Update No. 237

Shortly after Millie's little letter last night, I showered and went to bed. I was in bed by 8:30, with Millie tucked into her cat bed right next to me. I read a little, watched her a lot, and stroked her ears from time to time.

Before long, I needed to shift around to get comfortable, and I startled Millie. She shot up in her bed, then sort hopped onto me. I put a towel down (she still had a bit of icky-bottom going on) and she lay down on my chest...and she purred. It was the first time in days I'd heard her purr, and it was marvelous.

A few minutes later, she got up again, and walked over to my left shoulder to nose at the covers. Her intentions were clear: she wanted to be under the covers, cuddled up by my side. This is pretty normal on cold nights. I moved the towel, helped her get settled, turned on my side, and curled around her. Lights out. We fell asleep.

I did not get a great nights' sleep, but I hardly mind. I woke up at about 12:30 to the sight of Millie sitting on my lap, cleaning her icky-bottom!! Okay, I know that this is gross, but this is a cat who hasn't bathed herself since she's been sick. Would you want to lick yourself clean when you're throwing up? Exactly. So seeing her clean herself was very, very good. I think I started talking to her, and Harley heard the commotion and started crying in the bathroom. Before long, we all settled down. Millie cuddled, I had strange dreams of going to the Grand Canyon with my parents.

I woke up again at 4:30, and from there on out, I only dozed until I got up at about 6:30. Millie continued to cuddle with me, and purr when I scratched her ears.

So far (and I am knocking on wood, crossing my fingers and praying) there has been no vomit, even after she cleaned her icky-bottom. She took her meds a little while ago and promptly hid in my closet--whether to throw up or to pout, I don't know. She didn't throw up right away, so I think that's good.

What is definitely good news is that she wants to cuddle with me, and I'm able to get her to purr. Also, she's shown some spunk, by hissing at Harley and even swatting him when he got too obnoxious. You know what they say: Where there's spunk, there's fire. (Ha ha.)

So my hope continues to rise--cautiously. I just checked on her again. She's still in the closet, but there is no vomit.

I know she is exhausted--I have a feeling that she didn't sleep very well in the hospital, with all those strange smells and sounds everywhere, not to mention the IV drip and upset tummy. I hope, now that she's hydrated and home, that she will be able to catch up on her rest and start to feel better. Goodness knows I'll be driving straight home from work to check up on her. If I had time during my prep, I'd do it then.

At least it's one day down, four to go. I start showing The Nutcracker Ballet to my middle school kids today, so that's an easy lesson. They have a worksheet to go along with it, and I have Christmas cards to work on!

Keep the happy thoughts coming. I feel even more hopeful this morning, seeing my spunky Millie-girl coming out from the exhausted kitty I brought home from the hospital last night. That can't be bad, right?