Catymology

Over the weekend, Aloysius stopped eating and spent most of his time hiding under a chair in the family room. No sitting on the bed at night, no interest in playing. If I put a little of his favorite food (flaked whitefish and tuna) in front of him, he would lick it, but that's about all. He did come out from under the chair long enough to use his box, so I decided to wait until Monday to take him to the vet.

Maybe he was upset about all the housecleaning and vacuuming going on. Maybe he knew that I was having my writers' group over on Sunday, and that I was planning to read Aloysius' excellent poem, "A Pear-Shaped Cat Sings the Blues." Did he know that my friend Joan, a really good vocalist, would offer to sing it? Well, she did, and Aloysius felt too punky to even make an appearance.

On Monday, Aloysius greeted me in the kitchen with a meow. He expected his usual serving of canned food. He'd eaten some of his dry food during the night. Still, I thought he should go to the vet.

Getting Aloyius into his carrying box is always difficult. He thinks it's a jail cell, and of course, to him it is.

Getting him out of the box at the vet's office is just as hard.

To cut to the diagnosis: after thoroughly examining Aloysius, the vet couldn't find anything wrong. No dehydration, no swelling, no obvious source of pain. He offered me the choice of doing a full blood and urine workup or waiting to see if Aloysius got better on his own. I opted for the workup. Of course, Aloysius was indignant about being poked and prodded and having his vital fluids drawn. Afterwards, he gave me a dirty look and crawled back into his carrying box. I turned up the heated seats in the car so he wouldn't be too cold on the ride home. I apologized profusely, but I don't think Aloysius accepted.

This morning at 8:30, the vet called with the test results. Everything is perfectly normal. Aloysius had forgiven me and had slept on the bed with us most of the night. And by the time I delivered his morning meal, he was waiting impatiently beside his bowl.

So what was it? Just a tummy ache? I just hope it doesn't happen again soon. He's getting extra love and attention today. At least he's sitting on top of the chair!



Lisaviolet has invented a new game: Tummy Tuesday! If your cat wants to play, be sure to tag your post "Tummy Tuesday."

Labels: Tummy Tuesday

# posted by amanuensis @ 10:33 AM