One Clean Kitty

Back home again! She slept curled up like this the whole first day! She still can't use her back legs very well, and she can't sit very well. I am not sure if her hips or her bum hurt, or what! Like when can finally lower her body down to lie down on the floor, she extends her legs straight out behind her.

At the hospital.

So here's the story...

On Friday night, we had an emergency at our house. I was going to paint the dining room the next day, so Dave had taken all the curtains down and we were washing some of them. At the end of the load's cycle, Dave went out to the garage to switch the load over from the washing machine to the dryer. He came back inside a minute later, as white as a ghost and I could tell something was really wrong. I knew both of our kids were okay, so my first thought was that something bad had happened on the porch and I assumed it involved the cats and the raccoons. I went out in the garage with him and I found why he was so freaked out: our cat Sabrina was in the washing machine when he opened the door. She was soaking wet, in there with all the curtains, and hyperventilating. We went through a flurry of yelling at each other: what do we do? what should we do? I don't know! I don't know! Then I said, get me some towels! We got her out and brought her inside. I tried drying her off but I was afraid to hurt her anymore. She had blood coming out of her mouth and her breathing was very irregular. Jonathan was crying and saying, Is my cat going to die? I just told him, I don't know, Jonathan. I don't know what's going to happen. I did not want to lie to him about it, because I was pretty sure myself that she was probably not going to make it. She had gone through an entire wash cycle, with all the water and the spinning! Even though it was 10 PM, I called my neighbor Jamie, my cat expert and dear friend. She gave me the number of the animal hospital and the location. Dave called the place and told them we were coming. He carried her to the car, and I sped off to the animal hospital. I kept my hand on her neck the whole time, and her breathing and pulse was getting more and more shallow and irregular. I blasted the heat the whole time (didn't know what to do, thought I would try and keep her warm!), and drove a little too fast. I called my sister-in-law Meredith, and she was so funny, she said, What are you calling me for? Take her to the vet! She did not understand that I was already in transit, but was just freaking out and needed to talk! I parked at the hospital and carried Sabrina inside in my arms. I had a moment where I almost laughed out loud because she smelled SO fresh and clean. In all of the years we've had her, I don't think she's EVER had a bath, and to go from that to smelling like Clean Burst Arm and Hammer Detergent... The ER acted the way you always expect them to act when an actual human is sick and in need. They actually MOVED quickly. I swear, you could walk into an ER with an ax stuck in your foot, and they would give you the same bored look. We never even saw the waiting room, they just whisked us right back and a tech and the vet were by our sides immediately. They took her temperature, and it was way below normal, so they wrapped her in heated towels and put her in this warming cage. I had to explain what happened (and God love them, they did not act judgemental towards me at all! )

Sabrina let out a giant meow when we first walked in, and I was so happy to hear that sound! They told me she had to stay overnight, and the vet said that he believed she was probably going to be incredibly lucky, but he would have to see how the night unfolded. He had never encountered this before, and seemed incredulous that she had survived, especially in a front loading machine. He said a few things probably saved her: we had not used bleach, which is very caustic, and we had used cold water, not hot, and because it was curtains we were washing, we used the gentle cycle. We kept the phone by the bed Friday night, and did not sleep very much or well! In the morning, we were so happy to hear that she was going to be coming home! The vet said she had to be kept inside, right near her food and litter box. Umm.. she's an outdoor cat. But not anymore! We have been treating her like a princess every since she got home. She has made dramatic improvement since yesterday, and seems to be able to use her back legs better. She was really pitiful all day Saturday. But Dave bought her a really plush bed, and she has finally used the litter box. She kept going to the door to be let out. And I think it must be nice for her to just have her own food and water, and the water is not dirty from having raccoons wash their nasty hands in it, and she does not have to share her food with whatever possum or raccoon or stray cat comes along. And her fur has never been so shiny and soft. I know she went through a horrible ordeal, but still seems to love us all just the same. When Dave went to pick her up at the hospital, he had her cat carrier, and she wanted to get in it right away! Normally the cats hate their carrier, but I think she was smart enough to know she wanted to go home. Now Jonathan is thrilled that he finally has a pet. She is even perking up enough to play string games with him (you know, he dangles and she bats at it with her paws). Now if we could just bring a few birds and squirrels inside for her to try and kill, she would really be in heaven! But the funny thing about Sabrina is, she has just gone back into being the same sweet cat she's always been. We adopted her when she was at least 4 from the shelter, and she had just been dropped off there after hours. But she was just a great cat right from the beginning. I guess almost losing her made me realize how much I do really love her. She is the sweetest cat and so good with the kids. No matter what she goes through, she seems to have nothing but love to give.