Cat Lady 911 in Feline Misadventures

Yesterday was a rough day, I wasn’t sure if it was due to the flu shot I got the night before or the new medication I started the night before (second night has determined it’s the new med), but after not eating or doing much with the day except be whiney and curled up in bed with the cats, I ordered takeout. I had just gotten home with it, ready to eat, when my mom called me in a panic. “Can you come over, Ashley has something stuck in her mouth.”

Ashley is her 4 pound Persian (she found her on a free cycle group after the original owners got her, four paw declawed her, and then decided she wasn’t that much fun) who’s about 17. She’s a tiny little grumpy gray cloud and I am in perpetual fear of her demise. She, like my 18 year old Kira, just keeps trucking despite eating little and mostly sleeping.

I live about an 8 minute drive from my mom’s so I sped over, on alert for cops and deer, and rushed in the house. Sure enough, a small square of something was stuck in the back of her throat. I wrapped her in a tight towel burrito and handed her to Mom. A good grab with a pair of tweezers and it popped right out- the paper and tape tab from a printer cartridge. How she ended up getting it in her mouth, I don’t know, but the tape had stuck it to her throat and she couldn’t dislodge it on her own. I stayed until she drank and ate and appeared recovered, and until Mom had calmed down.

I will freely admit that I love being people’s first call when it comes to animal issues, but I do wish I had a -me- in my life. Especially when making decisions about care or, for example, when I could have absolutely used a second pair of hands during David’s treatment. It would have been a much smoother 12 weeks if I was able to even have someone hold him during injections.

Miss Ashley is doing well today, and will hopefully stay out of office waste in the future.