Frankie Weiss and Her Magic

by Dan M Weiss

Chapter Eight continued ...

My new world will have its hurts and misgivings. Not all is well over the years, rough spots appear in the fathering of the love for my four legged companions and their health. I made a terrible mistake giving Frankie some table food. A spiced chicken I took home from a restaurant, one night while eating out. How could I be so stupid? Cats are never to be fed spicy chicken. In nature the foods they eat have no spices or other ingredients that would cause inflammation in their oesophagus tract. I have fed Frankie chicken I made in the past, but with no spices. This time, I lost all sense of feeding her foods not good for her digestive system. She begins throwing up and cannot hold down any food she tries to eat. I even see her take a few laps of water and all the years together she has never taken one drop. I begin to worry and call the Vet’s  office to have Frankie examined.

          As luck would have it, Dr. Rothberg, Frankie’s Vet was away on vacation, I had no choice but to use another Vet connected to the Hospital.

The Examination

          Not wishing to cause any hard feelings, I purposely omit the Doctor’s name from this writing. We arrived at the Hospital and were taken into the examination room. I positively told the doctor that I had fed some spicy chicken and sliced turkey to Frankie and it did not agree with her system and she could not keep any other food down, after partaking she’d disgorge it shortly after.

          After examining Frankie, the doctor suggested taking some X-rays to see if an obstruction was present that would not permit her keeping food down in a normal manner. For this purpose, I had to leave her overnight, fine. As the X-rays were negative this doctor suggested again taking other X-rays. I had no choice; I wanted my Frankie healthy and happy. The estimate was $237 to the high end of $307. Again I had to leave her overnight. This was on a Wednesday. The next day I called, the X-rays were still negative, so now the doctor suggested exploratory surgery. I refused and told her do nothing. (They may have tried to give her some shots in the meantime. The final bill reflected no oral medicine.)

          My mind was racing in a whirlwind; looking for possible answers or help I went to the Internet. I found a 38-page treatise on Cat Vomiting. Printing it out, I read it twice. I called Marlton, telling them I wanted to take Frankie home for the weekend; they tried to dissuade me. No! If Frankie was going to suffer that entire weekend, I wanted her in my arms where she at least would get all the love due her. Friday morning arriving at Marlton, the bill had risen to $401 and change. Frankie’s entire facial expression changed when I entered the cage room to take her home. Her tail was wagging furiously, a sign of happiness and I’m sure, to see the face she loved. I do not know to this day if she ate anything before my arrival. I do know a few hours later Frankie went to her food bowl, ate, and she has been fine ever since.

          The point I wish to make is this: please be sure the doctor examining your pet has heard the words you expressed in what foods you gave which caused the upset. It’s entirely possible they may just go on their past experiences in such matters, (if they had any) and your food explanation fell upon dead ears and counted for naught.

          And, sometimes a second opinion though it could be costly could not hurt. We learn from human values that a second opinion could be extremely important and save you much money, worry, and possibly a life. The pet you regard as a beloved family member deserves no less.

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