Fear, of sorts.
M has decided to terrify me today.
She is sitting in what she has claimed as her chair. (Why can’t she sleep all day on my bed?) There’s room for me to scrunch in with her, so I sit down and start patting her. Now usually she accepts this for a minute or two, then leaves. No, today she loves it! Loves being petted! Loves cuddling with me! Love, love, love.
This should make me happy; in reality it makes me suspicious.
Because she has a great big tick on her neck. (Well, I didn’t know it was a tick. But the internet is useful, sometimes.) A bug (yes, just the one)! Is she sick? Is that why she’s being so cuddly? Or is it because I’m barely home Wed/Thurs and she missed me? No, she’s a cat. When she’s this loving, it must mean she’s dying.
Search search search.
There’s a disease that ticks carry and give to cats. It results in almost certain agonisingly painful death for cats. Now, it hasn’t gotten further north than North Carolina, which is south of me, but it’s carried on bobcats, which are not. Fine, the disease has never been seen where I live, but what if my cats are the first ones? (I have no reason to think they would be — and even if this disease were seen here, it would be too early for her to be symptomatic. But what if?) Should I keep them inside again? They’re so happy now.
Search on ticks and what I’m supposed to do. Pull it out. Don’t forget the head! Get the head! I can’t; the rest of the tick is in little pieces, the head is embedded in her neck. Worse yet: she’s letting me do this to her, not even beginning to try to run away. She must be dying.
Search more on ticks. Wash the cats with tick shampoo stuff. Pull out the ticks. Call the vet if the bite gets infected. Use Frontline, which can prevent ticks from biting.
Worryworryworry.
Hello paranoia! Hello I’m-terrified-about-school-so-let’s-try-to-pretend-it’s-a-little-something-else! Oh cats, please be okay. Some of it is paranoia, but not all. I want my cats healthy and safe.