A Tale of Two Kittens and One Puppy

Why is it that animals often seem to instinctively know when we’re trying to help them? Like the story of the lion and the thorn. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be cautious around an animal that’s hurting, even if it’s your animal.

Today, in the very brief time he was outside the vets, Chester managed to step in some gum. He squished it onto his paw.

I did a quick search of the Internet, and one suggestion was to put ice on it, which supposedly helps to harden it and make it easier to get off.

I got a few ice cubes (Chester loves ice cubes, especially in this hot weather), put them in a glass, gathered up Chester, and put him in my lap.

Now, normally Chester hates to have his paws handled. He tolerates it, but he gets wiggly and tries to snatch away his paw. He actually stayed quite still as I held an ice cube to his paw; in fact, he just seemed to snuggle against me. It was as if he knew I was trying to help him.

Maybe the fact that we had to ice his leg after the surgery (which he really didn’t like) helped. Maybe the fact that he’d just had acupuncture helped. Or maybe he just knew I was trying to help.

I managed to drop one ice cube on the floor while manuvering things around. Chester found that when we were done and crunched it down.

It didn’t really seem to help all that much, although I was able to pull a lot of it off. Another suggestion was peanut butter. That really didn’t seem to do anything at all, but Chester sure enjoyed it.

There’s stil a little bit stuck here and there in the fur around his pads. I need to try and cut it off.

Today was Chester’s second acupuncture treatment. The first treatment the vet tech stayed with us the entire time to hold him. He was very wiggly, and kept moving around — and dislodging needles.

This time he was pretty good. The vet tech pretty much continuously fed him treats while the vet put the needles in, but then I was able to hold him without any assistance. He stood the entire time, about 20 minutes.

Technorati Tags: gum, ice, ice cubes