Saturday night Emily and I had just settled down into bed when a familiar sound met our ears – the sounds of a cat retching. Darwin had plopped down onto the floor and proceeded to empty her stomach all over the floor. We made the requisite sympathetic noises, mopped up the mess, and went back to bed. An hour later, we were woken by a repeat performance. This time, she didn’t make it off the bed before she started making the groady noises. I’m not sure if I’ve ever woken up and moved so quickly in my life! Grabbing her gently, I put her on the floor, though this time it was a non-event. Later that night, we were woken yet again to the sounds of a sick cat. This time, we were so tired that we didn’t even get up, figuring that we could deal with it in the morning. Finally she settled down, and we were able to sleep the rest of the night. Sadly, the respite wasn’t permanent. The next morning, she threw up two more times. Enough was enough, we packed up the cat and took her to an emergency clinic. After poking and prodding her a bit, the Dr decided that we should get an x-ray, just to make sure she hadn’t ingested anything bad so we left the cat and grabbed some lunch. 20 minutes later we stood, staring at these pictures, freaking out about the dark spots. As it turned out, they represent normal gastric processes, but for a while, we thought she had swallowed a fish or something! (the related question “where did she get a little fish from” didn’t seem as relevant at the time) As it turns out, there was nothing there. So…in the end, we had one night of lost sleep, church skipped, a panicked run to the vet, x-ray photos, subcutaneous hydration (replete with leaking…eww) , antacids, and anti-nausea injection. All for the low, low price of $300!

The next time I’m getting a dog