For the love of pets

I had to take my cat Fat Cat to the vet on Saturday. She's not been very good about hitting the litter box and has had some pH problems in the past that cause crystals to form in her urine. The crystals, which occur because she can't metabolize her food properly, cause her bladder to become irritated. Apparently she no longer has the crystals (I guess we fixed that with last month's trip to the vet) but she may have a teeny-tiny stone in her bladder. So now she is on an antibiotic, a pain killer, and an anti-depressant that is also supposed to keep her from wanting to urinate outside the box. That in addition to the prescription food she's on to control the pH problem. Oh, and she's supposed to be on the canned food to control her weight problem because the canned food is lower in carbs (my cat is 17 pounds and is on Atkins). Needless to say I've spent more on medication for my cat these past two months than I have on myself this entire year. We'll have to watch the stone for a few months but if it gets bigger we may have to operate.

We have a new addition to our family to announce. While I was waiting for Fat Cat to produce some urine for the vet Brad called me to say he was going to adopt a dog. He's a 1-1/2 year old black lab/boxer mix. He's been good so far (already potty trained) and is learning "Sit" and "Down" very quickly. He likes to be rubbed on the belly and will roll over with no effort. The cats are still freaked out by him, but he stays in his kennel or outside most of the time. I love dogs but never felt that I could have one with my schedule during tax season, so I have cats which are easier to take care of. And while I love my cats to death (even when they cost me a fortune) I enjoy having the dog around. We'll see if the cats warm up to him any.