Melancholy and Cat Medicine

PART 1. Cat Medicine.

My cat and I have been struggling, recently. Physically struggling. Me, attempting to pop a quarter of a pill into his mouth, and he attempting to squeeze his tiny jaws closed as tightly as possible.

It goes without saying that I am larger, but his will is far stronger and the whole exercise leaves us both feeling pretty crappy. I'd say that I have a roughly 70% success rate...or a 30% intimidated by a 14lb animal rate, depending on which one of us you ask. So, I did the adult thing and called the vet. I learned several things from the delightful people at Treehouse.

1. Most cat medicines are available in a liquid form.
2. Those medicines are derived from crushed up museum artifacts.
3. Because they cost more than all of my bills, combined.

It appears that Treehouse is familiar with this problem of only making cat-pleasing medicine from the bones of extinct species of birds, so they pointed me to a few places that only cost roughly half as much.

I found it amusing that this company is called RoadRunner. For some reason I imagined Wiley Coyote, covered in bandages, trying to give his cat a pill and the Road Runner scooting by, pleasantly feeding his cat chicken-flavored-Rembrandt-canvas medicine. Figures, right?

In spite of the unfortunate expense portion, I am thrilled to have another option for getting Picasso the hydroxizine he needs to take twice a day. You can bet he is thrilled too...he's smiling, but you can tell he's clenching his teeth.

PART 2. Melancholy.

Because a sad (terrible) short play is better than a sad (terrible) poem...
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(lights up on a heart--the organ, not the symbol--sitting on a pretty windowsill. the room is full of unopened mail. An orchid enters, gracefully.)

ORCHID: Now, now. That's no way to spend such a fine afternoon.

HEART: I disagree.

ORCHID: Come, come. Wasting your time looking out that window and sulking. Wishing? Wishing for what? You're better off. What else is there to be done? Staying put just makes you sad. It's no way to spend a nice day.

HEART: That's not what I meant. (heart gestures out the window)

(it begins to rain).

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