It has been an emotionally draining couple of days. Yesterday we got the results of my kitty's blood panel--kidney function isn't great. You may or may not know that kidney problems are really not good news. She's been losing weight, and my vet thinks that may be why, so... today I took kitty back to vet to so I could learn how to administer subcutaneous fluids.

Those of you that have been around a bit know that I gave insulin injections to another cat for about 14 months a few years ago--so I'm not exactly new to this sort of process. I spent a good part of yesterday in a sorry state because I really wasn't looking forward to another lengthy time of doing this, even though I know it would be good for kitty. I was also sad because I knew this was signaling some kind of a change in my expectations for her health.

By the time this afternoon rolled around, I was much better and decided I'd make the best of it. Until the vet tech brought in the equipment I'd be bringing home with me. If you've ever been in the hospital and had an IV, you'll be familiar with the big honkin' bag, tubing, and size of needle she brought in. The insulin injections had been a tiny little needle, and while I knew this would be bigger, I wasn't prepared for the big bag of fluid (the bag I have is bigger than the one in the picture) and tubing. I guess i thought the solution would be in some big syringe or something--but this is just like those IV bags. The tech was very good at explaining, and gave me some good tips for making things easier for both me and kitty. I warned her I might cry during the process, and as soon as I said that, I started weeping a bit. I did get a little light-headed at first, but it passed pretty quickly.

After all was said and done, it was certainly stressful for me, but not something I didn't think I could do at home. I guess one of my biggest fears was I would cause kitty some pain when I poked the needle in, but she was amazingly calm and relaxed during the whole process. I'm not certain how long we'll be doing this--for four weeks to start, I do know that.

Sometimes the anticipation of things perceived to be stressful is much worse than the actual event--and I have to say that this is somewhat true of this event. I also know it's times like this (and there seem to be more than I'd like) that I think living alone isn't as great as it may seem. Sometimes it would be nice to have someone around to ease that emotional burden and to actually take over some of the burden if needed.

Although I wouldn't want to do anyone else's laundry, that's for sure.