That's a problem.

Poor Addy. She's been straining to go, she's been trying to go everywhere, and today I spotted blood in her pee. I suspect a kidney stone. She's going to the vet at four.

Gah, no wonder she's been more talky lately. "It hurts!" she's been saying. "Look after me." Okay, now I know. Now I can help.

My poor girl.

elsewhere in the universe: flylady

You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?

Of all of the things I have learned while trying the FlyLady system, this means the most.

FlyLady has a lot of little steps toward a less stressed, more tidy life. Sometimes I can do them. Yesterday, I got dressed to shoes and found myself instantly motivated to take care of my errand list--this in driving snow! But this morning, I woke up hurting and decided I was okay to stay in my pyjamas if it meant I'd actually get things done. Sure enough, fifteen minutes at a time, I am ticking things off the chore list I set for myself. Thanks to the time I took to set up a Control Journal, when I noticed my Adalyne was ill, all I had to do was flip to the appropriate page to find the vet's number! (After, of course, I made sure that she wasn't having an emergency. If you're wondering: it is probably a kidney stone, but I want the doc to check her out to be sure.)

Yesterday's errand list tired me right out. I thought I'd have energy to spare for my household things ("fun time" during a tough semester), but I was wrong. No Zone Mission for me! I needed a nap, so I took a nap, and thanks to that mantra, you are not behind, I was okay with the time I took to look after myself. I still took care of the dishes later that evening, but that was when I was ready to get up and go again.

Today, I jumped in where my inbox said I should. I don't feel behind with the house at all. I feel free to take my day fifteen minutes at a time, tending to my needs as they crop up. No guilt! Just a fresh, sunny afternoon.

Even if you're not a FlyLady sort of person, that's a pretty nice idea. You are not behind. Just jump in where we are. I'd much rather live in the present than obsess over things I've left undone in the past.

Multiple-choice

So Addy's got one of three things (we hope only one).

a) It could be a UTI, which is why the vet sent me home with 20 amoxicillin pills and a baggie of Pill Pockets.
b) It could be a plain ol' kidney stone.
c) It could be, and probably is (so says the vet), sterile cystitis. Which basically means Addy is stressed and peeing blood because of it. The doc said they sometimes put cats on Elavil or Prozac (!) and 25-50% of cats don't respond to them anyway. I am not going to put my poor kitty on the med-go-round. Mostly, she is happy and healthy; it's just every now and then she gets an inflamed urinary tract. There's not much we can do--she just has to go about her everyday, um, business.

Sterile cystitis comes and goes. If she's still having symptoms after the antibiotics (a 10-day course, and I do not envy her one bit), I take her back to the vet so she can make water for their tests, they do an X-ray to ensure she's not having more serious issues, and life goes on. It's a diagnosis of exclusion. We're playing House, pretty much.

Stressed. My cat is stressed. The same cat who has nothing to do but lie in the sun all day! Oy. She should feel better once the weather improves and she has her run of the outdoors.