Something Stinks

So, I have this elderly cat who has been in failing health for about a year or so. I spent a small fortune when she first started hacking and sneezing and breathing like she has a stuffy nose. The folks at the vet clinic could find nothing to explain her symptoms. She took a round of antibiotics and nothing changed. After several visits to the doctor, we gave up and decided to let nature take its course. That was over a year ago.

Since then, she has bounced out the door every morning, spending the day in the underbrush and wandering back in late in the evening. She and Coco have made friends and if she hears Coco out on the deck during the day, she sometimes comes in early for a little head butting. She's lost weight and still hacks and coughs, but she keeps hanging on. In the back of my mind I know that one evening she probably won't come in and that will be that. At least I'll have the knowledge that she's spent the last year happily following her chosen routine.

So this afternoon it was with some consternation that I opened the door out to the deck and smelled the unmistakable odor of a dead animal that's been baking in the hot August sun. I went out and looked around, but didn't see an explanation for it. My first thought was to wonder if it was Sister.

Today was a day of stink. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that there were some things going on today that really smelled to high heaven. When I walked out on the deck today and the malodorous stench hit my nostrils, I thought it fit right into the mood du jour. Stink, stank, stunk.

Well, to make a long, rambling story short, Sister wandered in at her usual time and all is well on the home front. I hope the rest of the story has a happy ending, but at the moment I'm not very optimistic.

LSW

P.S. Oh, yes. The trip to San Antonio was a lot of fun. A long, expensive visit to the dollhouse store, a short expensive trip to the San Marcos outlet mall. Lunch and good company for the day. Wish the benefits of a vacation day had lasted a bit longer.