The neighbor knocked on our door Wednesday evening. I was the only one home. He told me the cat had been hit by a car and where I could find the cat. He told me that the cat’s face looked messed up. Our neighbor, Brian, was very sad and apologetic even though it wasn’t his fault. I said ‘poop’ and then put on some shoes, grabbed a towel and went to collect our cat. As soon as Albus saw me, he ran off and then Michael and I spent the evening worrying about Albus’s injuries and whereabouts. The next morning, Albus was home and laying in the dog bed. He gave me a weak ‘meow’ and let me pet him before he moved himself down to the basement.

I managed to get him into Josephine’s crate, the only pet carrier I have other than a duffel bag. I tried the duffel bag first and Albus and I both agreed that the crate would be better. I loaded him into the car and made my way across town to the emergency vet clinic that our usual vet recommended. Albus cried the entire time. Which means that I too cried the entire time. Then I waited in the parking lot for rest of the morning. Albus is going to be okay. The vet said that there is obvious blunt force trauma to the right side of his face, but after careful probing he did not appear to have broken bones. I opted out on an x-ray because they would have had to sedate him. Since all of his vitals were good and the ultrasound showed no internal pulmonary issues or other problems, I figured that putting him under anesthesia was not a good idea. He got some pain management medication and he is now locked in the basement with food, water and a litter box and he hates it. He’s just going to have to keep on hating it because that’s where he’s staying this weekend while we are away camping.

We both got really mopey when that cat ran off injured and we didn’t know if he was okay or holed up dying somewhere. Michael was particularly upset. He considers Albus to be his cat even though the cat comes to me when his bowl is half full and it is my lap he lays in. But Michael is the one who rescued Albus as a kitten. It is Michael’s fault the cat is part of this family. That’s the thing. As much as I curse the cat, I have to admit that he is part of our family. We miss him when he doesn’t show up. We are concerned when he shows up with a scratch on his nose. We are sick with worry when he shows up with blood all over his face and a messed up jaw. We know that because of Albus’s lifestyle that just him coming home every day is probably a miracle. We are grateful that he is going to be okay.

Man, this year is trying really hard to kill us. We are managing to stay alive, though slightly broken and bruised. Broken things can be fixed. Bruises will heal. Both of these are things that make you really appreciate that you are still living and breathing. Let’s try to keep it that way for a while.