December 13, 2013
It took a whole year to get back around to this point. Perhaps it's fitting that my crazy, scared black cat is finally getting help on a Friday the Thirteenth.
Colleen left her quarantine period last year no better off than when she started. We were interrupted by travels and work and other assorted not-good-enough excuses. And I let another year slip by.
She showed some encouraging signs during the year. She started playing a bit. She'd chase the red laser dot around ... as long as I didn't move it too close to me. She and Cotton would play a lively game of chase. She's pretty fast for a three-legged cat. She even hopped up on the bed a couple of times and actually let me TOUCH her! I kept hoping she would move forward at her own pace. But while I was waiting, I let another year slip by.
This week was the time for annual checkups by our mobile vet. Thank goodness for the invention of mobile veterinary services that come out to your house. With my crazy crew, there is no way I could wrangle 4 hyped-up cats into carriers, into a car, and down to an office - even if I did it 4 separate times. Two of them can't be easily crated (or caught). If I ever have an emergency where I have to get them out fast, I'm sunk. But I digress.
Last weekend, our local shelter had its annual Home for the Holidays adoption event. It was a great day for the animals (over 200 pets adopted from various local rescues & shelters) and came right on the heels of our shelter's own Black Friday adoption week where more than 40 pets found homes. It was at this event in 2009 when I adopted Colleen. Her story has been recounted in earlier entries in this blog. This year, on the eve of her 4th anniversary here in my home, I promised that she would not have to live in fear anymore.
Since she had to be captured for the vet's visit, once again I took the opportunity to quarantine Colleen. Take her back to basics. See if we can break the cycle of fear and anxiety that she lives with constantly. I've got just about every homeopathic 'calming' remedy - liquids, sprays, diffusers, etc. Bach's Rescue Remedy, Feliway, Spirit Essences, Black Wing Farms. I've tried many, but I admit, without complete consistency. My fault entirely. I let my cat live like this because it wasn't too inconvenient for me. She wants to live under the dining room table - fine, whatever.
Since I'd let another year slip by, I asked the vet for a compounded formula of anti-anxiety meds to start for Colleen. After a bit of internet searching for a reasonably priced pharmacy that could compound RX for pets, I found a great local place just about 4 miles from home. As of tonight, Colleen is now on Fluoxetine (that's generic Prozac). A pretty serious step, but at least I won't let another year go by without helping my cat.
Stay tuned. We'll see how it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment