You know you’ve abandoned your blog for too long when your Dad mentions it’s been a while since your last update. And if you have an overly attentive stalker dad then this means nothing to you, but you get my meaning.
Here’s what’s been going on with me. Since my last post:
- I was unexpectedly offered my first full time job with a salary and benefits.
- I abruptly put in my two weeks notice at my job at the school.
- I spent two emotional weeks mourning the loss of “my boys” that I’d come to love so much there over the past two years.
- I moved to another city, leaving hubby and kitty to fend for themselves until he graduates – putting us in an awkward long-ish distance relationship for 2-3 weeks.
- I moved in with my parents and got settled.
- I started my new job – literally the day after my last day in my old job – zero transition time.
And that’s not including old boring news like dealing with two incurable illnesses that flare under stress.
I’m sure some of you have noticed me liking or commenting on really old posts from literally weeks ago – I’m very behind in my blog reading, but I’m also very devoted and I try to not skip out on reading your posts. But excuses aside, I did want to post at least a little content for you, even if it is lighthearted and silly.
Last night I had a Face Time date with my cat, Mimi. Hubby facilitated this of course, but I mostly talked to my cat and she talked to me. She’s very talkative. And since my angel baby is on my mind, I thought I’d write a bit about her for you.
This is Mimi. She’s been my kitty baby for three years, and she is invisibly ill. She doesn’t look sick, does she? Just a normal cat, sitting in a box and being a fatty. But it’s true. She’s a special needs kitty.
I got her on a whim. My high school theater teacher was moving. I’d asked about her, since he referenced her in conversation occasionally, and he said he was actually on his way to drop her off at the shelter. I was at my wedding shower, and the moment it was over I called him and intervened. I said I’d take her. I’d never met her, knew nothing about her, and heck, I was still living with my parents (one of whom actually HATES cats) but it just felt like the right (and the most fun!) thing to do.
Mimi is shy with strangers, and spent the whole night in the kennel cowering. All I saw of her were her green eyes and the cute half-smile markings around her mouth.
Imagine how surprised I was when she finally came out! She’s a big girl. Like….when I took her in to get her annual shots this year, the vet stopped me and said “Oh, please only bring one animal in at a time.” I blushed and said “Oh…she’s just one cat….she’s kinda big I guess….”
But the surprises didn’t stop there. I’m ashamed to admit that despite being ill myself, I was not a good mommy to Mimi when I found out she was sick. You see, Mimi has chronic allergies. As in….all the time allergies. She’s allergic to EVERYTHING. And that means that she snores, cries little kitty tears, and she sneezes. Oh God, the sneezing. There were giant….green…..jiggly….dried up….goopy….MASSIVE…..cat boogers. EVERYWHERE. ON EVERYTHING.
Oh, and guess where her favorite place on earth is? Under the covers. WHERE I SLEEP. But can’t see. Yeah, I learned pretty quick to triple check before I ever jumped into bed. It was just so, so disgusting. It was disrupting my whole life, which was hard enough with my own illnesses. I don’t know this cat, I have no obligation to her, why am I letting her paint every thing I own with her nasty nose jam? I was ready to kick her out the door. Forget the shelter! Her illness inconvenienced me far too much. Who needs that?
Well. Lucky for her (and for me) I had a loving fiance who not only scrubbed up her boogers, but brushed her, fed her, and loved her just the way she was. She sneezed a lot less as she felt more relaxed (shocker! Isn’t that EXACTLY how my illness works?) and she became the sweetest, most loving pet. All she needed was a little compassion.
Now, I can’t imagine life without her. She can always tell when I’m sick, and is quick to climb into bed and talk to me. I’ve become a much better kitty mama. I clean up the boogers, I give her medicine (which means I let her claw me up and bite me), I wash her, I brush her, I even make her special homemade kitty treats. I’m truly ashamed that I was such a hypocrite. I know my illness is gross, inconvenient, and that my then boyfriend had no obligation to me. But he took me home, nursed me, and loved me until I was as well as I could get.
There are still some mornings where I step into a fresh warm kitty booger with my bare feet and think “That’s it. I’m throwing her out the window.” But I don’t. I wash up, calm down, pick her up, and say “Mimi, I love you.”
And it’s been worth every booger.
I started out wanting to write a really silly post and perhaps even do a fake kitty interview, but I wound up counting my blessings instead. That’s never a bad thing
Has having a pet helped you relate to your caretaker’s role? Do you have an invisibly ill furry friend? Tell me all about it and show me some pictures too – there’s no better use of the internet than looking at cute pictures of animals.
