Our Furry Friend

Pets are part of the family. This is not a stunning new insight, but it is true none-the-less. Our cat, Lily, is beloved by my husband and I, and by many of our friends.

We aren't sure how old she is, but in the 12 years or so that she has lived with us, she has always been really healthy. She does not act like an old cat, still running around on wild tears through the house on an almost daily basis. Thus, when she stopped eating and stopped playing, we became worried. On Thursday, we realized she had not eaten all day, and then we started thinking, the last time she was really frisky was about 2 weeks ago. We had both assigned her reclusiveness to the visit of my rowdy and loud nephews. So I started watching her and noticed that she kept licking a spot by her tail, and she was sitting down really slowly.

Yesterday morning we went to the vet and the diagnosis is an abscessed anal gland. Not a serious condition if treated. The abscess was lanced and drained. We now have to give her antibiotics and clean out the wound twice a day.

The hardest part for us is that we don't want to lose Lily's trust. She looks at us like, "what have you done to me and why are you torturing me". We have blocked her access to under the bed, as it is too difficult to lure her out. I don't want her to have negative associations with special food treats. Nor with us picking her up. So we have been holding and petting her alot, not just when it is time to "doctor" her. She is annoyed - she want to be left alone and she wants under the bed. We know we have to do these things to help her heal; I just wish we could explain that to her.