On Sunday I noticed that Edna didn't seem to be herself. She ate, but not as much as usual and although she didn't really throw up, she coughed/gagged occasionally. No major retching. She slept a lot of the day and wasn't interested in going outside, and it was such a beautiful day. Then, on Monday she didn't eat at all. She was interested in food, but when she tried to eat, she would immediately throw it up - before it even got down. We thought it could be a tooth, a hairball, or maybe something more serious, considering her age. She did go outside on Monday, but the occasional gagging continued.

That evening, I decided to put Ande in the bedroom so he couldn't irritate her. Almost immediately, she perked up. She still wouldn't eat but she stopped sleeping, got up, wanted to be petted and was purring like crazy. I kept Ande away from her all night, and in the morning when she still wouldn't eat, we made an appointment with Dr. Tina. I wasn't sure if we were overreacting, but at her age I didn't want to risk her not eating for very long. The vet appointment was in the afternoon. After I made it, she did eat. We really debated whether to take her (vets aren't cheap, our holistic vet is even more expensive, and the car ride could be traumatic, being the kind of roads that usually make Edna car sick). But since we both had already taken the day off, we decided to take her anyway.

It is not serious - turns out all she has is a sore throat! That's it. Dr. Tina cleaned her teeth (without any sedative, believe it or not, and she was an angel), gave her a vitamin shot to boost her appetite, and a shot of antibiotics. I think Ande upsets her, and she made herself sick. So now we are going back to keeping him separate from her at night. We bought another large crate for the living room (we have Sam's old crate set up for Ande in Samsonville) since we can't continue to keep him on the porch once the weather turns cold, and that's where he will spend nights. During the day, when I am not here, he'll be in the bedroom. He has free run at other times, although if Edna seems irritated, I put him in his crate or in the bedroom for a time out. It's working well. He meowed some the first night (and Sophie barked because there is a food dish in that crate!!) but they have both settled into the new routine.

I'm not sure if this is what we will have to do for the rest of Edna's life (maybe) or if she will tolerate him better eventually, facilitated by him learning how to behave around her. He really isn't that active for a kitten. But we think that she wasn't able to sleep at night, that he kept bothering her and she couldn't relax enough. She loves to sleep on the day's newspaper, on the kitchen table and he was making that impossible. They don't really fight or bite each other or even hiss or swat at each other, but I think he just annoys her.

Anyway, she bounced back to even better than her usual self in less than a day. I think she loved the attention, of being the only animal to go with us for the day. We took advantage of the opportunity to do some things in Hudson. It was fun, and Edna was excellent in the car. Of course, the vitamin shot is magical too. They are why Rudy had a good quality of life for longer than the conventional vets predicted. And why, ever since Rudy's cancer, it's holistic all the way for them. Right now, I put Ande in the bedroom with his ball (he has a really cool toy that's just his, although Sam would love to play with it). He had free run this morning after I took him out of his crate. He was full of pep and vinegar, as my mother would say (about a horse). My perception is that mostly he pesters me - but when I was in the bathroom, I felt a presence silently come in, and when I looked down, I saw Edna's huge green eyes imploring me. So I told her, yes, I will put him in the bedroom for a while.