At around 3:30 today, I was busy working on my computer.
Finn rushed in the front door and said "Peach just fell out of the tree and landed on her back!"
Goodness. It's always something.
Just a few minutes earlier, I had tried climbing the tree out front to get Peach down. But she was too high up for me. I remembered my dad once saying how important it was for a cat to learn to get down a tree by herself. So I left her up there. I'm kicking myself in hindsight.
I ran outside and Peach was scampering around, looking for a safe place to hide amongst the bushes. I grabbed her and quickly brought her back inside. Observing her carefully.
She lay down and Finn and Calvin tried to pet her.
"Mommy. Peach has blood on her!", Finn and Calvin exclaimed.
Oh dear. Here we go.
I inspected her and found a tiny droplet of blood on her whisker. No biggie. But she kept making this funny sneezing sound.
She went to her food and water bowl and started to eat. This was a good sign, right?
And then the boys really started to get concerned.
"Mommy, mommy, there is blood everywhere!"
I looked and sure enough there was some blood splattered on the wall where she was eating. Apparently she had sneezed some blood onto the walls or something.
"It's ok boys", I tried to reassure them. But I wasn't so sure myself. In fact, I was quite upset.
I picked up my cell and tried to call John, but there was no answer. Arg! Where WAS he? Twain and Ollie were still napping and I wasn't quite sure what to do.
Peach snuggled up on a chair and kept trying to get herself comfortable. Round and round she went, but she just could NOT settle in.
I called my mother-in- law, Betty, who promptly rushed over to inspect our lil patient. Betty was concerned but thought we should "wait and see" before bringing Peach to the vet. After all, Peach was still capable of walking and did not appear to be in deep distress. But she left me her pet-taxi, "just in case".
Peach kept moving around from place to place to place, but could not get comfy. Every time I tried to pet her, she moved away from me, as if in pain.
I kept getting all teary-eyed. "Don't cry, don't cry", I kept telling myself. "It's just a cat. It's just a cat."
But every time I thought about replacing her, I couldn't help bursting into tears. I loved Peach. Ollie was obsessed with Peach. All the boys loved Peach. But at the same time, I consoled myself with the fact that it was "just a cat" and "at least my sister Lindsay was ok" from her ordeal. Boy. When it rains it pours around here.
I texted some friends and got some info on vets.
John came home and I filled him in on the latest haps. He looked concerned...he is very much a kitty lover. But he's also a guy and a very sensible, practical one at that. "Let's just wait to see what happens...emergency vet bills are pricy" he said.
Fine. That was our plan. No vet just yet. Seriously I could not believe all this angst over a kitty. This is precisely why we should not have pets, I reasoned. It's too hard to know what to do. If it was a child that fell out of a tree, of course we'd take him to the ER. But a cat? What to doooo!
And then Ollie woke up and something very curious happened.
He stumbled out his bedroom door and walked down the hallway, toward the living room where Peach was laying. He then dropped to his knees and started screaming. He then ran quickly back into his room and slammed the door.
I ran back into his room and his eyes were shut very tight and he kept yelping. And thrashing around whenever I tried to console him.
"What's wrong Ollie?" I kept asking. And he wouldn't say ONE word. He just squeezed his eyes shut and pulled a blanket over his head, yelping here and there. I was kind of rattled at this point. Did Ollie know what was going on with Peach? How? He was sound asleep during the whole ordeal.
I decided to lay low and just ignore the sitch for a few minutes to gather my thoughts. It was dinner time and decided to help John, since this WAS supposed to be his "father's day". But Ollie kept screaming and carrying on.
I ran back into his room and he was just besides himself. And for the life of me, I could NOT get him to open his eyes or say anything. John came in and tried talking to him...but nothing.
Ollie has done some strange things before, but nothing like this. This was just plain old bizarre. I gave him a remedy and started pacing the house listlessly.
My mother-in-law called back to check on Peach, and I was just close to tears again explaining Ollie's behavior. "What should I do?", I asked. "Ollie is flipping out over Peach--I might have to take Peach in to the vet or Ollie is gonna wig out if anything happens to her." She reassured me that Ollie was going to be just fine.
We hung up and I found Ollie on the couch next to Peach. He had found her. And was sitting next to her, with his eyes pinched shut.
He somehow just knew. I don't know how. But he just knew something was wrong with Peach. And I cannot explain it.
Peach moved around here and there trying to nestle in, with Ollie hot on her heels.
At least Ollie's eyes are open as he reaches for her.
Seriously the whole ordeal with Ollie and Peach reminds me of E.T. Remember the scene where Elliot and E.T. are dying together? They had that whole psychic connection going on. Whatever happened to one of them started happening to the other.
I knew it sounds absolutely absurd, but I was concerned that if Peach started going down hill, Ollie was soon to follow. Obviously this is crazy. But that is what the whole thing felt like.
Even John found the whole thing to be very strange and commented that "Peach is Ollie's alter ego".
Whenever Ollie greets someone, he says "I have a cat named Peach". Peach means the world to him.
Peach is his therapy. Whenever he is distressed or bothered, I just hand him Peach and he stops crying. What were we gonna do?
Hour after hour went by. And Peach just lay there, trying to sleep. With Ollie by her side. It was not unusual for her to nap. But it sure would be nice if she woke up. And tried to pounce on something. She is usually so feisty. But not today. Not now. John put her on Ollie's bed and we all ate dinner.
Finally John caved. He could not handle looking at my weepy face any longer. "I will work extra hours to help pay for her vet bill", he announced at dinner.
I scurried off to the vet, all by myself. I felt so proud. Hours earlier I would have needed my mother-in-law Betty by my side. But I was able to pull myself together and "be mama" to this kitty.
I checked in to the vet. $93. Gulp. Daddy is gonna be working his tail off.
In the waiting room, Peach sneezes another little drop of blood onto her whiskers. I am glad we are here.
After inspecting Peach, the vet recommends an x-ray to ensure that there was no internal bleeding.
"How much?" I asked.
"$180" he replied. Ouch.
"Ok", I said, thinking of Ollie. "Ok."
The X-ray came back fine and the vet thinks she is gonna be fine. Praises! I was relieved, but left the building feeling like a freak, nonetheless.
$273 total?????!!!!!! John was going to kill me!
I paid up the tail, that is fo' sho.
When I got home and broke the news to John, he was super sweet. He said, "That's ok. I shouldn't have left Peach all alone out front."
And the best part of the whole story, is that my money-lovin' kid offered to help pay the bill.
So. As much as my kid loves money, turns out he loves his kitty even more. And that makes my heart so happy.
Back at home, Peach started acting more normal. I'm very thankful to have her back and can't wait til she returns to her naughty and ornery little self.
Enough drama for me. Life just...happens.
