steepholm: (Default)
steepholm ([personal profile] steepholm) wrote2020-04-08 04:36 pm

(Not) Having a Ball

Waa! Jessie's eyeball has burst. I had no idea that such a thing was even possible. Her behaviour today was sedentary, but honestly no different from normal - pottering to her food bowl, clambering blindly up the sofa to find the little ramekin from which she likes to drink, standing beside me waiting to be scooped onto my lap - the usual habits of a dignified elder statescat. I stroked her half the morning, but I didn't actually look her in the eye until lunchtime - only it wasn't an eye at all, but a bulging puss-filled sac. I'm very squeamish: once was enough.

Luckily the good weather continues, so I was able to wait with her outside the vet's, where they are of course observing strict social distancing. Someone came out to fetch her, and I passed ten minutes with a book, in spring sunshine striated with the shadows of blossoming branches, something that in normal circumstances would have been very pleasant. Eventually the vet came out and, sitting crosslegged on the wall, told me in her best kerbside manner that Jessie would need to have her whole eyeball removed, and that at her age and with her low weight she may not survive it. We await the outcome of the operation, probably tomorrow.

I'm sure she would look good in a patch, but if she comes home it will be with her eyelid sewn down over the cavity.

At least I was here to take her. If things had gone according to plan, I would be three miles above Tashkent by now, en route to Kansai.
sovay: (Viktor & Mordecai)

[personal profile] sovay 2020-04-08 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sure she would look good in a patch, but if she comes home it will be with her eyelid sewn down over the cavity.

I hope she comes home healthy and one-eyed. I am so sorry.

*hugs* if useful.
sovay: (Viktor & Mordecai)

[personal profile] sovay 2020-04-08 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
She's under the knife as I write, so we shall see...

*definitely virtual hugs*
cmcmck: (Default)

[personal profile] cmcmck 2020-04-08 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh dear!

Hope all goes well with the vet.
lamentables: (Default)

[personal profile] lamentables 2020-04-08 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh goodness, all the best to both of you.
conuly: (Default)

[personal profile] conuly 2020-04-08 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, no. Poor baby.
strange_complex: (Gatto di Roma)

[personal profile] strange_complex 2020-04-08 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh god, how horrible! I don't think I really grasped that that could happen. I hope she survives the operation OK and is back home with you soon.
larryhammer: floral print origami penguin, facing left (Default)

[personal profile] larryhammer 2020-04-08 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh dear. Best of luck she comes through well!
rachelmanija: (Default)

[personal profile] rachelmanija 2020-04-08 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh my God! How shocking and awful. Poor baby. I hope she comes through okay.
calimac: (Default)

[personal profile] calimac 2020-04-08 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
How tragic and strange! What causes this? Best wishes to cat and human.
kalypso: (Abby)

[personal profile] kalypso 2020-04-08 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
So sorry to hear of Jessie's state, and hope she will survive with one decent eye.

South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher's career was ended by something like this - though in his case the eye-ball was burst by a freak accident while he was keeping wicket, to the great horror and distress of the other players on the field. (It was probably horrifying and distressing for Boucher, too, but the one advantage of his situation was that he couldn't see what had happened to him.) But he's now coach of the national men's team.
slemslempike: (Default)

[personal profile] slemslempike 2020-04-09 06:26 am (UTC)(link)
Oh I do so hope it went well. Massive hugs to you.
strange_complex: (Apollo Belvedere)

[personal profile] strange_complex 2020-04-09 09:02 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, that's great! Good news. I hope her convalescence goes smoothly.
zooey_glass: Sunset skyline (Default)

[personal profile] zooey_glass 2020-04-09 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I was so happy when I clicked into this to learn she made it through. Hope she's home and safe with you by now.
zooey_glass: Sunset skyline (Default)

[personal profile] zooey_glass 2020-04-11 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
Welcome home Jessie. Lots of cuddles needed <3