Bear, the traveling kitty

whew! even though we were gone for a week, it felt like it went by SO fast! here's what's been going on lately in regards to BearFoFear...

we ended up having a bit of an emergency before we left. as you know, we took in little Skillet many weeks ago and have been fostering him ever since. well, he likes to play... and he likes to play rough. two weeks ago, he had scratched Bear's eye (which then swelled and got infected), leaving us no choice on a Sunday morning than to take him to the emergency room vet office. we got him on a medicine routine of eye drops and pain management, and THEN in the middle of the week, he had an ingrown claw of some sorts, which resulted in ANOTHER trip to the vet. 

Friday evening (aka the night before we were set to leave for Myrtle Beach), I got home and realized that Skillet evidently scratched his OTHER eye (which then swelled and got infected), which lead to yet another... you guessed it, trip to the ER. this time, his cornea was actually damaged just a tad. ugh.

needless to say, our vacation budget was steady dwindling down, and here I was driving my cat to the ER for the second time in a week's span a mere 10 hours before we were supposed to leave, and I hadn't even packed for vacation yet. the ER vet suggested a more vigorous medicine treatment which required an eye cream to be inserted 3 times a day. while our cat sitter is very oriented with kitties (she has three of her own), Bear, as I've mentioned before, is a very special cat. you really have to be super familiar with his personality and his mannerisms in order for him to allow you to put shit in his eyes. 

so instead of boarding him with strangers or leaving my poor sitter with the responsibility of taking care of a high maintenance kitty, we made the decision to take him with us. I was frightened at first, not knowing how he'd react to being in the car and carrier for 8 hours, but he did wonderful! he didn't make a peep through the entire ride, and he continued to eat and drink, which was a great sign. he did freak out a little bit at the condo, just because he wasn't used to his surroundings, but within a few days, he was back to his normal special self. I was so happy we were able to take care of him throughout the week... otherwise, I might not have enjoyed our vacation as much if I spent the entire time worrying about him. 

all in all, it was a great experience to be able to take our baby on vacation with us, and although it was a little stressful trying to keep him hidden while transporting him in and out of the condo, I'd do it again in a heartbeat to ensure that he had the proper care for his eyeballs. he seemed like he really liked the traveling, but he is definitely happy to be home on his couch!

oh, and we got a call Friday evening from our sitter informing us that Pheobe's eye looked a little swollen and red. yep, Skillet got her too. luckily, we've got PLENTY of medicine on hand to keep her comfortable until we can see our regular vet on Monday. that Skillet sure is a lot of trouble!

doesn't it seem like when it comes to animals, they all get sick or injured at once? sheesh, don't they know Mama's broke? ;)

more vacation posts and book reviews to come later in the week!