I submit these photos as evidence. The first is Harlie's picture from Petfinder. It's the first picture we have of her. Clearly you can see how she was just so cute and stole our hearts, but do you see the crazy eyes? She's crazy. We have picture after picture of her during kittenhood and even now (though she's still technically a kitten) exhibiting her crazy eyes. We've always known she's crazy, and love her for it, but today was just more proof of her craziness. The morning started out kind of rough. Mom saysHarlie yelled and yelled and yelled in the car all the way to the vet. Then when she was near the barking dogs in the waiting room, hid UNDER the towel in the carrier. This broke Mom's heart, but we all know it's for the best obviously. Harlie behaved typically during her exam (scared and hidey) and then Mom left her at the vet knowing she was in good hands (it is the same vet who did my very own hoo-ha-ectomy).
Mom and Dad both went to pick her up this afternoon. She was awake and alert, but silent the entire car ride home, so they knew she was still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. The vet said that we should be separated because they were worried I might act a bit trollish towards her (to use William's word) because of the vet smells. Then Mom mentioned how I bathe her a lot an the vet said we should be separated until the morning. Mom knew we would not like that one bit, but that it should be done for Harlie's good.
I was taking a great nap on the bed when everyone got home so I didn't even come to investigate Harlie at first. So Mom and Dad took her in the office where Mom set her up with a litter box and everything. Harlie got right out of her carrier, and even though she was still stumbling all over the place from the leftover medicine, she was trying to jump and explore and then get out of the room. I heard her start crying and woke from my nap to investigate, and in no time we were crying for each other on each side of the door. Mom explained to me why we had to be apart, but you know how you just want to see and smell things for yourself, right? Harlie was trying to climb the slatted doors of the office and Mom and Dad got worried she would hurt herself so they shut her in the bathroom with all of her stuff since that's the only real door in the whole apartment. While Mom was doing dishes Harlie was CRYING and CRYING... then she started throwing herself against the door, Mom could hear her scratching the floor trying to dig out, then she her her scratching the door with lots more thumping (and things falling in the bathroom). She was supposed to be groggy and sore the rest of the day!!! Instead she was flailing about like a madwomancat!!! So this got me all upset and I started talking to her through the door (in my coos and chirps), then meowing at Mom to let me in to see her. Finally Mom decided that it would be safer for her to just come out and they would watch us closely to make sure Harlie was safe. (Mom's note: When I was growing up, we never gave all this special treatment to our cats after being spayed or neutered. We just brought them home and let them loose. So I figured if Harlie was trying to hard to break the door down, it would be better just to let her out in the house). SOOOOOOO... Mom went to open the bathroom door and couldn't. Why? BECAUSE HARLIE LOCKED HERSELF IN THE BATHROOM!!! Why? BECAUSE SHE'S CRAZY! So then we had 20 minutes of Mom and Dad removing the door handle and all that... to no avail. Our apartment is pre-war (whatever that means... oh Mom says it's pretty old)... and the lock to the bathroom is a bolt operated from the inside only... no outside control. So Dad had to chip away at the outside of the door and door jamb until he could get a screwdriver in to push the bolt. (Now we have repairs to do before our lease is up). Harlie was eventually released, but then there was 20 minutes more dedicated to putting the door back together and cleanup.ANYWAY.... Harlie proceeded to get up on counters and in the sink. She was running and playing and finally knocked the garbage can over twice trying to get food. So even though she wasn't supposed to eat for a few more hours, Mom had to feed her because it's no good for kitties to eat out of the garbage or to keep expending the energy to knock garbage cans over on the same day they have surgery! (And mommies get extremely frustrated when they can't get anything done because they have to keep chasing a kitten around the house to make sure she's not hurting herself or causing more trouble.)
In the 7+ hours Harlie has been home she has slept maybe 45 minutes. She had another meal (because Mom only feed her two spoons of food the first time to see how she would take it), and we've played quite a bit. Mom has realized she doesn't need to worry so much though. Harlie will not let me play rough at all... she keeps walking away when I want to wrestle. And then when I was bathing her earlier, she was loving every minute of it until I got near her belly and then she said "NO!" and walked away. So she knows what she has to do to protect herself and that's good. But she does not act sore... or stiff (I was groggy when I got home and moved "gingerly" Mom says for several days)... or tired or anything. Maybe it will catch up with her tomorrow... but today... she's just crazy.
Hopefully she can blog for herself tomorrow, but for now I will say thank you on her behalf for all your kind words and well wishes for her surgery today. (This just in... she is now sleeping in the cat carrier that smells like VET!!!).
Locked herself in the bathroom.... sheesh....
