poor Atom

Atom, "hiding" on the counter at the veterinarian's office.

Atom has had a rough month. He's currently on his second bladder infection, and his third trip to the vet was last night. Fortunately the vet doesn't seem to believe that there's cause for concern that it's anything worse than an infection, which is very treatable. (I was worried about kidney failure, so this was VERY good news!) Atom will be eleven years old on New Year's Eve—way too young to be having any serious trouble. Of course Atom's rough month is mine as well: his constant urge to "go" meant that he peed on every rug in the house, small amounts, multiple times, which is how I knew there was a problem. Three of the rugs are washable, one other is salvageable, and one is going in the trash as soon as I find a replacement. To prevent this from continuing while he heals, I've had to keep him closed in the half bath, which he doesn't like. I've barely slept at all for a week, because he's incessantly crying & banging on the door to get out—ALL NIGHT LONG!

And, as if to prevent Atom from hogging all the attention, I returned from yoga at 8 pm Tuesday (exhausted & ready for bed, I might add) to find that Gypsy had thrown up her dinner—AND a hairball—right in the middle of my bed. So I was up until 10 washing the duvet cover & the comforter. Ugh.

And, as if to prevent the cats from hogging all the glory, this morning I went to bring the dogs in so I could leave for work, but Taylor didn't come. And he's ALWAYS first. Huh. So I called him & then went out to look for him. And finally heard a bunch of rustling under the deck, and he finally popped out, with muddy feet. He was pursuing Persimmon, my possum! That's JUST what I need this week: a shiba vs. possum brawl under the deck, and a trip to the emergency vet for rabies shots. That would be the perfect capper. Or worse: maybe he's breeding with that thing and I'm going to have to raise a litter of shiba-possums. Shissums. Possibas. Whatever.

Don't ask me about the joys of pet ownership this week!!