Kaleena's home....
I still can't believe that Kaleena found her way back home! She's been missing for at least two months. She's thoroughly starved and needed medical attention (stitches, antibiotics) as she got her foot stuck through her collar and embedded the buckle in her armpit. She is eating well, drinking plenty of water, and soaking up the love. As she "airs out," the rotting smell has disappeared, and the "wet dog" smell is nearly gone. Joan still insists that she stinks and needs a bath. Have to call the vet and make sure she can deal with a bath. I think she has managed to hit every button I have this week. First, Joan wants to keep the cats seperated. Yes, I can see this. Makes perfect sense to me. But, we come home and find Joan holding Kaleena in the basement with the other two cats running free. After she dumps Kaleena onto me, I clear off the bed, run the other cats out of the room, and spread the towel for Kaleena to lay on (on the bed). Joan said to me, "That towel really stinks, and Ryan is going to notice." Oh, OK. He'll deal with it. Later, Joan tells Ryan that I was deliberatly doing the things that Joan told me not to do. Exactly how does, "That towel really stinks, and Ryan is going to notice" translate into "don't put the injured cat down anywhere in the bedroom where the healthy cats might come into contact with her cooties"? First off, Kaleena IS on antibiotics. She shows NO signs of respiratory infection. She has a severely weakened immune system and is doing just fine. The other cats are perfectly healthy, have nothing going on to compromise thier immune systems, and should stay in fine health even if Kaleena was carrying around some minor cough, sneeze, or other infection. Joan talks about holding the cat as if it were a chore that she oviously had to do because we weren't at home to hold the cat all day. The cat knows wether she's being treated with love or disdain. If you can't stand how she smells and you don't actually want to be holding the cat, don't bother. Besides, she will put weight on faster if she has the opportunity to be active. If you have a problem with the way I'm doing something with my own cat, and you absolutely cannot abide it, then talk to me about it. Screaming at your son (who has no control over my action or even knows what's going on with the cats that you don't approve of) isn't going to solve anything. That will merely create distress, make all of us wonder what we're not supposed to be doing, and allow you to direct our lives for us, according to your own needs. Anyway, I digress. More on this rant later. Kaleena's home. Ryan and I are taking care of her as we see fit. And contrary to delusional beliefs, she is not oozing all over anything. Here's to smelly critters and unexpected vet bills!