POOR CATS! This has been a thoroughly miserable day for them. No food since last night (well, I removed the bowls at midnight), not allowed to go out this morning, and then being shut into the cages which they hate, having to travel by car which they don't like much, either, and finally being pulled out of the cages (which by then seemed like havens of safety) by some unknown woman who listened to their hearts. They left damp footprints all over the vet's desk (cats sweat through their paws).

And then I had to leave them there and pick them up a couple of hours later. By then they had been anesthetised and woken up again, and lay in the cages like little uncomprehending balls of fur. Bonadea had quite a lot of tartar to remove, but no infections in the gums or anything - though it is possible that she might develop FORL, which there is no treatment against and no way to prevent or halt. On the other hand, she might not develop it at all. The vet and the nurse both admired the cats and said they were in great health as well as really cute; I soaked it all up, of course. They also told me to brush the cats' teeth - this could be a problem, we'll see. I bought a tube of cat toothpaste (with liver taste, yech).

And then back home again in the nasty car, but this time they were quiet, pushing their noses into my hands through the cage doors. "Let them rest somewhere warm and dark, where they can't fall down and hurt themselves", the vet said. Well, the cats didn't want any part of that. I shut them into the bathrooms, but after two minutes they were scratching the door for me to open. They almost couldn't walk, but they would not lie still; I put down blankets and towels by every radiator in the house, but they persisted in hobbling around, falling over every so often, trying to get on the window sills and failing, trying to get on the furniture and failing, throwing up a few times (not that they had anything to throw up), and just looking really, really miserable. It was rather pathetic and sort of scary, even though I knew it was transitory.

After a few hours they calmed down, Cassandra went to sleep on my lap and Bonadea on my feet on the floor. And at eight or so they started to eat a little again. By now they seem almost back to normal, just a little unsteady on their feet. And with gleaming white teeth.

Labels: cats

 
I spent the weekend singing, mostly. The choir travelled out in the semi-countryside on the outskirts of town, and practiced Rheinberger, Back, the Christmas programme and the hymns for the CD we're about to record, until we were basically blue in the face (and not only because the house was cold). It was fun, though. I needed to get away from thinking only about the thesis, and managed to keep the computer in its bag the entire time. The Rheinberger we sing is his Cantus Missae, which we'll sing on the All Hallows weekend; I know I've sung it before, probably nine or ten years ago. Beautiful music anyway, and fun to sing. Bach's Christmas Oratory is also fun. It has been performed in Uppsala Cathedral on the first Sunday in Advent for years and years. This choir has performed it once, two years ago; then we started preparing much too late due to a rather pressed schedule earlier in the term, although I think it went well in the end (I caught a cold that weekend, two years ago, and rehearsed in the morning of the performance but had to go home after - and missed all concerts in December, always a heavy month for singing. (This year we have four concerts in December, I think, and three at the end of November, including the Christmas Oratory.)

So that was not particularly interesting to anybody except myself, I guess - be grateful I don't start talking about the thesis. I just might, though I should really be writing it, not about it.

And tomorrow the cats have an appointment with the vet, to have their teeth cleaned from tartar. Poor fluffballs have no idea what's in store.

Labels: cats, singing

 
The children came back later: I was outside trying to get Bonadea to agree to come in, and they were sitting on our fence so I went out there to chat with them. The girls are 5 and 7, and the boy is 7, and they are not siblings but live in the houses next to each other (and next to our house). They told me this and many other things, and I got Cassandra and held her for them so they could stroke her until she tired of it - then I took her inside and gave her some cat milk to appease her. The younger of the girls wanted to hold Cass, but I didn't let her for there could have been some blood-shed, and I'd certainly have had to go Cassandra-hunting for quite some time. Bonadea, clever cat that she is, stayed away until they had left.

It felt very... familiar but opposite, to be the neighbour lady you come over to chat with. I mean, when I was a kid, the grownups in my street were kind people who did their incomprehensible grownup things, but were generally happy to see you and usually up for a few minutes' chat.

So we'll see if these become general hangers-around and fans of our cats, or if this was a passing interest of theirs and they will keep doing their incomprehensible kid things further down the street. It's good to have some social contact with the neighbours in any case.

Labels: cats, personal

 
Just a brief note before going to bed: The cats didn't stay hostile for long; as soon as they calmed down a bit they started to recognise each other and returned to normal. I know I worry too much. . .

Labels: cats, personal

 
Enmity between the cats! They chased a strange cat out of the garden, tails all bushed up, and then they were suddenly snarling, hissing and growling at each other. I think it was Cassandra who started by growling at Bonadea in the general excitement and confusion of having her territory invaded, and Bonadea responded by hissing, of course. It seems to have calmed down a bit, they have sniffed each other's noses and aren't walking stiff-legged around the house any longer; still, they do eye each other with a new wariness which I can only hope will go away. Question: Am I being a silly over-protective human, reacting like this to something that will pass? I notice that Cassandra's eyes have resumed their normal colour -- that has got to be a good sign. . .

Labels: cats, personal

 
Bonadea caught a bird today! No parents could be prouder of the first steps of their toddler than we are of our wee fur-head -- why, we'd more or less expected her to turn tail and run when confronted with a live bird! She's getting an extra treat tonight, not because we dislike birds (it was a yellowhammer, so rather a beautiful bird, too) but surely she deserves it, particularly as she wasn't allowed to eat it. Let's see if Cassandra manages to catch something too, one of these days. . .

Labels: cats