Nine Lives

And to think, I almost offed her.


The death squad was scheduled to come the next day, but suddenly, after one month of not eating and two weeks of needles and IVs and pills and paste getting pushed down her poor little throat, Lotus started to eat. I took it as a sign, along with a night full of hysterical crying and calls to my cat-loving friends and family, that maybe neither one of us was ready. So I canceled. And now she's back. Still skinny and scrawny, but back. For weeks she was out of it, totally disoriented, didn't recognize any of us and even seemed to have a hard time breathing. She didn't respond to her sisters playing with her or the 60 pound Sully walking by or even the vacuum cleaner. She was yellow, too, full of bilirubin which supposedly was clouding her brain and her ability to remember things, like "Where is the litter box, again?"

So, for now, we're looking good. She eats all the time. She cleans her fur and has her old "I deserve it" attitude back. She even likes to sit in the window and watch the birds again. The problem is that with most of the attention going to just one animal, the rest of the zoo is a bit off kilter. LuLu is pissed off all the time instead of her typical every now and then. She knows that Lotus has been getting the good wet food and special high calorie treats with "seafood essence." Lotus dethroned Cali and took her sleeping spot above Shawn's head. Once Cali found an alternative sleeping arrangement, Lotus moved in on LuLu's territory, displacing her as well. Sully got a new bone, due my guilt, even though I knew it would cause him to growl and bark every time anybody gets near it. 


It's been a tough couple of months, but it has brought us all closer together, making "Lotus time" a priority. She had a glorious Thanksgiving week with a five day revolving door of family and friends with nothing else to do than to pet her. She deserves it. Thanks for the sign, kitty. Welcome back.