Pig Flu? Nah... I have cats.

The swine flu is making the rounds around here... but do I get it? Nope, I have cats.
I get Cat Influenza instead.

Last weekend, my little black cat Bear, ( yes, the one who had me scared spit-less, thinking he was an intruder - you know - the one who almost got whacked with a rubber spatula) well, he started in sneezing.
I thought nothing of it.

Then 2 days later, his sister Spider started in sneezing as well.
Hmm... maybe they got into the same thing? I mean, they're always outside, pokin' into nooks and crannies and getting covered in cobwebs and all.

But then by the next day, his grandma (Willow) started in with the sneezes, as did the auntie (Maggie) by the end of the day... and the next day it was the little ones mother - my sweet Wally.
(Okay, yes I'm a cat nut. Which is nothing like a calf nut at all. Calf nuts come in pairs... and there's only one of me.)
So anyway, here I had 5 cats all sneezing at once.

So I did the responsible thing and took Wally (the kittens mother.. daughter of Willow... and sister to Maggie) to the vet. There was a double reason for taking her instead of any of the the others.

And that's mainly because she's fat.

Not just chubby fat... but "she's so fat she can't see her rear-end, let alone wash it, fat".
She looks like a Sumo Wrestler... with fur.
But even if she was skinny again, she couldn't see her rear end even if she wanted to... because she's blind.
But y'all know what I mean... right?

I worry about her more than the others, because she's never enjoyed perfect health... being born blind and with a severe heart murmur and all.
So I was worried about her weight, thinking tumors or hypothyroidism or something - and then to add cat flu to the worry?
It was making me sleepless, I'm tellin' ya.

So we tried packing her in the cat carrier. It was a tight squeeze, but we managed to get her in. Then I found that I couldn't lift it - and the handle broke.
So I had to sit in the car, with this huge, frightened cat settled on my lap - and she was cutting the circulation to my legs off. My toes were going numb for goodness sakes!
And then she peed herself.
And me.

Anyway, it turns out that it is Cat Influenza, and even though it's not much of a worry in itself, Wally could very easily develop complications... like pneumonia or heart failure.
So all of them are now getting meds twice a day, just to be on the safe side.

And Wally's weight?
Since she got spayed last January, the weight has just piled on, but it's not due to overfeeding, or the *cats-terectomy* ...
It's just that she's much more sedentary nowadays, her metabolism has slowed down, and she doesn't get enough exercise.
(I can relate to that... believe me!)
But poor Wally can't even see a tree... let alone attempt to climb it... so how do you get a blind cat to exercise more?
I'm still trying to figure that one out.
But she was tested for hypothyroidism, and they'll let me know the results next week.

So anyway... the cats are all under control now... and I can quit worryin'.

Except ...I started in sneezing on Friday afternoon.
Now I have Cat Flu.

Well not really, because they say that the cats and I can't pass viruses back and forth... but the chances of me and 5 cats getting the exact same symptoms at the same time? Well... it seems more than a little coincidental to me.
See, I don't get colds and flu. I just don't. You would think in my line of work, dealing with snotty, snuffly kids and their boogies on a daily basis... and with my less than stellar immune system due to the Lupie... it seems like a given, yes?

But nah... I may get a bout of allergic rhinitis now and then, from dust and stuff from cleaning the air filter on the heater, or the vacuum blowing up in my face... but an actual "cold" or flu?
No siree bob.
I haven't had a cold or flu in over 20 years.

So tell me what you will... and I don't give a rat's patootie what you, or the Docs and Vets have to say.
I say I have Cat Flu.

I don't yet have the desire to lick my butt bottom, or groom my chin whiskers, but those aren't really symptoms of cat flu anyway.
If I do develop those traits, I'll be sure to tell you.
Or maybe not.
There is a limit as to what I'm willing to share on this blog, and what you're willing to listen to... ya know what I mean?

So, with 5 cats out of 6 sick and miserable, and just wanting to lay around...
and me sneezing my fool head off right along with them and wanting to lay around... well, it's been pretty darn boring around here.

So I've been fiddling.
To this song.

Give it a listen, then imagine me fiddling right along with them, and the cats laying in my lap and sneezing in 5-part harmony. It's a hoot... believe me.

Or maybe it's the cats meow?

Rhythm Method... with a tractor
(This was sent to me by my friend Helen, and it's just too good not to share. Or to fiddle along with.)