Skeeter scared the shit out of me this morning. Right before we left, he threw up a tiny amount – but then, instead of getting away from his puke like he usually does, he just sat there breathing heavy, like he didn’t feel good at all, or was about to throw up again (although his muscles weren’t moving like they do when he’s about to puke). After a bit, I picked him up to gauge how he was feeling, and he was breathing with this weird ratchet-y sound. (I don’t know how else to describe it.) Which was when I decided I’d have to stay home and take him to the vet. So I got ready to run Greg to work, and call my boss and let her know what was up – and Skeeter got over it, and was back to his normal-breathing, normal-acting self. When it happened, I thought it might be asthma, or something caught in his throat and affecting his breathing. I’ve never had a cat *with* asthma, but I know they can get it, and I have no idea whether it sounds anything like when I’m having an attack. But Skeeter recovered in about five minutes, so I’m thinking it couldn’t have been asthma, to come on and go away so quickly. Maybe just a weird hairball he couldn’t quite bring up?
I got another scare later today, when I was telling Jodi about Skeeter’s weirdness, and she mentioned the food contamination – and we feed them both wet and dry food. Luckily, our food was not on the list. It’s also lucky that I talked with Jodi – and I almost didn’t, because for about two seconds I was thinking, “Who wants to hear about my cat vomiting?” – because now we know which dog foods *not* to get, and it looks like we’ll be getting Bailey soon.
Speaking of which, Bailey is the dog we’re adopting – a 7- or 8-year-old black lab. He’s very sweet, and generally very well-behaved. (I say “generally” because I’m sure he and the cats will be off their normal kilter a bit while they get used to each other, which is understandable.) I think he and Skeeter will be fine, and probably sleeping together inside a week. I’m not sure about Chalupa – she’s so skittish, I kinda think she’ll lay low and hide more than normal for a while. But then, he’s an animal and not a person, so she could entirely surprise me and take to him like a house on fire. (Daoine and Monkey hit it off immediately, and I was thinking Daoine would hate him – they were grooming each other like an hour after they were introduced.) We’ve also been making changes ahead of time, so hopefully the cats’ routines will be less disrupted when we actually bring Bailey home. The plan is to put up a baby gate (or gates, depending on Bailey’s height and/or jumping ability and inclination) to give the cats some definitely dog-free space, and I’ve moved their dishes into my craft room (which will be dog-free). They didn’t really seem to notice the change – and run ahead of me into the craft room instead of the dining room, now, while I’m carrying their food. And we got a top-entry litter box to keep Bailey out (since I’ve never met a dog that wouldn’t eat cat poop if given the chance), and they figured out how to use it the day I got it, although Chalupa still seems to prefer the regular litter boxes.
I don’t know if it helps, really, but I’ve also been talking to the cats about Bailey, trying to get them used to the word “dog” and his name. And also trying to make sure *I* stay calm and don’t get too nervous, because I’m sure if I’m nervous about how the introductions will go, the cats will pick up on it and that won’t help. And I’m really just excited now, and not really nervous. So, yeah.
I was going to make a poll or something, to find out what the general consensus is on dog sweaters for larger dogs. Greg thinks Bailey won’t need a sweater because he’s not like a three-pound tea cup chihuahua or some shit. And I’m generally disinclined to knit a dog sweater, but I know if I ever see him shiver, the sweater will be cranked out as fast as I can. But then I was over at Craftster, and found this post, and…I think those dog jammies are awesome. I realize that may make me a crazy dog lady, but *I* love jammies and being snuggly and cozy and comfy, and I pretty much just want to spoil the hell out of all my pets and make them happy and snuggly and cozy and comfy at all times, so dog jammies kinda make sense to me. I know. I’ve lost it. Bailey has his own bed, that might actually be big enough for me to lay on, and I’m already thinking about how to sew a cushy bed, or knit a blanket for him. It’s nuts. And now I’m all, “I really hope Bailey likes dog jammies, damn. Because otherwise, that poor dog…” But I can’t just whip up dog jammies on my own (ie, without a pattern), and I’m actually in the middle of making YET ANOTHER blanket thing for Chalupa (since she actually uses them, I keep making them for her), so I don’t think Bailey needs to start worrying. Yet. (Although I do think some snow-booties might be in order for next winter.)
