It's been quite an 8 days. Last Thursday I took our little Ashtabula in for a routine spay and got a call 2 hours later that her heart had, unexplainably, stopped during surgery. The vet was able to restart her heart after about 5 minutes but she wasn't sure what the prognosis would be.
If she lived she might be blind, etc. When I brought her home that night and she could barely lift her head, I thought for sure she would not make it through the night. Miraculously, after being home for about 10 minutes, she stood up and proceeded to bump around the room and fling kitty litter everywhere with her 'cone of shame'. Things were looking up and she seemed even better on Saturday, purring and playing, but Sunday morning she seemed bad again, not moving much and breathing with an unnerving clicking sound. Again, I thought this was it. A trip to the vet revealed that she had developed pulmonary edema from the CPR so we medicated that and hoped for the best. Today we went to the vet and she has been given a clean bill of health.
I hate to be labeled a cat lady but I do love my cat. In truth, I have always loved all animals; insects, too. When I was young I kept cats, dogs, beetles, turtles, birds....whatever my mom would agree to. The comfort that these creatures have given me over the years is really immeasurable. I remember reading in an Alan Watts book a long time ago about how we tend to envy animals because they don't have to bear the burden of the past or the future the way humans do. I think there is so much truth to this. There is a real grace to the immediacy of their lives. Something to admire. Something to imitate?
For right now, I am just glad to watch Ashie doze in the sun.
Oh my, so good to hear she is recovering. What a beauty she is.
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