One of our cats, a member of the "kitten sisters in Christ", Louise, has developed a lesion under her left ear. And it's grown bigger over the week until I was able to schedule an appointment with the vet. Because I don't have to be at the hospital until noon today, I was able to get a morning slot. So I brought the kitten in. She mewed all the way, her plaintive mew, constant as a homing beacon. When we arrived at the vet and I took her to the examining room, she purred so much that the intern had difficulty obtaining a pulse. Finally the doctor came in and looked at her. Louise apparently loves being the one cat in a room full of people: none of her crabby instincts kicked in: instead she was happy to be poked and prodded and given a shot. The doctor asked me if we had fleas or if she was on any flea regime, but I didn't know. I called Jami, I suppose in the middle of convocation at Duke, and the call was dropped. So I couldn't give an answer. The vet said that she could also be allergic to air borne things as well. "Cats," he said. I said that yes, Louise is definitely allergic to cats, at least three other cats. Suddenly it all made sense. The other cats cause her to break out.While writing the doctor's comments above I wanted to concoct a good Tom Swifty, but none occurred to me. As I thought that I thought: "If only Louise were a dog, " the vet concurred. Perfection.
