07
Jul

The $2,000 embroidery needle

by HML

(Cross-posted on Sinister Craftiness.)

Apparently Nanaimo was jealous of all the attention Chinook has been receiving for his recent illness (two car rides to the vet, nightly pills and gel in a syringe) so he has one-upped his housemate by sneaking into the craft room and swallowing an embroidery needle.  Nanaimo’s fondness for thread has been previously documented on the blog, but Your Humble Narrator spent over an hour crawling around the downstairs on hands and knees, hoping the needle would turn up, before admitting her most dread suspicions and calling the veterinarian.

The X-rays confirmed our fear:

A variety of options for removing the needle were presented but none seemed to be as effective as surgery.  With a heavy heart and light wallet we left Nanaimo at the veterinarian’s office to be operated on later that afternoon.

The veterinarian called us after the surgery to let us know that it went very well.  The silk thread which had tempted Nanaimo in the first place had wrapped itself around the needle like a cocoon, preventing the needle from doing any damage to his insides, but also causing it to lodge tightly in his stomach, so surgery really was the only option after all.

The next day, Your Humble Narrator and Kitty Grandma (also known as Hå to her human grandchildren) visited the patient.  Nanaimo was pretty miserable but calmed down a little when he recognized his family, and the visit seemed to comfort him. We also collected the souvenir needle.

Wednesday morning Nanaimo came home with a row of stitches on his shaved tummy (which should help him stay cool this summer) and wearing a “cone of shame” to protect his stitches.

Now he, too, has pills to take and follow-up visits to the veterinarian.  Chinook gave Nanaimo the once-over and fled from him as though he were a space alien, or perhaps he recognized the scent of the vet’s office.

By our reckoning, Nanaimo has used up at least three of his nine lives thus far.  The Gimlet hasn’t decided whether this incident should be categorized under the the pet budget or the embroidery budget, but he is determined to get as much enjoyment as possible out of Nanaimo stumbling around, bumping into furniture and walls, or futilely trying to chase the light reflecting off the collar snaps.


Related posts:

Introducing Beast One and Beast Two
Snow on snow on snow
Sick kitty

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 4:10 pm and is filed under flora and fauna. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “The $2,000 embroidery needle”

  1. Hå
    July 7th, 2010 17:23
    1

    That is one golden cat and one golden needle. Better not to think about it too much. Shame on you Nanaimo. Wear your cone of shame with dignity.

  2. Vic
    July 8th, 2010 03:49
    2

    I used to joke about my dog Barney and introduce him as my $6,000 pet. The poor Barnes was wont to get into scrapes without trying. The day he was hit by a car trying to outrun a thunder storm I discovered that the veterinarian field had caught up with human medicine in terms of cost.

    Glad your wee kitty is still sharpening his claws on the furniture!

  3. Mandy
    July 8th, 2010 12:59
    3

    Really, an Elizabethan ruff suits Nanaimo, he photographs so well ;) Get Well Soon Wishes to puss !