Hello Kitty

When I said I wanted peace and quiet...well, I spoke to soon.

Atticus. Oy. What a week! Not only for the poor guy, but for me too. That nasty abcess I told you about last week? Came back. With a vengeance. Actually, it never really went away. It just got worse and worse.

After fretting about his condition for most of the week, I decided it would be best to take him in to the vet's office. Although the spot I had cleaned out had dried up, there was another lump next to it. He was also a bit on the lethargic side, and not eating as much (hello? if that isn't an indicator something is wrong with him...).

So, when I stuffed him into his carrier, and he went in without a fight, I knew it was not a minute too soon.

OK, so he saved his anger for the vet's table. But after looking at him, they decided to put him under in order to clean it up. Good thing they did, because the abcess was actually quite large and spread out! And underneath? Dead tissue (necrotized). Ew. That's all I can say. Ew. Ew. Ew. Poor guy! I can't believe it got to that extent. As the vet said - animals often do not let on that they are feeling sick. No kidding.

The bonus? They cleaned his teeth while he was under.

I was never happier than when I heard he'd made it through just fine!

But boy. Was he MAD. Mad like I have NEVER seen him before. Trying to get him out of the kennel he was in at the vet's office and into his carrier took strategic planning. MAD. Even to the point of lashing out at me! As the wonderful vet technician put it - "people think working in a vet's office is all kittens and puppies! But, this is the reality!".

Finally got him home (I think the cab driver thought I had a wild animal in there, and got us home in *record* time, heh.), and he came roaring and charging out of that carrier like the Hulk. On steroids.

"At.ti.cus. MAD!!!!!!!!"

(shamelessly borrowed from The Simpsons episode where Homer turns into the Hulk!)

You can see his right front paw looks a bit funny (heh, putting it into perspective!). That's where his IV line went in. It was covered up with a hot pink bandage, but he was having none of that. He has a shaved spot about 6x6 (no kidding), and a 2.5" scar with stitches. And he's been given a 14-day antibiotic shot (meaning it will work through his system for 14 days).

Oh, and really clean teeth.

Meanwhile. I now FULLY understand how this could have happened in the first place. I spoke to the vet, and my friend Raven, about it. Animals recognize each other by sense of smell, and Gandalf truly believed this was a different male cat. It was not pleasant splitting them up, but after Gandalf LUNGED at Atticus, I hustled him into my room. And Gandalf? I have never seen him like that, he was crazy. It took him awhile to calm down, but the funny engine sounds where still going on, even though Atticus was safely in my room.

Mae? What can I say. For a girl who can be so shy around other people, she certainly took it all in stride. Didn't faze her at all.

"At.ti.cus. still. MAD!!"

And for a cat who has just gone through probably the most stressful day of his life, he was all smiles that night. I was *exhausted*, and was in bed by 8:30pm. Atticus settled in next to me, but every two hours?

"Hi! You up?!", and -

"Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Brigitte. Mom. Brigitte. Mom. Mom. Mom. Momma. Momma. Momma. Mom. Brigitte. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Momma. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Momma. Momma. Momma. Brigitte. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom."

(shamelessly borrowed from Family Guy!)

Good thing his teeth were clean because, despite laying out his blanket on the bed, he chose to rest on my pillow. Above my head. On my hair.

*Finally*, after keeping them apart for a day, and after thoroughly sponge cleaning Atticus' back, I decided to let Gandalf in, and see how he would react this time around.

He sniffed around. No hissing or growling.

Meanwhile, Mae poked her head around the door, lasers set to "stun".

She sniffed and marvelled at the new Cadillac of litter boxes, all the while letting the boys re-introduce themselves.

After a few tentative sniffs, and the odd hiss, they kissed and made up.

"Hi Atticus! Where've you been? Hey, what's the funny thing on your back?"

"I'm not sure... I think it had something to do with me going to the vet's office."

"Dude. You look like...Frankenstein. It's got all these funny threads sticking out of it. Cool! You're gonna have a wicked scar!"

"Do you think the chicks will like that?"

"Totally! They'll think you're all bad-boy tough guy! Like Christian Bale or ooo, James Bond! When he goes all Quantum of Solace revenge-like! Awesome!"

Although Gandalf did cause the injury, not for a second do I blame him. And neither does Atticus. He was just reacting to his instincts. He is as sweet as ever, and by tonight, the last of the tentative hissing will be done, and they will be back to being the best of friends.

As for me...I am just happy Atticus is healthy and happy, and the harmony has been restored.