Friday, March 13, 2009

Hard at rest



Kinser is the Matriarch of our cat family, and is roughly 12 years older than Trixie and Dusty. She's had a lot of obstacles in her life, and she and I have been through a lot together.

She had consistent medical problems until she was two, when it was discovered that she had a liver shunt (which means that due to some extra plumbing in her little body, her liver was being bypassed and wasn't able to do what it's supposed to do). To correct this she had to have a major operation at UC Davis, where they placed a ring around the extra "tube" to shut it off.

Personality-wise, Kinser has never been the same since this operation. I've always wondered what happened to her while she was there overnight, but she went there being a very social, loving little kitty who would approach anyone in our house and came back afraid of everyone, including me, and this was a cat who followed me around like a puppy up until then. It also seemed to affect her eyesight, and she would spend periods of time staring at walls. A few months after the operation, she got back to normal with me, but she's never warmed up to new people since, other than Tiff, who Kinser seemed to take to immediately, though I had warned Tiff that it might take weeks or months, or never.

Other than that, she's had two bladder stones (one was removed by surgery, the other she passed on her own, and she was in rough shape for it at the time). She had to have her spleen removed due to an unknown mass on it which couldn't be properly biopsied. Turned out to be nothing, but luckily humans and animals alike do just fine without our spleens, and the fear was that it was cancer. On top of these more serious things, she's had countless vet visits for mysterious ailments that never really showed up as anything in tests. Her vet file is very thick, and I call her my $12,000 cat, as I figure that's roughly what she's cost me in her lifetime beyond the normal pet expenses.

She's an awesome cat though, even when she's misbehaving. If I had to do it all over again, from choosing her at the Humane Society to paying for her surgeries, I wouldn't even hesitate.
She's brought immense happiness to my life over the years.

P.S. - I should add in the fact that Kinser has been one healthy little girl for quite some time now, and her days of frequent vet visits seem to be a thing of the past, much to the relief of both of us.

3 comments:

  1. no pet insurance? I don't have it but i wonder if it's worth it when you have a pet who has had frequent enough trips

    Pets are worth it, as expensive as it all we adore them too much to not do everything in our power to help their life and make it longer.

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  2. Well said, Muse! The way I see it, if you take on the responsibility of caring for an animal, you need to see it through, no matter what. I could never live with myself if I didn't do everything I could to make sure that their lives are as good and as long as possible. Also, I just realized that I neglected to say that she's been very healthy now for quite some time, and her days of frequent vet visits seem to be a thing of the past. Maybe I'll add that in to the main post once I'm done with this comment.

    As for the pet insurance, I have looked into it as a direct result of my experiences with Kinser, and as it turns out, pet insurance would not have covered most of what she's been through. Pet insurance seems to be one of the few types of insurance that covers less than dental insurance. Though, if anyone knows of a good pet insurance policy, I'd always be willing to reconsider. I just haven't found a good one yet.

    Thanks for the comment, Muse!

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  3. You have the soul of an angel. If you could figure out how to sell it, the bidding war would be furious...

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