Of Cats and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. MST: As I was running up and down the stairs retrieving soapmaking supplies, I noticed Sadie sitting in her litter box. On my next pass through the basement, I saw her step from one box to the other. "This is odd behavior," I thought. But when she sauntered upstairs to lay in a patch of sun, she seemed tentative but fine.
About 10, Stephanie called to regale me with her J Date experience. "He's very liberal," she said.
"Well, it's not as if you're a raging right winger."
"No, really liberal."
"Like how?"
"Like open relationships and stuff."
"My, that is liberal!" As we discussed it further, I realized how little I understand the mating habits of young people. When I hung up, I looked for the cat. Sadie was nowhere in evidence.
Tucking my soap in to cure on Mitch's workbench, I spied her vomiting clear liquid downstairs. And once again, she headed for her box.
This concerned me. Sadie weighs just under six pounds and at 12-years-of-age is no baby. Those of you who are longtime cat owners know that they can deteriorate in a heart beat. We debated waiting a day, but given her size and the fact that a Sunday vet trip would mean a costly emergency visit, we decided to scoop her up and head to the doctor.
There the receptionist asked that I leave Sadie for a couple of hours until the vet could see her. I ran some errands, downed a Taco Bell burrito and bought a magazine I hope to query. I was poking through some kicky spring tops at the mall, when the vet called. The doctor's voice was extremely subdued.
"I've had a chance to examine Sadie. And when I palpatated her, I found this lump."
Oh my God. "A lump?"
"Does she ever get in to your sewing or does she play with ribbon?"
"Well, I knit. She plays with the yarn."
"You knit?"
"Yeah."
"Well," the doctor said, "this mass is consistent with a blockage that could be caused by Sadie having gotten in to some yarn--that could be causing the problem--or she could just be constipated."
After x-rays determined that she was indeed constipated--a stool about the size of a medium matzo ball--the doctor gave her some gas and a little kitty enema. And though this probably falls under the category "too much information," no yarn was extracted.
Yesterday she was back to her sweet chatty self. Wanna see a picture? Of Sadie, silly! Click here.
No wonder she was spending so much time in the box.
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8:59:30 AM 
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