I had a crazy day today. I came home between classes to “trap” Tiger and Cleo in the house so that I could call the vet in for a housecall.
It was SO hard just to get the two into the house. Tiger was at the neighbour’s (his second home). So I went over and brought him back. No problem there.
But Cleo?
To cut a long story short, I had to enlist Pole’s help to get her out of the drain. She just kept inching away from me (cats are VERY good at that). I guess she doesn’t trust me anymore after yesterday. Finally, with Pole’s help and some sardines, I managed to catch her from the drain after trying for half an hour.
Then, I started calling the vets, but I either could not get through or they were not free to come.
Oh dear, I didn’t know how long I could keep them inside the house. I had already bolted all the windows shut and they were getting very stressed. Cow and Bunny were intimidating Tiger by then. And poor Tiger had to hide in my room, curled up in his little baby basket for solace.
Finally, after numerous phonecalls, I managed to get Dr Koh to come.
Remember Mac was also very sick yesterday? And this morning, Mac was in VERY bad shape. I was very, very worried about him.
So, Dr Koh came and examined Mac first. He said Mac has to be brought back to the clinic for a proper check-up and blood test. Mac was just lying on his side, unable to move.
Next, Tiger. Tiger’s injury on this hind leg didn’t seem that serious. I just need to watch him to see if it an absess develops. Otherwise, he just needs rest. But while Dr Koh was examining Tiger, I had to restrain Bobby. Remember Bobby is Tiger’s bestfriend and protector, so Bobby was trying very hard to “save” Tiger. Poor Bobby…
Then…..the challenge of the day – CLEO!!
I had “trapped” Cleo upstairs in my children’s adjoining rooms. And Indy and Suki had both willingly gone up to keep her accompany in her otherwise temporary “solitary confinement”. Good old Indy and Suki!
So I went upstairs to get her, and boy, did she struggle!
I already have blue-black Cleo-infected battlescars from yesterday. This morning, my students thought I had been slashed by a mugger or something when they saw the scratches on my neck.
Cleo is VERY fierce. And not people-friendly. She must have been born this way since she was born inside my daughter’s wardrobe and as far as I know, no human has ever bullied her before.
I covered her with a towel and brought her down, but she was struggling and scratching all the way.
Dr Koh only managed to examine her for a split second before she bolted upstairs again.
So, up I went again. And this must have gone on for 3-4 times before Dr Koh finally “saw” enough to decide what to do.
A steroid jab.
Gosh, give Cleo a jab?
That’s clearly asking for trouble, right?
But what needs to be done HAS to be done.
So, I went upstairs again to get Cleo with two towels, and brought her down. Dr Koh was all ready with the needle.
Put the struggling cat down on the table, jab, and let go!
Phew…luckily the good doctor was fast enough!
After that, Dr Koh took Mac back to his clinic.
I opened the windows again…and the cats got a breath of fresh air.
Cleo ran out, of course. But in a matter of minutes, returned to the porch.
Here she is, sitting under my daughter’s car, looking quite angry…
I went back to work, just in the nick of time. When I got out of the car, yesterday’s running around in the SS17 neighbourhood looking for Cleo began to take a toll on my poor legs. I could hardly walk straight!
After class, I was so tired, I almost dropped off to sleep while walking back to my car! I’ve never felt this tired before…
But no time to rest, got to see Mac at the clinic. I wondered how he was…
P.S. In between, there has been a few phonecalls enquiring about the adoption of Tiger and Ninja.