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FRANKIE WEISS AND HER MAGIC by Dan M Weiss
Chapter 4 continued...
In previous conversations with Dr. Rothberg, I learned dogs and cats do not chew their food. Rather, it is swallowed, with nature taking over from that point. It’s a throwback from an era millions of years ago. We see our dogs gulp down a meal in mere seconds; the house cats are a little more delicate and luxuriate in their swallowing of food. Even with domestication of both species, nature still did not interfere with their eating habits. Their ancestors had no choice, fresh kill meat was to be swallowed in chunks, another competitor with their keen sense of smell was likely to come along and try to steal the kill. No time was to waste in filling their need for food and stomachs. Was Frankie destined to be a toothless Calico cat? How would she react having no teeth? Whoever heard of a toothless cat? Would she live the life of a normally protected cat? Would she even live through such a drastic dental procedure? Could depression set in due to loss of her teeth? Cats can and do become depressed for a variety of reasons, much like their human counterparts. All the above thoughts were racing through my mind. I had to decide. Time was of the essence. Frankie was not eating and losing weight, the gingivitis was unforgiving. My demeanour was that of a person deeply in love with a Calico cat who feared the worst in putting her through the consequence of the loss of all her teeth. The cat I loved dearly, her future was in my hands, if she came through this surgery, it would be as a toothless cat. In retrospect, I had no more options. Calling the Dental Surgeon, I made arrangements to bring Frankie in for the surgery that would leave her toothless. I felt sick inside, to think that my beautiful Calico, Frankie, if she lived through this new trauma, would be a rare cat, a Calico cat with no teeth. In my desperation, I went onto the Internet on the computer; finding no reference to toothless cats. I was not favoured with solace in knowing that other house cats came through such surgery and lived a fruitful and long life with their loving keepers. Was Frankie and her keeper destined to be a first in the annals of cat keeping as house pets, Frankie as a toothless Calico, and me, her keeper? The date was April 14, 2000; I was presented with a whopping bill for Frankie’s blood tests, X-rays and other tests necessary to the surgery in removing all her teeth. But even before that, I had to leave Frankie overnight for all the testing to make sure she’d be a subject healthy enough to withstand the unholy removal of all her teeth. On my way home, I reflected on the nearly three yearlong beauty and closeness of our feline and human association. I had to be careful, I was driving on the highway and could not allow my vision to be filled with the mist and tears I felt coming up. The Dental Surgeon gave me the thought that Frankie would come through OK; but as her loving companion and keeper during the past years, I could not help but feel apprehensive. This beautiful Calico cat that had stolen my heart knew nothing of what she was to go through early the next morning. Extracting all her teeth in an effort to save her life would not come cheaply, both in money and worry. It was the only way to arrest the curse of the gingivitis that one of her parents had given her in their genetic makeup. The money meant little to me. The worry was something I could not help. Three years previously, I lost my wife Evelyn. Now three years later, I could possibly lose Frankie. Marrying Evelyn was the best thing I ever did, adopting Frankie and Johnnie was the second best. I did not want to suffer another tragedy. Frankie’s fate and my happiness now were in the skilled hands of the Dental Surgeon. While she had extracted many feline teeth, her response to my question, “Do you know of any toothless cats?” The response was no. She helped cure gingivitis in other animals, but Frankie presented a problem she had never gone through. Even the famed University of Pennsylvania Animal Hospital gave Frankie a clean bill of health when I took her there a few months after the first seven teeth were removed. No one knew the gingivitis would return with such viciousness. I was told a phone call the next afternoon or early evening would advise me on Frankie’s reaction to her teeth removal. It was about 6:00 PM; I still did not have the phone call I impatiently waited for. Having a miserable and tasteless supper at home while cleaning the dishes, the phone rang; Frankie had come through in fine fashion. My heart felt good. I was to pickup Frankie the next day at my leisure. What leisure? Frankie was coming home as soon as I had breakfast. I told Johnnie, her housemate, who was in bed with me all night that I had to go get Frankie. Reaching the Dental Hospital, with the blue carrier I bought three years ago when Frankie had all her teeth and was only five months old; today at three years of age, she’d be coming home toothless in the same carrier. In adding up all the expenses involved during her years fighting the gingivitis, the total came to about $2750.00. I considered the price a bargain just as long as Frankie was now hopefully free of that disease. The prognosis was good. Frankie was more than happy to see me as I came into the room were she was waiting to be taken home. As I looked at that pretty Calico face the lower lip was swollen from the teeth extractions she’d gone through earlier. After giving me instructions on her care and some pills I was to crush and put into her food, I paid the bill and we were on our way home, once more to become a family threesome.
The picture above showing her swollen lip could have been taken the day she came home and went into the Kraft bag, her second play home. I cannot remember if Frankie had anything to eat. But I do remember her crawling under the sheets and causing me a back ache that night. Snuggling up tight against me, in my sleep, I could not move around. Humans do not sleep in the same position all night.
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