I would have completely taken the week off without mentioning it because we were going to Tulsa and I didn't have time to put up a Monday Malarkey post or pre-post any reviews but then I ended up staying behind because Isabel was (and is) sick. I've mentioned this everywhere I can think of, so I'll say it again . . .
THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PEOPLE OWNED BY CATS
Don't let your cat eat even a small amount of avocado. The pits are toxic. Thankfully, Isabel did not chew on a pit. But, she did lick a mostly-empty salad bowl that had remnants of avocado flesh and that was enough to cause her so much pain she could hardly walk. She ate the bits of avocado on Thursday night. Friday morning, she was moving verrrry slowly and her tail was down. I could tell she had a bellyache and figured it must be the avocado. I didn't catch her licking my bowl till it was too late.
Isabel got an antibiotic because there's a chemical in avocado that throws off the gut flora and a shot to soothe her tummy. It helped and she was all full of affection on Friday night. Saturday, she was back in pain and I had commencement in Oxford (son is not officially graduating till after the summer session but he wanted to go to his graduation ceremony) and then we came back and I had a whopping half hour to close my eyes before going to Paint Night with Brittanie. The next day, we hopped in the car and drove to Meridian, MS, to meet up with Marg (it was a great weekend for meeting up with blog buddies!) and we decided it was too late to go get her an after-hours shot when we returned but clearly her tummy ache was back. So, back I went to the vet, yesterday, while Husband went to Tulsa without me. If she's still hurting tomorrow, she'll get a third shot. But, she's slowly improving and she's eating and drinking.
So, no Malarkey. And, I've decided to go ahead and make this a staycation.
When I realized there was no way I could possibly go to Tulsa (even though Kiddo is here, I figured he'd be spending most of his time with his future wife, which he is) I wrote up a big ol' list and I'm going to make this a week for chores and reading. I'll be back for Malarkey, next Monday. And, hopefully I'll have good news to report about Isabel. It's been awful seeing her so miserable. Most of my cat-loving friends on Facebook were unaware that avocado is dangerous to cats. There were two exceptions. One lost a kitten after he ate avocado (the flesh, not the pit), so clearly even the flesh can be deadly.
Off to do chores and read. Wishing everyone a happy week!
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Poor baby! Isabel looks so pitiful. That avocado was deadly is news to me, too. Thanks for telling us. I'm sorry she's feeling so miserable, but glad it wasn't fatal.
ReplyDeleteYou can really tell she felt awful in this picture, can't you? I knew avocado was bad but I didn't really know much about it. The pit is definitely fatal. Lenore Applehans (author/blogger - you might know her) told me she lost a kitten after he ate the flesh, so maybe it depends on the size of the cat and/or how much they ingest but clearly it can be deadly, too. Izzy was just in terrible pain. But, that was bad enough.
DeleteI didn't know either! I hope Isabel is okay-! Myself, I've never really liked avocado, I always pass on the guacamole. Guess there's a darn good reason.
ReplyDeleteShe's totally back to herself, today! So relieved. Ha, I love guacamole and I put avocado on a lot of things, so we often have it around. One less thing for you to worry about, definitely! I'm usually meticulous about cleaning up food remnants that might harm the cats. I was just tired and set the bowl down beside me without thinking (I was on the couch). Didn't even realize she was licking my bowl till it was too late.
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