I pick up Pinks about 17 times a day - no kidding. Sometimes, I carry her from room to room just because, well, because she's so damn cute and I can (we only have two rooms, so it's not like I'm carting her around on long treks around our roomy abode). But yesterday when I picked her up, I felt a weird lump in her belly and it freaked me out.
At first, I tried to talk myself into believing that it was a normal cat bump and they all had them. I believed that for about a minute and then I got really nervous and launched in to my favorite game - Worst Case Scenario. I thought maybe I could get through the night pretending that it was no big deal until I remembered that our new next door neighbors (yes, the ones with Guitar Hero whom I'm always whining about) have two cats and the guy is in med school, so like the freak I am, I walked across the hall, knocked on the door, and asked if I could feel their cat.
I know - it's a strange request but hell, once I explained the situation they were all for it and allowed me to grope their cats. And yep, I didn't feel a thing; I was gobsmacked.
The nerves set in and were apparent; I felt really awkward but fortunately, my neighbors noticed and kindly offered to come over and feel my cat in return (it's good having a doctor in the building).
It took ages for me to catch Pinks (she is super skittish around strangers, particularly men) but finally I did and Edward had his way with her and felt her up and yep, he felt the lump, too. After he left, I kinda started to cry and then called the vet he recommended, tried to not think about it last night, went to bed, and then woke up and spent the day waiting.
Now, today was not a good day for an emergency visit to the vet and needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed: I had to put in a full day of work (despite the 1/2 day for students), attend a faculty meeting, read 50 pages of student writing for tomorrow, write 1500 words to keep on track for NaNoWriMo, clean the apartment from top to bottom anticipation of Erik and Tif's stay this weekend, pack for Thursday's 7 am flight to Idaho, cast my vote for governor and mayor, and an emergency visit to the animal hospital? Oy.
Thankfully, Pinks is ok; as a matter of fact, she's pretty damn perfect and that fatty lump is, the vet thinks, a hernia that isn't an issue and probably never will be but we'll keep an eye on it for now. She was so good at the vet - like, super star good, so good that every doctor and employee in the joint noticed and her name was on the tip of everyone's tongue. Oh yeah, she was the buzz of the day and at least 5 people came up to me to comment on what a "chill", "adorable", "sweet", "darling", and "awesome" cat she is !!
So, What's La Pointe of It All? Well, I now know why people put so much stock in their children's accomplishment and in the praise others offer: my head is like, the size of Mary Jo Buttofuoco's after Amy Fisher shot her... or maybe it's just my allergies.
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