The Regiment

Zoey picked me up first thing in the morning and drove me to the vet with a bag of stuff to help make Murphy comfortable. When we arrived I told Zoey to just drop me off, I wanted to stay there with him and didn’t want Zoey to feel bad for having to go to work. After thanking her for the ride I walked into the vet’s lobby and greeted the nurse on duty. It took some coaxing (and a few tears) to convince her to let me hang around but when I finally got to see him he seemed healthier. I put his bed into the kennel he was in and gently placed him on top of it, then I gave him a mouse made out of feathers and an old sock I'd made into a toy. He didn’t open his eyes or respond when I petted him but I felt like I was helping him in some way by making him comfortable.

“Hang in there little guy….” Just then he vet walked in.

“I was just about to call you,” he said, “I wanted to update you on Murphy’s progress. We were able to keep him stabilized overnight and I started him on a new steroid mixed with heavy antibiotics. There hasn’t been any indication that he’s getting better, but he’s not getting worse. We’ll need to observe him for at least another week before he can go home.”

“Do you think he’ll make it?”

“It’s hard to tell at this point. Let’s wait and see how he does with this new antibiotic regiment first.”

“Okay, I really appreciate your help and also for putting up with me. Is it okay if I stop by sporadically throughout the week to check on him?”

“Sure, I think it will help him, I’ll let the nurses know to just let you through.”

“Thanks.”

Murphy and I were left alone and I started brushing him with a little cat brush I had brought with me. After awhile his whiskers started twitching and he eventually opened his eyes. I wrapped him in the towel I had brought the night before and held him in my arms. His tail was sticking out of the towel and started moving when I started talking to him.

“I kind of like you, you know. If you make it through this I will buy you the most amazing kitty castle climbing tree a cat could possibly ever want and some cat nip balls, so you know you want to get through this to make me keep my promise.”

He started purring and I stroked his cheek until he fell asleep again. I placed him back on his little bed and quietly left the clinic to go home and sift through applications for work with a heavy heart.

I know I haven’t had him for very long but I will be devastated if he doesn’t start to get better soon. I’ve done everything I can to take care of him so not being able to control what happens despite my best efforts is starting to take a toll on me.

“Hey….how is he?” Zoey asked. She was on her lunch break and called me from work.

“They kept him stable through the night and are trying a more aggressive antibiotic-steroid medicine. He hasn’t made any progress in either direction. Basically it’s just a wait-and-see type of thing.”

“I’m sorry Faith. I know how badly you wanted him. If he doesn’t make it you can adopt another pet.”

“I know,” I said sighing sadly, “I just feel so bad for him. I mean his previous owner is the reason he’s in the hospital right now and I know I can give him a much better life than that. I just know he doesn’t deserve this which is why I’m so upset.”

Zoey tried to make me feel better but she had to go back to work eventually. To make myself feel better I decided to go shopping online for obscenely large kitty castles. I found one that you can even have customized with your cat’s name; it’s pretty crazy some of the things you can find on the internet for pets. I didn’t buy anything but looking at cat toys and beds did help me feel better.