poor kitty

Ya know, it's funny how we think we're so in control of things and one event throws everything off kilter. I have been planning Thanksgiving at our house for weeks. We host several families, some coming from out-of-town, from different directions. This year, especially, I had elaborate plans, have been working hard to make things really nice.

When Faith's kitty was hurt yesterday, plans stopped, and we switched gears.

We had quite a day, kitty, Peach and I.

Kitty made it through the night and as soon as the vet's office opened, we arrived. We talked with the vet and we left her there to be sedated and have her wound cleaned and sutured. Not long after coming back home, the vet called to tell me after she got a good look the wound looked worse than she thought it would, and because there was subcutaneous tissue exposed she didn't feel comfortable repairing it (our regular good-old vet is in Texas for the week). She said we needed to come back, get kitty, and take her to the local vet emergency hospital.

 (did you just see $$ signs? because I did!)

At the vet ER, the doctor was very kind, told us that for them to repair her injuries he would have to send her to surgery because they were too busy for him to spend an hour suturing her (they are an ER/surgical/cancer center animal hospital). Surgery would be $1200 at least. (gah!) He admitted that was rather ridiculous. He spoke with our vet on the phone, talked her through what she needed to do, and sent us on our way -- back to our vet. He didn't charge us anything, which was kind since we spent an hour there -- some time examining Ava and some time talking with me.

Back at the ranch, er vet, they anesthetized her and removed some fat (a yummy tuck!), cut off the ragged edges of skin, and sewed her back up. According to the vet, it's a "tight" wound, so our biggest concerns are the stitches coming out and infection, because there was dirt and debris in the wound from the creek -- where Doug retrieved her. By the way, the vets concur that it is unlikely the wounds came from the dog -- most likely she ripped her belly on the tree on her way up, getting away from the dog.

Hopefully she'll come home tomorrow, and Faith and I will play nursemaid to the kitty for a week.

All my plans just took a backseat to nursing our kitty back to health. In many ways I'm glad. I realize now I was working too hard on the wrong things. It's time to stop worrying about dusty baseboards and perfectly set tables, and relax...sit with my daughter and slow down..pet the Kitty.

 (I do realize I just wrote an entire blog post about a cat. Or was it?)