Ugh

It's been a rough day.  It was Sarah's first day of band camp, and she said it was mostly spent crying, because they found out that their whole season is canceled.  The director sent out this message to parents:
The Morton Band Directors, staff, school administration, and booster board have spent a considerable amount of time analyzing this season’s direction. Due to current conditions, we have decided to push our competitive show to the 2021-22 season. While we feel that it is an incredible program, we are unable to ensure a successful and fulfilling contest season without the appropriate rehearsal conditions or a consistent show schedule. All Illinois competitions have been cancelled, football is at a standstill, and the Bands of America show schedule is very uncertain at the time of this writing. I know this is the right decision for us this year as much as it breaks my heart to make it.

Meanwhile, I was home alone with the cats all day, and I decided to dedicate the entire day to watching Shiloh and figuring out what's wrong with her.  She hasn't been herself for the past few days, and we haven't been able to determine the reason.  She slept behind the couch all morning.  I took her a bowl of ice water around noon and she lapped it up. 

 I brought her a bowl of food, and she ate heartily.  She's been acting like she's uncomfortable, but not crying in pain, so I wondered if she was able to get downstairs to the litter box.  I decided I would carry her down there.  When I picked her up (very carefully and gently), she screamed out in pain.  I thought maybe she was constipated, so I set her in the litter box, but she got right back out.  I didn't think I should pick her up again, so I left her down there.  A few minutes later, she came up and sat on her favorite pillow and started licking her butt area.  I went to inspect it, and that's when things got bad.  


I saw that she was licking a big open wound, and I freaked out.  I grabbed the phone and stared at it, trying to think who you call in these situations.  All I could think was 911, but I knew that wasn't right.  My mind was my a panicked blank.  Finally I realized it was the vet that I needed to call, but I couldn't remember the vet's number or even who our vet is.  I googled Morton veterinarians and figured out eventually which one is ours and called them.  By the time the receptionist answered the phone, my hands were shaking and I was crying and I said something about a big wound on my cat, and she calmly and kindly said, "Bring her right in."  

I was hesitant to pick her up, so I picked up the whole pillow that she was on, and lowered it and her into the pet carrier.  

She cried some on the way there, and I was not making any effort to obey the speed limit.  The vet was great.  He said it was an infected abscess from a puncture wound (one of the other cats must have bitten her, either in play or irritation).  He took her to the back and lanced it, drained a lot of blood and pus out of it, and cleaned it.  He gave her shots of antibiotics, painkillers, and an anti-inflammatory.  I could hear her screaming wildly (the whole place could hear her).  It was a horrific sound that I never want to hear again.

According to the poster on the vet's wall, Shiloh and I are the exact same age.

She didn't make a peep on the way home.  Blood and pus are still oozing out of the wound, as the vet warned me would happen, because he left a drain hole. It looks so bad.  I felt like a bad mother, but the vet assured me that it happens all the time and it's hard to see wounds under the fur.  

I got home with her at about 4:15, and my phone started ringing right away.  It was Noah, telling me which house to meet him at with the realtor.  I had been looking forward to that all day, but with the whole Shiloh emergency, it had left my mind completely.  I was supposed to meet them at 4:30, so after he told me the address, I said, "Yes, I'm on my way" in what I thought was my normal voice, but in those 4 words, he picked up on it.  He said, "You sound stressed. Are you ok?"  He's always been so sensitive to others' feelings, especially mine.  

So we looked at a couple houses, and one of them just might be the one.  I found a painted rock there, which I took as a good sign too.