lornagrl

No leash for Ophelia....

I tried a little experiment this weekend. 

Some developers built a condo in the back of my apartment building. I used to have a view of an elevated Q train running to Stillwell Avenue but since they put the condo up, this view is now obstructed. Pretty soon some idiot is going to pay $500,000 for a condo that will be even closer to the Q train than my $884 rent stabilized studio apartment.  While this is a good thing there is a trade off.  I have almost no light. This apartment is dark most of the time.

This would be a drag if I had to spend all my time here but I’m usually only home at night so it doesn’t matter. But Ophelia is here all the time.  She doesn’t get any light at all.  When I come home from work and turn on the light she blinks her eyes because she’s been in darkness all day long.

I figured being in darkness most of the time cannot be very healthy. So I thought I would try taking her outside once in a while.  Now I know that sounds crazy but lot’s of people do take their cats out on a leash.  I see them on the boardwalk all the time and in fact, I bought Ophelia a leash when she was a kitten and even took her out once or twice.  But I had cancer this summer and wasn’t really focused on leash training my cat.  I’m better now so this weekend I thought that I would give the leash another whirl.

Getting the leash on her was no problem, however when I carried her into the hallway she started to tremble much like she did as a four week old kitten, when she realized I was taking her away from her litter mates.  I thought about turning back but I didn’t want to give up too quickly.  I thought if I could just get across the street to the park and sit on a bench, she would calm down a bit but she wouldn’t stop trembling.  I set her down on the grass but she immediately tried to climb back up my leg.  She was having none of this outdoor crap.   

I figured the lack of light cannot be worse than the possible heart attack she may get if I take her outside.  So much for leash training.

Cats are nocturnal anyway.

 

Declawed

So I brought Ophelia to the vet on Friday because (gross out warning) I noticed that she had worms.  This can be dangerous with my compromised immune system.  I took her to the vet on Saturday just one day after my chemo treatment.  I wanted to get it over with before I get too ill and I tend to get sick about forty-eight hours after treatment. 

When I brought her into the office she started to growl the moment I put her on the scale.  She was having none of it.  She spit, shrieked and growled.  Three technicians were trying to hold her down when the vet came in and asked "why is a cat behaving this way?" 

I was backed into the corner.  This was the reason I was putting this off.   A few weeks ago she scratched me just one week after treatment, which is the time when my white blood cell count is the lowest.  I told the oncologist nurse about this and she had a look of horror on her face. "It's extremely dangerous if she scratches you and you get an infection." 

Apparently it doesn't end after chemotherapy either.  I am having lymph nodes removed which puts me at a risk for lymphedema.  So the dr. highly suggested that I have her declawed.

I really didn't want to do it and was putting it off coming up with excuses.  I was too tired from chemo, too  busy at work etc...  But when I had to bring her in for the worms I reluctantly left her for the surgery.

I picked her up this afternoon and right now she is curled up next to me purring up a storm and glad to be home.  She seems a little sore but the vet told me that will pass in a few days.

She doesn't seem too angry at me.

Cat Bite...

I have a little issue with my cat.  She has a tendency to bite.  Usually the bites are in play but once in a while for no explicable reason she will attack. 

I slept late this morning and could hear her run around the apartment crying and getting into trouble.  I suppose she didn't like the break in routine.  (I'm usually up by 8:00 am) First she climbed the curtains and they came tumbling down, forcing me out of bed so I could put them back up.  Then she ran up and down the hall crying and jumping and every once in a while jumping on my chest, purring, and getting a nice rub down.

It was while she was getting petted when out of the blue, and for no particular reason what so ever she out and out attacked me!!  I pulled her off the first time and then she did it again and this time she broke the skin and drew blood.  Now I've read that cat bites need to be taken seriously as the risk of infection is very high.  The wound is not very big but I don't know how deep it is but I washed it thoroughly with soap and water and hydrogen peroxide. 

Little shit....

Ophelia wants a Rose..

I got a rose the other day and I put it up on the wall, thinking that Ophelia would not be able to get to it.  I was wrong.  This flower is slowly driving her insane.  She stands underneath it and cries and cries then jumps to try to reach it.   She almost makes it too!

Ophelia, mistress of claws..

  Ophelia, mistress of claws.. 
  Originally uploaded by lornagrl.

It is getting more difficult to get any work done without Ophelia getting in the way.  She likes to lay around the key board and the computer desk while I am working.  She also can't resist swatting at the computer screen and I am terrified that she is going to scratch a tear into it. 

As of now, I keep my imac face down on a towel when I am not using it. 

(the website is Ophelia is sniffing is Dooce.)

Ophelia

  Ophelia 3 
  Originally uploaded by lornagrl.

I have a little house guest.  Her name is Ophelia.  She likes to play, she likes to sleep under my desk and bury herself under my pillows whenever I am not at home.

It was a stressfull Thanksgiving weekend with her.  I picked her up in Sunset Park, Brooklyn in the basement of an apartment building.  The super was keeping her and her brother and sister in a kennel. I picked her because she was the friendlier of the two girls.  Her sister wasn't too friendly and the brother seemed to be the protector of the three so I didn't want to take him.

It was raining, I didn't have a carrier for her and there were police at the train station.  Pets aren't allowed on the subway and  I didnt' want to get stopped so right before I got to the station I put her in my bag and zipped it shut until I got to the platform.  She was trembling but calm.  I had to take the D-Train all the way to Coney Island and back track  to Brighton Beach which took forever.  Nevertheless I was able to get her home before the pet store closed.  She is still too small for the litter box that I got her.

She is named after the Natalie Merchant song Ophelia, and not the Hamlet one. ...