Cat Update

So, I went and got her from the vet and took her to the emergency vet, where she can spend the night supervised. The situation is pretty dire. Her heart is pumping very fast but her gums are white, which is an indication that she’s not getting enough oxygen to her organs. So, something is wrong. And occassionally, she has a very wet cough, though her lungs otherwise sound clear.

In matters of the heart, apparently, things can go very bad very quickly. They will do what they can to make sure that she’s not in pain and they have some stuff they can do for her to help oxygenate her blood (some shots and putting her in a pure oxygen tent). But if her heart fails, I told them not to revive her again.

And then I cried like a big baby, in front of the vet, but she said I was doing the right thing.

So, I don’t know what will happen and I don’t know, even if she makes it through the night, if she’s got a chance long term.

And I can’t even begin to tell you how much money this is. It’s so much money. It’s so much money. I almost get dizzy when I think about it. And to think that, at the end of spending all that money, I might just have a cat carcass? It makes me want to throw up.

And I have to tell you, I don’t know how I will do this with Mrs. Wigglebottom when her time comes. I think I will just break in two.

God Damn It, Cat, I Have a Lot of Money Sunk Into You

I just heard from the vet and things are not very good with the new cat.  She got through surgery just fine (and, thank goodness, wasn’t pregnant, but did have an infected uterus). But as they were waking her up, her heart went into an arrhythmia and they had to work their magic on her in order to bring her back. Her temperature is still very low and on a scale of “good” to “grave,” her situation is “guarded,” which is one above grave.

I asked her if it was a mistake to try to spay her with as scrawny as she is, but she said that, due to the elevated white blood cell count, she would have recommended surgery no matter what, because there was clearly an infection. And, since she didn’t know until she cut her open that she wasn’t pregnant, it could have been a situation where she had a dead fetus and that would have been really, really dire.

So, we made the best call we could and things just went wrong.

They’ll be monitoring her all afternoon and they’ll make a call this evening about whether she’ll spend the night there or at the emergency clinic.

Houston Charities Find Jesus

Let us recall the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:35-40:

“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

And just to recap, for those of you less familiar with Jesus than, say, the people running charities that hand out presents at Christmas to underprivileged kids: Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, often by giving presents to people. Jesus was born in a barn and then his family had to sneak him out of the country and hide with him in Egypt because of the political situation in his own country.

That’s right. As a child, Jesus was taken by his parents into another country where he then resided under the radar of the authorities. If not technically an illegal immigrant, he was as close as you could come in that region 2,000 years ago.

So, it is that I must report that there were “charities” in Houston, including the Salvation Army and the Houston Fire Department, that weren’t give toys collected in their toy drives to children who aren’t legal residents of the United States.

But, in what I count as a Christmas Miracle, both the Salvation Army and the Houston Fire Department seem to have recently “clarified” their policy and children in the same circumstances as Jesus was will no longer be turned away.

Which is a nice thing, because Jesus is pretty clear at the end of Matthew 25 what happens to people who dick over people in precarious situations, and also pretty clear elsewhere about how he feels about people who dick over children.

Things to Delight Your Eyes

1. Before reading the rest of this paragraph, I ask you to go look at this photo. Cool, huh? Now, let me ask you a question about said photo. Is that horse drinking a beer?

2. Every once in a while Mary Mancini will post something from the Smithville Review to Twitter (@marymancini, if you want to follow her) and I have to say, I’m developing a huge crush on this paper. I only wish it had an RSS feed. Best story so far? “The Liberty Mule Mystery Continues.”

3. Dan Lehr over/down in Chattanooga made me aware of this photo. Everything about it is awesome. It’s funny just at the level of seeing monsters doing ordinary things, and funny at the level of the way the monster is lighting the light. But look at the Bride. First of all, do you not just want to squeeze her? Second, there’s something really nice about the look on her face. I can’t decide if it’s wistful or if she’s been caught in mid-grunt or what, but it’s so nice the way the Monster is all looking down trying to figure out how things work and what’s not working and the Bride seems to be looking up and thinking the same thing.

Edited to add: Oh, and I forgot! The photographer? He’s just some guy, who lives here in the state, and works with Dan. And yet, he took that picture. Doesn’t it just make you want to go all “Fuck yeah, art!”?

Morning Roundup Roundup

My weekly morning roundup is up over at Pith.  I mention this because even non-Nashville folks will love the last two stories, I think.

And had I seen this over at Say Uncle’s, I surely would have included it. Oh Lt. Governor Ramsey, I kind of love you a little bit, now.

And even my boss said she thought Kleinheider’s column this morning was insightful. I can only hope someone over at SouthComm goes to check and make sure he’s not running a fever or being impersonated by Jeremiah Bradshaw.