Confessions of an OverProtective Meomy

I confess!! I am too overprotective of my kitten!! As someone with a medical background who has held the hands of inumerable parents and my patients their children (though I have to say I consider the family my patient), I should "know better" too.

Yesterday, someone came in and left the side door to my home open a little too long. It was -12 here at the time and Yin Yin hates the cold - whines loudly in a very insistent Siamese squawk - when she is near an open door or even outside. I can't say I blame her. As I age and am unable to take part in winter sports due to my own medical issues, my feeling about winter has become more grim each year.

Not long after the aforementioned door incident, she started to sneeze. She sneezed four times in a row!! I thought back to all those articles about kitty colds I've read through the years and for good measure, read a few more. I would have called the vet there and then but it was Sunday. I almost called her at home. I wondered about administering her something because well, I know colds are caused by a virus but what is she had caught something. I have tons of pencillin samples. But I don't dole those out to my human patients so why do it with her?

I decided I would watch her and wait to see how she was. I wrapped her in her favourite fleece blanket and made sure she was warm. I made chicken soup and when a little cooled off, I gave it to her.

In the afternoon, there was still some sniffles. I gave her some Rescue Remedy. I also gave myself some. :) I figured it could not hurt. She was not under stress but I may well have been stressing her out myself with all my fussing!!

She ate well though and so that was a good sign.

I opted to do a workshop with pediatric Residents slated for tomorrow by videoconference so I would not have to travel on the Monday. I did not want to leave her with a pet sitter not did I want to take her out into the cold!

I even figured out what amount of grams of echineachea would be appropriate for her and gave her some of that. I know there are few studies that shows it works but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I know cats manufacure their own vitamin C so she did not get that. (I DO believe in Linus Pauling's theories about vitamin C. The man did win the Nobel prize after all if not for that then at least for something else)

We went to bed - both under the covers, she is her favoutite position where she lies over one of my arms and snuggles next to left side.

This morning, there has been not one sneeze or sniffle!!

What on earth am I going to be like when she has her spay surgery? ;)

IWhat on earth am I going to be like when she has her spay surgery? ;)

A nervous wreck. :) She probably just sneezed because she got cold air up her wee nose, and there you were ready to call Flight For Life! :sick:

How old is Yin Yin? My kitten Egg just turned 8 weeks old, so she's a couple of months from being spayed. My vet doesn't like to vaccinate indoor kittens until they are at least ten weeks old, so I'll talk to him about spaying then.

Is Yin Yin full Siamese? Egg is sort of a muted Siamese colour with faint striping & blue eyes, plus she was born without a tail. I'm glad she doesn't have that Siamese talking thing though!

Chico was sneezing like crazy today,but I think he got water up his nose from drinking out of the tap...I think they probably sneeze for the same reason we do sometimes.Yin-Yin certainly is one pampered lucky kitty!!

Yep, I am afraid she is certainly pampered, lol

and yes Carina, she is Siamese. (Seal Point of a Blue point mom and a Seal Point dad, mega pedigrees but I am not getting into the showing thing.) She is four months old - to be spayed at six but I am hoping for sooner. No early spaying here.There are some pix on this thread:

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=10794

I will try to be more even during the spay, lol (and I've been invited into the surgery. I wonder if that is wise, lol)

She's so sleek and pretty!
I've had a number of cats & dogs spay/neutered over the years. I've learned to be pretty relaxed about it, :)

Years ago, I had a stray kitten. Some non-cat-savvy friends house-sat for me at Christmas when she was barely 5 months old. They didn't understand the whole cat-in-heat thing, and let her go out when she started howling. :rolleyes: She got pregnant & had five kittens....her heat was right about 5 months! Just to warn you...
I found homes for the kittens, and had her spayed right afterwards.

One thing this forum has lots of experience with - consoling nervous mommies! :grouphug: She'll do fine and so will you! She's one lucky kitty!

Thx Carina. In spite of how I sound, I am pretty experienced with cats - have hand raised some orphan kittens and had many pets over the years. The last love of my life was a Dwarf Netherland bunny who died at the age of 13 - you want to talk about geriatric bunnies - 5-8 being the mean age. I still mourn him and it's been a year! But now I have Yin Yin to worry about!

Ironically, I can never recall any of my other cats ever contracting a cold. I think YY just came into contact with cold or I may have too many dust bunnies under the bed, lol (Quick, call the exterminators, kidding!) She fine and back to mischef today - typcal kitten stuff, wanting to jump on the dining room table, looking for small spaces to crawl into.

Everyone laughs at me for how I treat my pets; Chauncey, almost 3 yrs. old, neutered male cat; Polly, about 8 mon. old, spayed female cat; & Bailey, almost 12 wks. old, un-neutered St. Bernard (he will be neutered, just not old enough yet). But, to me, they are my babies. I decided when I was about 15 that I did not want babies, I was just going to keep animals. Don't get me wrong, I like kids, but I just don't want any of my own (I have 12 neices/nephews, so I can just borrow them :p ). So, I will be the little old lady w/ $3000/month vet bills! LOL

Anyway, like I was saying before I got off track, I treat my animals like babies. Animals deserve this... there are so many out there that aren't being treated like anything b/c no one wants them :sad: . So I think you worrying over your cat is GREAT! Every cat/dog/& any other animal for that matter, should have some one to worry about them & pamper them. Besides, we are the ones who domesticated these animals, so shouldn't we be taking care of them?!

Here in the US, vets neuter/spay cats by weight, but not dogs. They don't do that in Canada? I got Polly done as soon as possible so I wouldn't have to worry about her going into heat sooner than others, etc... Also, the vet I take my babies to does the procedure early in the morning then watches them all day & you can pick them up that nite... I couldn't handle leaving them over nite! So this is great for me & the animals, I think it doesn't put so much stress on them or me.

As for, should you watch the surgery? I wouldn't! I half way know what they do, but if I watched it, I'm afraid I may never have one "fixed" again!

Anyhoo, sorry to babble! I get like this sometimes. I hope you don't kick me off of the site... LOL :D

Obviously, people think I baby my pets but I do not care. Like you, they are my babies and as a pediatrician I have all sorts of children to be with all the time! I love kids - just am not capable phsyically of having any. I do have a younger brother and a nephew I dote on though. :)

I am sure the spay will go just fine. Just think of all the ferals who have the snip done and are back out in a couple of days!! I guess I am laughing at myself more than anything - never thought I'd be so overprotective. I was the same when my brother had minor surgery. He was about three and I was a Resident by then so did go into the OR with him. I've seen and performed more surgical procedures than I can count (I am not a surgeon but some diagnostic procedures, especially involving small children involve anesthesia so I perform them in the OR.) So I do think I would prefer to be in there with my baby when she has HER procedure.

There are vets in Canada who do the procedure at an early age but mine is not one of them. (and it depends where you live in the country) There are studies both for and against early spaying. There seems to be not a whole lot of difference though while the jury is still out for some people, I think I can wait until she is almost six months. (The main complication seems to be that some kittens neuetred at a young age have a small meow. That's hardly earth shatttering, but I rather like mine's Siamese yowl, lol)

Thanks for your concern! And I agree with you. Every cat (and other domesticated animal) should have some human to worry about them!

I will try to be more even during the spay, lol (and I've been invited into the surgery. I wonder if that is wise, lol)
WOW! I don't think I could be present during a spay....
My girlfriend was a vet tech, the vet she worked for used to allow the 'parents' to be present during a spay or a neuter, until one mommy fainted! Just seeing my little honey unconcious would make me go bananas!!!
Good Luck, and keep me posted!! :D