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radioactive cat, day 1
May. 24th, 2007 11:00 pmthis morning i dropped Daddy-O off at the vet for his radioactive iodine treatment. while i waited for them to be ready for me, he managed to charm the entire waiting room. about half the people waiting commented on how handsome and well-behaved he was. two of the vet techs came over to pet him. the receptionist pulled out her phone and took pictures of him as he reclined in the middle of the floor like a king surveying his domain.
what can i say? he's a charismatic cat. chicks dig my Daddy-O.
the specialty vet who comes in to do the radiation treatments was very impressed with him as well. he commented on how obviously healthy, alert, and curious he was, and said he was certain Daddy-O would do well post-treatment. i mentioned that several of my friends had implied i was nuts to spend $1200 on such a treatment for a 16-year-old cat, and he said that might have been true ten years ago, but with the advances in veterinary tech and the quality of foods available now, 16 just isn't that old for a well cared for indoor cat. he said he's done the same treatment on a 22 year old cat.
then Daddy-O took a flying four-foot leap from a chair to the exam table, and he said, "are you sure this cat is 16?"
"wait till you see the other one," i said. Mr. Slim can still make a six foot vertical leap at the venerable age of 15.
he also said he wanted to name his next cat Daddy-O because it was such an excellent name.
the vet tech who took him back to get his injection said she was going to have a hard time resisting the urge to go into the isolation room to "huggle" him because he was so awesome.
that's my beautiful boy.
anyway, Daddy-O will have to stay in isolation for three or four days till the radiation dies down to a safe level. they can only go in a couple of times a day to give him food and water and change his litter. frankly, i'm more concerned about the "light jazz" they say they'll play for him. i told them he prefers female vocals and jazz trumpet, but who knows if they'll listen? either way, at the latest i'll be able to pick him up on Monday morning. after that, for the next two weeks, i must:
it's the sleep thing i'm worried about, since most nights i sleep with one cat on either side of my head. i asked the specialty vet about it, and he said "let common sense rule. if you can't keep him out of the bedroom, just try to keep him from sleeping next to your head."
i liked the specialty vet very much.
when i came home today, Iceberg Slim seemed quite distressed until i gave him the liquid i drained from a can of tuna, followed by the empty can and the bowl i used to mix the tuna salad. that's the great thing about cats: tuna cures all ills.
myself, i'm not doing as well. i've been too wound up to do any work worth mentioning all week. yes, i'm totally overreacting. this treatment is 98% effective and has very few side effects, and the vet assures me that Daddy-O is in exceptionally good health for his age and should come through it just fine.
but... but... he's my baby. and how do you explain to a cat that you're not abandoning him, he just has to stay in a room alone at the vet's office for three or four days? he'll think i've given him away! and poor Iceberg has no idea what's going on, he's stuck to me like glue and when i first got home this evening he just followed me around mewing piteously.
the apartment really does seem awfully empty without Daddy-O in it.
on the up side,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
matrushkaka visited last night and took a bunch of pictures of the kitties, both on their own and with me. she promised to send me a CD with copies when she gets home from Burning Man Flipside. in turn, i promise to post the pix for your viewing pleasure. because honestly, who can resist pictures of kitties? i ask you.
she also tried to take pictures of the world famous Congress Avenue Bridge bats (about 10 minutes north of my apartment), but this time of year they only come out after dark and they're so small and fast they're pretty much impossible to photograph. apparently August and September are prime bat season; she is, of course, required to come visit me then.
anyway. kitties. the vet promised to call every morning to give me an update on how Daddy-O is doing. meanwhile, Iceberg Slim seems to be pretty happy, given that he gets to lick out entire tuna salad prep bowls on his own, so he's doing all right so far.
in completely unrelated news, apparently it's traditional for Austin to have severe weather, including floods and tornadoes, on Memorial Day weekend. on the other hand, Burning Man Flipside also happens here every Memorial Day weekend. so we'll see how that all works out in the end.
what can i say? he's a charismatic cat. chicks dig my Daddy-O.
the specialty vet who comes in to do the radiation treatments was very impressed with him as well. he commented on how obviously healthy, alert, and curious he was, and said he was certain Daddy-O would do well post-treatment. i mentioned that several of my friends had implied i was nuts to spend $1200 on such a treatment for a 16-year-old cat, and he said that might have been true ten years ago, but with the advances in veterinary tech and the quality of foods available now, 16 just isn't that old for a well cared for indoor cat. he said he's done the same treatment on a 22 year old cat.
then Daddy-O took a flying four-foot leap from a chair to the exam table, and he said, "are you sure this cat is 16?"
"wait till you see the other one," i said. Mr. Slim can still make a six foot vertical leap at the venerable age of 15.
he also said he wanted to name his next cat Daddy-O because it was such an excellent name.
the vet tech who took him back to get his injection said she was going to have a hard time resisting the urge to go into the isolation room to "huggle" him because he was so awesome.
that's my beautiful boy.
anyway, Daddy-O will have to stay in isolation for three or four days till the radiation dies down to a safe level. they can only go in a couple of times a day to give him food and water and change his litter. frankly, i'm more concerned about the "light jazz" they say they'll play for him. i told them he prefers female vocals and jazz trumpet, but who knows if they'll listen? either way, at the latest i'll be able to pick him up on Monday morning. after that, for the next two weeks, i must:
- use flushable litter, because his piss will set off the radiation detectors at the dump
- not let him sleep with me
- not hold him for more than 15 minutes at a time, more than twice a day
it's the sleep thing i'm worried about, since most nights i sleep with one cat on either side of my head. i asked the specialty vet about it, and he said "let common sense rule. if you can't keep him out of the bedroom, just try to keep him from sleeping next to your head."
i liked the specialty vet very much.
when i came home today, Iceberg Slim seemed quite distressed until i gave him the liquid i drained from a can of tuna, followed by the empty can and the bowl i used to mix the tuna salad. that's the great thing about cats: tuna cures all ills.
myself, i'm not doing as well. i've been too wound up to do any work worth mentioning all week. yes, i'm totally overreacting. this treatment is 98% effective and has very few side effects, and the vet assures me that Daddy-O is in exceptionally good health for his age and should come through it just fine.
but... but... he's my baby. and how do you explain to a cat that you're not abandoning him, he just has to stay in a room alone at the vet's office for three or four days? he'll think i've given him away! and poor Iceberg has no idea what's going on, he's stuck to me like glue and when i first got home this evening he just followed me around mewing piteously.
the apartment really does seem awfully empty without Daddy-O in it.
on the up side,
matrushkaka visited last night and took a bunch of pictures of the kitties, both on their own and with me. she promised to send me a CD with copies when she gets home from Burning Man Flipside. in turn, i promise to post the pix for your viewing pleasure. because honestly, who can resist pictures of kitties? i ask you.she also tried to take pictures of the world famous Congress Avenue Bridge bats (about 10 minutes north of my apartment), but this time of year they only come out after dark and they're so small and fast they're pretty much impossible to photograph. apparently August and September are prime bat season; she is, of course, required to come visit me then.
anyway. kitties. the vet promised to call every morning to give me an update on how Daddy-O is doing. meanwhile, Iceberg Slim seems to be pretty happy, given that he gets to lick out entire tuna salad prep bowls on his own, so he's doing all right so far.
in completely unrelated news, apparently it's traditional for Austin to have severe weather, including floods and tornadoes, on Memorial Day weekend. on the other hand, Burning Man Flipside also happens here every Memorial Day weekend. so we'll see how that all works out in the end.
