There was actually a beautiful symmetry to it.
In the first year after bringing my cat, Clifford, home from the shelter, I had a pretty substantial knee surgery, one that would leave me in a significant amount of pain and relegated to my couch for four days. I learned in those days how supportive [read : unhealthily attached] Cliff was going to be – twice a day, he would efficiently combine his trips to his food dish, water bowl, and litter box in one loop, and then promptly jump back up next to me on the couch. No looking out the window, no sleeping elsewhere – he was at my side 23.9 hours a day.
Now, thirteen years later, it was my turn. Cliff needed to have emergency surgery to remove stones from his bladder. The procedure itself is usually routine, but with a seventeen year old cat, any kind of anesthesia is a risky proposition, and the recovery is going to be difficult.
Glad you added that he is ok, he certainly does not look comfortable in the picture….
Hey Karen! He’s doing great – it took about two weeks for him to bounce back.
Poor kitty! And poor you! I totally understand the helicopter pet parenting thing. I have two cats, one of whom is fourteen years old and has been a part of my life for over half the years I’ve been alive, and a foster kitty. It’s hard not to hover, even when they’re operating at full capacity. That hovering I do is part of the reason I haven’t had children yet. If I can’t make myself chill out with my cats, I have a feeling that I’d be the worse kind of helicopter parent to a creature that actually sprang forth from my own body.
Anyway, I hope poor Cliff feels better soon.
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