What Do You Do When You Don't Feel Well?

I guess on the short term when I don't feel well I stay in bed or on the couch. I sit around doing a lot of nothing. And eat and drink what I want. Or what I feel will make me feel better...

If I don't feel better I call my doctor eventually... If I think its that important. I hate calling the doctor. I will not go to the ER unless I am (literally) dripping blood.

I often pretend I am feeling well when I may not be. Because if I didn't do that I would spend entirely too much time sitting around.

But today I am not feeling that bad. Even though I painted part of the living room yesterday. I mean I am tired and soon I will get my act together and take a shower and get dressed. I have nothing on my calendar until 1 pm today. So I can be lazy for a bit.

However, one cat is not feeling well. I am not sure what to do because he can't tell me what is wrong. He clearly is not feeling well because he isn't walking much, he's moping, he's not eating, he's not drinking much, and he's just sitting.

He went out Tuesday night (to my displeasure). He did not appear until yesterday late afternoon. He came out and walked around a little bit and went back to sleep near the foundation of the house. I went inside and made him a quiet little space with his food dish, water bowl, litter box, and favorite pillows. Under protest, I brought him in and put him in there. He immediately jumped up on the table so I put his pillows there. He stayed there for a few hours and used his litter box. Then he came back out to the living room and slept on the sofa for a while.

This morning he was sleeping downstairs on the futon. I brought him some water which he didn't appreciate. He did come upstairs to eat a little and then has been sleeping again. He doesn't want attention. He protests when I pat him. He insisted on going back out - I hoped he was going to be a bit more energetic but he's not. He sitting back by the foundation again.

Damn. I think he needs to go to the vet. But at least its not me going to the doctor. He clearly is not feeling well.

The value of pets

And I don't mean the medical kind. Apparently it took a study to realize that people grow closer to their pets during an illness. I know during chemo, the cat spent hours sitting with me as I zoned out in front of the TV, cuddling up. At the time, I thought it was just nice of him. But in reality, he was waiting to be fed.

Over the past few years, we have endured his medical ups and downs. He had diabetes and has now reverted for some unknown reason and is off insulin. But his weight keeps dropping. He is down to 13 lbs from a start of 19. He should be about 15-16 lbs. You may think this is fat for a cat but he is very tall and used to be able to reach his paws up to the kitchen counter from the floor. Currently his preference is to drink water out of the bathtub while it is running (but he wishes there was a way to do this and not get his feet wet).

Tomorrow, we have to take him to the vet for a fasting blood test. This means we do not expect much sleep tonight. He is used to having food around at all times. If the blood test results are inconclusive, he will need an ultrasound to look for a mass or something in his pancreas. We know what the word 'mass' means. Cats aren't supposed to go on the cancer roller coaster too. I may be jumping ahead but he keeps losing weight and is some what of a medical mystery to the vet. Sigh. I hate medical mysteries.