It was my own fault of course, for mentioning hairballs.
This morning I lost count of how many I scooped up before breakfast.
As I washed up the dishes, there was more retching, but this I discovered was because Grant had found some grass to ease Sophia’s dyspepsia.
That she had it in the first place was also my fault.
The dawn routine is to give Willow her medicine plus a tiny reward, which other little opportunists cash in on. Sophia, in the living room, is normally still asleep but occasionally as I pass through, she shows her expectant, hopeful little face…
The trouble is she swallows kibble whole.
.
Regrettably, Sophia’s digestive system did not reject the kibble until after she had also consumed breakfast, and when she reproduced, so to speak, it was directly into the baseboard radiator.
Then on the windowsill. And her bed. And the tabletop.
And the carpet.
No doubt other places as well, but I announced:
“If I can’t see it, I can’t clean it!”
.
Dried up vomits are easier to clean anyway.
Cats seem to vomit with some regularity and it is very often a trichobezoar: a hairball.
These can be avoided if:
You regularly brush or comb your cat, or
You administer laxatone or some variety of gel which eases the passage of hair through kitty’s digestive tract and out the other end.
The first cat who consented to live with me actually loved the stuff, but in the long years since, I have failed to encounter another who would deign to swallow it. The looks of betrayal and disgust I’ve had to endure! Usually most of it ends up on me, or on some outside part of the cat who then deliberately takes itself off to sit on an urgent document you failed to safeguard, or your freshly laundered towels….
As for grooming, there are two sorts of cats; those who love it but don’t really need it and those who flee at the sight of any grooming device, generally long-haired cats that definitely need grooming.
Our current long-haired residents will not listen when I explain that a little regular attention will prevent problems. No. They prefer to wait until they have a significant KNOT which must be snipped out.
Oh, the wailing (theirs) and bloodshed (ours)!
Of the eleven, just two enjoy being combed and once you start you must continue until half the cat has been removed, or so it seems.
Blackie loves it. Her thick coat is not inclined to knot.
Lily goes into raptures over being combed. No knots.
.
Hard to believe, but of eleven, only one of our furry friends asks for lap time. The others demand attention, but sit in your lap? Dear me, no! They simply want to stand on your chest while you try to read or walk on your keypad when you want to write, etc…
Muffin likes a lap and as she sits, I run my fingers through her hair. When I find a knot I work on it with my fingernails. If you catch them soon enough, you can ease them out. I always did this with Yeti and she never protested. Muffin is not so keen.
.
Dear little Georgy had been terribly neglected and when he came to live with me, his long hair had been shaved off which was the only way to deal with the mess it had become.
Georgy liked to climb into my lap and as his hair grew back I did with him what I had always done with Yeti, easing out bits of hair that were starting to knot. I wanted to keep him knot-free.
But what happened was that he stopped climbing into my lap and this was sad because he had seemed to want to be close and I loved having him there. Another lesson that I learned too late.
Caring for an animal properly requires so much more attention than most of us have to give, even those of us who love them deeply.
There are so many little things to pay attention to and it is impossible to fully disconnect your own feelings. We always try hard to do what is best for the animal, but is it really possible to know what is best? What they would choose if they could?
What if a pet decided to walk off into the night and die alone? Many animals do. Would you be able to let your beloved friend go off to die alone?
Too many times through life I have had to make painful decisions, not only for animals. Afterwards I tormented myself with second thoughts over what I chose.
We can only do what our hearts and minds tell us and hope that our good intentions count for something.
As with everything in life, Carolyn, we can only do our best!
One can only admire, Carolyn, your devotion to your family. The very idea that a cat that is close to you wanted to leave to be somewhere alone when the end comes is odd one as normally animals like humans want someone they love to hold they hand/paw.
But in reality, we all die alone…
Joanna
I suspect it’s an individual thing. When cats are unwell, in my experience, they withdraw taking themselves into a safe corner and when they have the freedom to come and go from a house often I think they choose to go off by themselves. From all that I have heard and experienced, people who are terminally ill tend to die after a loved one has visited, but again it is a totally individual thing.
Oh my, poor Sophia (ok, and poor you who have to clean afterwards)! You definitely have to keep your head together when it comes to which cat likes what! Our spaniels loved water – in the sea or even just a puddle … but they didn’t like baths at all! I could never understand that. Yes Carolyn, let’s remember that last sentence of yours in this post 💌.
At least dogs don’t bring up hairballs. Though Ollie’s obsession with cleaning his feet is sometimes so loud, we can’t hear the television. I have never known a dog go off to die alone, they usually come to you for comfort when they are close to the end.
Best wishes, Pete.
True. Dogs are much more attached to their people. My aunts dogs also did a lot of foot cleaning!