 with me picking her up after work...no Pumping Iron class for me this afternoon, and Oh Knit will officially be hosted at Foolsewoode instead tonight.

I suppose after all of this I will need to think about flossing the cat on a regular basis.

Rich kindly reminded me after this first happened, that this was the start of his medical problems...an abscessed tooth with a dose of antibiotics. (He also gave it on good authority that one moment he was fine and the next he was in searing pain when he had his abscess...take that Vet!)

We're just hoping that after all of this is over the cat isn't diagnosed with Lupis as well...