Have you ever tried to give a cat antibiotic drops? If not, you should try it sometime. It's really fun. You get to first, get on the floor and get a good hold on the cat's body with your knees and an arm around him, so that he can't run away. Then, with one hand, you gently squeeze the sides of his mouth until it opens. Did I say gently? Scratch that. Sometimes it's not so gentle, especially when said cat is trying to wriggle his way out of the hold you have on him with your arm and legs. Then, with your free hand, which isn't really quite free, since it's trying to hold an eyedropper of antibiotics without spilling it, you aim the dropper so that, the instant the cat's mouth opens, you can squirt the stuff into the back of the cat's throat. That's so that the cat can't then turn around and spit the stuff right back out. Once that's done, you release your hold on the cat, and watch it shoot out of your grasp like Tigger on crack. Real fun, let me tell you! Oh yeah, it helps if the cats claws are trimmed, too. And the best part? You get to do this twice a day for an entire week!

Good news - Zig's lab results came back normal! Not that he's a normal cat by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a huge relief to know that everything's okay!

Right now, I'm sitting here waiting for the vet to call back with the results of my cat Zig's lab work. I had taken him in yesterday to have his mouth examined. He lost, or rather, I found, one of his front "fangs" in my couch cushions the other day. From the looks of it, it just fell out. I called the vet's office, and they suggested that I have him looked at just to be on the safe side.

So, yesterday, I brought him in to see the vet. It was a bit difficult, because that's where I brought Trouble when I had to have him put to sleep last month. She examined Zig, cleaned the wax out of his ears, and put him on antibiotics to prevent any infection in the spot where the tooth was. Overall, she said he looked good for a thirteen-year-old cat, but was concerned about the feel of his abdomen. So, she took blood and urine samples. Poor Zig! I had anticipated her poking around his mouth a bit, but hadn't thought that he'd be subjected to having fluids drawn out of his neck and bladder. He was very good about it, though, which surprised me. Of course, I made sure to give him some extra treats when we got home.

So here I sit, waiting for the call. Worrywart that I am, I'm imagining all sorts of dire results. It doesn't matter that he's running around like Tigger on crack, or that he's acting pretty much the same as he acted when he was two. His eating habits certainly haven't changed, and he still runs around chasing anything that isn't nailed down. Despite that, I'm worried, and fearing the worst. Damn, I wish she'd call already!

Well, this sure isn't the way to spend my time off after Christmas - sick at home with some kind of bug! Odd thing is, aside from nasal and chest congestion, and an overall tired feeling, I don't feel all that bad. I'm hoping that this is as bad as it will get. I was supposed to help out at The Bear Search and Rescue Foundation's booth at The New York National Boat Show this afternoon, but there's no way that I could schlep into the city from Queens feeling like this. I'm supposed to help out tomorrow and during the rest of the week, too. Not sure what's going to happen with that, although I really want to go. On the positive side, if I'm too sick to enjoy my scheduled vacation day tomorrow, I'll use a sick day instead of wasting a vacation day.

This is weird. My intestines are making all sorts of weird noises, and pretty loud ones, at that. Nothing else is happening, just a lot of noise. Strange. Of course, I don't want them to do anything outside of normal intestinal stuff. No thank you!