Sunday, February 5, 2017

In Praise of Boredom



Having five cats living with me, there is no normalcy. Unrelieved boredom would be nice, but it just doesn’t happen.

Cammie was ill again. The princess had been throwing up for several days before Saturday. When this transpires, it is sometimes of short duration. But this time, it resembled a previous occasion, which ended when I took her to the veterinary hospital and she received an injection to calm her stomach and allow her to eat. For a few days, little food had been staying in Cammie’s stomach, and I thought I would need to take her to the doctor again.

But formerly, I had forgotten that I possessed a small supply of slippery elm. Now, I resorted to this natural remedy, rather than the quicker, and synthetic, chemical. It is messier than an injection, especially as the princess not unnaturally dislikes being force-fed something that looks, feels and probably tastes as if someone had already consumed it.

Saturday, I gave Cammie a dose of the elm. Some hours later, she threw up. But she had evinced an interest in eating. This morning, I heard her wretching in the sitting room, while I was lying in bed; I could find no evidence of vomit, however. She sometimes will sound as if she is throwing up, but contain the upchuckery. This suggested that whatever had come up had not been in great volume. She received another unwelcome dose of slippery elm.

Her appetite improved today. She is hungry again. She did not join in at play-time this evening, but activity is only one of her barometers. I am concerned much more with nutrition. In that regard, she is feeling much better. I may give her a final dose of elm tomorrow, just for good measure.

What causes these periodic illnesses? I cannot guess. She is eating more Merrick ‘chicken’ these days than Fancy Feast, but the first example of this sickness followed upon a stricter Fancy Feast diet. And if the food causes the problem, it should be happening more often. I don’t think what she is eating is her trouble. There is too little information to make a firm determination. I am pleased that the problem seems to have been solved with what I had on hand here. While the princess rested in her favourite heated bed, her stomach was calmed, and her body healed.

For my cats’ sake, I long for stability, even stagnation. There is something to be said for the repetition of unlimited naps, long views out a window, play-time and regular meals. Unrelieved boredom would indeed be nice, but it just doesn’t happen. Let’s see what tomorrow will bring.

16 comments:

  1. Poor Cammie! Paws crossed that she is feeling better and that she continues to improve. Please keep us posted. But as you know, John, when you have cats, boredom is not a word in our vocabulary.

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  2. Aw, poor love. We hope Cammie is feeling much better today. You don't have any indoor plants that she can nibble on, do you? We hope the slippery elm has settled her now. ♥

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  3. sorree cammie ~~~~~~ we hope two day N each day frum heer for werd bringz ya bak two better health...

    knock wood....de elm did itz trix coz we noe ewe & dad due KNOT wanna make a trip de de eeeeeeeeeeevil place.....

    blessings frum R pal frank.... sew ya haz em now N on hand ~~ ♥♥♥

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  4. Oh Cammie, I hope what ever is afflicting soon passes. It does sound as if you are on the mend.

    Sometimes food brand a add new ingredients or obtain their ingredients from new sources so may no longer agree with a particular cat's health or digestive system. Get well soon, Cammie.

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  5. Stay safe John and the Clavern. Horrific weather down here. I left my garage open with some blankets and and catfood for the little lost ones.

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  6. Should have been clowder my phones autocorrect messed up!

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    1. I wondered what the Clavern was... Thank you for your wishes. It's supposed to shoot up from double digits below zero to eight above tomorrow!

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  7. Poor Cammie, I hope she's over the stomach issues. My Silas often had tummy issues, so much so we called him the bulimic cat. In his case he weighed in at 22 lbs at his heaviest so it didn't seem to do him much harm. I suspect Cammie doesn't have that extra weight to lose.

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  8. Katie has been doing this since the day she came home! My carpet is a disaster area from all the try-my-best cleanups of multiple vomits everywhere. And the scratching. She too has not lost weight until that terrible time some months ago when she was vomiting and had diarrhea at the same time. The dr. gave her the probiotic. She is throwing up again but not as badly.

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    1. Could Katie benefit from some slippery elm to settle the stomach?

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  9. and the precious little girl looks so dear in her beddie.

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  10. Poor Cammie we are sorry she had an upset tummy. Abby had a bit of a touchy tummy and I had her on elm for the last few years of her life. She never had any further tummy problems. (I mixed in a bit with her breakfast) Hope Cammie is ALL better today.

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  11. So sorry she got sick and had da throw ups. Dat's never any fun. As fur da elm, mommy mixes it with a little real live from da cow butter, and on kittens is it good. We actually lick it off da spoon. Mommy calls any medicine she mixes with butter, our butter spoon cuz she feeds it to us off da spoon. MOL Anyways, just thought you might like to try it as opposed to da furce feedin'. We are glad she seems to be innerested in foods again. Dat's always a good thing. And by da way, da butter also helps with da hairballs, dat might be da purroblem. Big hugs fur all.

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Raena

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  12. I hope Cammie is on the mend. It upsets me terribly when this dear old girl is poorly. I read your post before and hoped there would now be good news. She's been through so much in her life. But I know she's in the very best of hands and will get all the care and love she needs. God bless you both.

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    1. Cammie is back to her usual self now, I think. She is eating well - enjoying Merrick 'chicken', with some flavouring of FortiFlora pro-biotic - and played again last night for the first time in several days.

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