All you can do is your best when it comes to your family. Molli and I try our absolute best to do right by our three kitties—goodness knows we’ve spent enough money on them and their medical issues over the past eighteen years—but sometimes we goof. Like yesterday morning…
Medicating the cats is an ordeal that takes place four times a day. Two of the times are easy-peasy, but the other two times are complicated. I’d like to say that mistakes don’t happen but they do. It’s occasional, but sometimes, we give a wrong pill to the wrong cat.
We have a system, various trays and color-coded containers to help make sure mistakes aren’t made but we’re human. Sometimes, it happens. Because we have a very good relationship with our kitties’ vets and specialists, we know what to look for and the consequences of a mistake, but it doesn’t make the mistake any less terrifying for us.
Yesterday morning, we gave Riley one of DiNozzo’s seizure meds. FUCK. There was no harm done and Riley was fine, but it made for a day of hyper-focus as we kept an eye on Riley.
The reality is that there’s a lot to juggle.
- Malley is medicated 4x a day and gets 3 different medications.
- Riley is medicated 2x a day and gets 5 different medications.
- DiNozzo is medicated 3x a day and gets 8 different medications.
All three boys also get monthly shots at the vet and temporarily, weekly shots from us.
On top of that, I take medications 4x a day and take 13 medications, and Molli takes medication twice a day and takes 10 medications. (And before anyone jumps in here with commentary about taking too much medication, none of my meds can be removed by diet, exercise, or weight loss. All but one of my meds is driven by rheumatological and neurological issues or long covid, so either genetic or viral. Removing my meds would likely kill me.)
This is a LOT to remember.
Toss in that Molli and I have ADHD, made much worse by COVID, and it’s a recipe for disaster. The fact that wrong meds have only happened a handful of times in 18 years is a miracle to be quite frank. We’re doing out best, which is all we can give.
I know some folks would have said goodbye to their pets rather than medicate them but every time I think about it, I have no regrets.
These medications:
- Reversed Riley’s heart failure to heart disease, which has given him life again
- Allowed DiNozzo to fight cancer and continue to live in a world full of snuggles with us
- Given Malley more time with burrowing under blankets and lots of purrs
The point is, our boys have had years that some cats never get. If we had given up when times got hard, DiNozzo would have died at 6 months old. Riley would have died at 5 years old. Malley would have also died at 5 years old. Now, DiNozzo is 16, and Riley and Malley are 18.
I can see that time is getting closer for all three of them. It’s getting harder to move, even with the arthritis shots, and Parkinson’s and/or dementia is slowly becoming evident in Riley and Malley. Up until Molli’s layoff a few years’ back, we’ve been privileged to afford the care they needed, but these days, it’s been harder to do that. That, too, weighs into our life with the boys, especially when we goof up like this.
The older they are and the more complex their health histories, the easier it is for a mess up like this to go horribly wrong. For all that this post makes a bit of light on the topic, trust that we take it seriously. This morning, we moved slower through medications to make sure the right cat got what they needed and nothing else. Mornings are the hardest as we are both still fighting off sleep and our own medications, but we’ve got this.
I say all of this because I know this has happened to other pet owners, and I know the guilt that comes along with realizing what you’ve potentially done, the fear that things will go sideways and it will be your fault. But our own health can be hard enough to juggle without adding that of our furry friends. Mistakes will happen.
