Turns out I'm not the only one in this household in need of medical attention. I took my cat to the vet for an eye infection, wound up getting her a $500 physical since she's overdue, and the doctor wants to pull her teeth in a few weeks for another $400. He says her teeth and gums are impossibly infected and there's nothing else that can be done now. They don't make little kitty dentures (yet) so this is a pretty big step, and the doc almost seemed offended when I said I'd like to seek a second opinion before signing up.

This same thing happened five years ago in Tampa: A vet had trouble treating her gum infection with antibiotics, so he finally insisted the only step left was to pull her teeth out. I took the cat to second vet who gave her different antibiotics, and a week later she was fine, and she stayed fine until now. Maybe I should drive her back to Tampa to see that vet again? At least her eye is recovering.


Four Replies to Without Teeth

Anna Gregoline | December 12, 2007
Poor baby! Why does your poor cat have so many problems?!?! That doesn't seem fair.

I would hesitate to change a cat's quality of life that fast - all the teeth GONE? My goodness, they are quick on the surgical procedures in your neck of the woods, huh?

And a proper doctor, methinks, wouldn't be offended by someone getting a second opinion.

Amy Austin | December 13, 2007
My goodness, they are quick on the surgical procedures in your neck of the woods, huh?

My thoughts, too... poor kitty.

Jackie Mason | December 13, 2007
[hidden by author request]

Steve West | December 15, 2007
Perhaps you can cheer up kitty with a Christmas song. Might I suggest one of the following:
1. Claw the Halls
2. Away in a Litter Box
3. Joy, To the Catnip
4. Feline Navidad
5. I Saw Mommy Hiss at Santa Claus
6. Frosty, the Furball
7. Oh, Come All Ye Fishful
8. Oh! Scratching Post
Merry Christmas Kitty!


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Moving Day

You don't think about how much unnecessary stuff you own until you're paying someone by the hour to move it all. After Kelly and I moved into our new home last night, here's the current state of our living room, guest room, and garage. The house is a mess, and so are we. Go »

It's a Small World

Somehow "small" doesn't do Earth justice. (link) Go »

All King and No Kubrick Make Jack a Dull Boy

I recently got to talking with friends who liked The Shining, both Stephen King's novel and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of it, but who were unaware that King has always loathed the movie, despite its reputation as one of the best horror films ever made. It's hard to imagine that a writer doesn't know his own work better than someone interpreting it, but I think this is one of those rare cases where the writer is just too close to the story to get it. Here are three reasons why I think Kubrick's film better understands the material, and is better overall, than King's novel: 1) In King's version, Jack Torrance is a fundamentally decent man who wouldn't hurt a fly, but who is down on his luck and desperate. Go »

Overheard

"Back when I sold real estate, I used to touch up the houses myself. It was a tough market, there wasn't money to pay for it. Anyway, this one house, I have the damnedest time getting the color in the living room right. Go »

Grievances

I haven't written about my life in this blog for a while because I haven't liked to think about the state of my life. Things could always be worse, but I still don't feel much optimism these days. - We're being pinched by the economy. Go »

Tom's Ball Smells Like Apple Pie

For the last four months, I've spent Tuesdays at a bowling alley playing in a just-for-fun league. Score was kept, but the mood was friendly and non-competitive, except for one of my teammates who kept competing with us instead of the other teams. :-) I struggled with it at first, partly because I thought I was signing up for a six-week league and it turned out to be a sixTEEN-week league, and partly because my skills had somehow diminished even though I'm in better shape now. Go »