A Brave Little One...

Yesterday we had to take our second cat, Lara, to the vet. Her behavior changed during late at night on the day before yesterday and we got very worried. She woke up from under my bed and started to meow really low and different than usual, and it sounded weird to our ears. She snuck near the corners and meowed and when I went to sit on the floor, she came onto my lap. She crawled into a tiny ball and she just wanted to be there. When she was on my lap, she was quiet. Someone would confuse this to a cat’s need to get attention, but we know our cat and this kind of meowing and behavior was unusual to her. Except the need to be close to us – Lara has always been a cat who likes to be near the people she knows well, but something this time felt “out of the ordinary” because first she meowed like she was in pain and then she came onto my lap and just did not wanted to leave. If I tried to move her she meowed and didn’t wanted to move.

We took Lara onto the sofa and she was so tired. She just went to sleep onto the couch and seemed exhausted. We were really worried and discussed about taking Lara to the vet. She had an Idiopathic Cystitis about two years ago, in July, 2013 and we feared she might have it again...

Our other cat, Pikkunen (Tiny), seemed helpless, because it was like she also sensed that her sister wasn’t well. We decided to take Lara to an on call vet which was open the whole night. 

We took Lara to the on call vet at midnight but there was about two hour waiting. We were told we were supposed to call first, but there had not been such information anywhere when we were looking for a vet. I was so angry and sad and disappointed that I can’t even describe it with words – I know I reacted too strongly but I was just so very worried because what had happened to Lara already in 2013 and remembering what happened to our first cat, Siru, I was beyond concerned.

So then we decided to go back home and decided that if the situation would look as alarming as it had already seemed we would go back at 2 a.m. But Lara seemed a bit energized when she came out of the carrying box. But soon she went back onto the couch and slept through the whole night. We were up till 2 a.m. discussing what we should do about her. We decided to keep watch through the whole night and go back to the vet first thing in the morning... No need to say, I didn’t get any sleep.

So, we called to the vet next morning but the vet came on call duty at noon. So we scheduled a time right then and took Lara to the vet again. We got the most heartfelt vet and veterinarian nurse who cared for our dear Lara so well and gentle. 

They did all sorts of tests to Lara and in the meantime, we waited in the examination room with Lara as the test results were getting ready. We pet her and talked to her to keep her calm.

We waited for the final test results for over an hour and I was so nervous before the doctor started to tell about them. They were basically fine except a few levels which were a little high, but the doctor said they were not anything alarming. I was so worried if Lara’s kidneys were also failing like they did with Siru. One of the basic things, like blood levels and kidney levels were alright, so I could sigh for the first time since last night. 

Lara got medication and we got to take her home. We went home with a bus, and it was actually Lara’s first time in one – but she took it like a pro; silent and still. 

Once back at home, Lara was exhausted from the visit at the vet and retreated to the couch for some well-earned beauty rest. I cannot express my feelings with words, for there is not enough words to tell how overwhelmingly happy I was to get this little, brave girl back home!

Since yesterday, Lara has shown significant improvement and she has been more energized and full of life compared what she was like earlier. I have my hopes high, but I have to admit that after such amount of stress and worry, I don’t quite know how to be still just yet or relax. Maybe it will subside in the coming days...