Beautiful Little Alexa’s Dilemna: Cat Underboard

I’m writing these words on paper as I lie on our remarkably cold and unforgiving marble kitchen floor next to Alexa’s extra large training kennel. No, she hasn’t been a “bad girl,” she’s a hurt girl.

She’s in this cage to heal and protect herself from hurting herself any further and I’ll go to the computer to type this in as soon as my baby goes back to sleep.

Our little girl broke one of her back legs in two places Sunday when she tried to jump up on an ironing board. It gave way, toppled over on top of her and fell on one of her little legs.

Thankfully I found a veterinarian who said she’d meet us at the animal clinic. Why DO these things always happen on Sunday’s?

Alexa had to stay overnight at the animal hospital which, of course, meant that between the time I left her and 4:00 the next day when we were able to pick her up, I cried several rivers of tears. Geez, mothers. Everything was so different without her in the house. She’s always my constant companion and I found myself missing her terribly. When I made coffee, she wasn’t under my feet wanting to play, when I took my bath, she wasn’t on her nearby rug, when my husband checked his e-mail, she wasn’t on the table beside his computer demanding his attention (which she always gets!), when I checked mine, she wasn’t on the desk in front of me.. Basically, she wasn’t anywhere she was supposed to be.

And it was so quiet – I missed (and miss) her little meow. She’s a talker, which is why I love the picture of her above so much. It captures the true Alexa… talking!

She has a splint on her little hurt leg and it’s wrapped in special bright blue medical bandages all the way up her hip – creating a blue peg leg for a cat who isn’t a very happy little girl right now.

One of the workers at this animal clinic told Alexa she was “a gorgeous kitty.” I thought, “Yeah…that’s not going to help. She already knows that.” She’s very vain about her looks. Very.

It’s killing me, overtime, to see her so uncomfortable and miserable. I want to cry every time she meows in pain or frustration. Fortunately, she’s on pain medication so these meows have almost gone away – except when the little hard headed diva tries to move around in her cage in awkward directions.

I want to cry every time I see her so uncomfortable, but like most moms, I do a good job of staying brave when my baby’s watching. It’s when I’m away from her that the tears come.

I slept most of the night on the floor by her cage. I woke up several times and she was looking at me – making sure I was still there. I fell asleep with one of my hands inside her cage and woke up with her little face lying on it.

Comfortable? No Way. 35 minutes of No Way comfortable! – But I wasn’t about to disturb my baby.

Almost 20 minutes ago (around 8:00 am), Prissy and I were trying to do some laundry (my little 20 year old girl has always loved laundry time – even now that she’s lost her sight, she knows what the sounds of the dryer and washer mean and she comes running fast walking slowly). When Alexa woke up and saw that I wasn’t beside her cage, she “called” me to see if I wouldn’t mind dropping everything to lie beside her while she went back to sleep.

Like I said at the first of this post, I’m writing this as I’m lying next to Alexa’s cage…

She’s sleeping now – and hopefully healing godspeed.

If your pet is, at this moment, healthy and unbroken – say a prayer of thanks. And while you have God on the line, I’d really appreciate a prayer for our Alexa’s healing. The fastest, most pain free healing God can send. Filled with plenty of sleep. So far, it’s the only time she’s comfortable.

Thanks and, oh yeah, hug your pets!