So, this morning, Belle* visited the vet so we could see what’s up with her newly acquired limp. Best guess is that, in the course of pursuing her Justly Appointed Feline Duties and Honors, she strained, or possibly sprained her left front leg. She weighs in at 16 pounds (which the vet pronounced “lean”), and insists on levitating to the top of six foot bookcases — and then, naturally enough, jumping down again. Apparently, it is the “jumping down again” segment, coupled with the 16 pounds at 32 feet per second per second, which is the problem.
She is, foremost, a cat, and telling her not to jump is Completely Out of the Questions — see “Justly Appointed. . .Honors,” above, so, after a thorough evaluation, the vet prescribed a non-steroid muscle relaxant for the next three days. Hopefully, this will give the soft tissues some relief, but we are cautioned that soft tissue injuries do take Forever to heal, especially when the patient adamantly refuses RICE.
Belle thanks everyone who expressed concern for her, and wishes to assure them that she is not at risk, and that Sharon and Steve are Old Worry Warts.
So, that.
After we brought Belle home, I. . .went to town, to get my hair cut (“You’re purple!” said my hairdresser. “Yes,” I said. “Yes; I’m purple.”, pick up our tickets to Rocky Horror at the Opera House, and our mail at the post office box, then got gas, and a tuna sandwich at Subway, which we are, I believe — yes — about to cut in half and eat.
And so the day goes forward.
Hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday.
Today’s blog post brought to you by Modern English, “I Melt With You.” Here’s your link.
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*Pop Quiz! How do you — yes, you! — pronounce “Belle”? We here at the Cat Farm say “Bell,” as in “Ring that bell, mama!”, or, perhaps “Belle of the Ball,” which is Belle’s formal name. However, several people we’ve subsequently met pronounce “Belle” as “Bella.”
Quiz answer: it depends on what language I’m thinking in at the moment (or *trying* to think in). In English, I also think “Bell”, like liberty bell. If I’m working on my Spanish (which is going very slowly) I hear “Bey-ye” .
I pronounce it like bell.
‘Long time ago we had a Belle — I usually called her Dingaling.
She was sorta blond-ish so I went with the stereotype.
I’m guilty of calling our Belle “Mom,” and Princess Sprite is probably too often addressed as “Boopsie,” but, yanno, when the shoe fits. . .
French speaker here so Bell. I’ve been read old French documents so in my head anyway it is said with a string French accent.
Bell is what I would say. Belladonna if she started killing insects and such.
My Tuesday is crowded but accomplishing milestones. The cable modem decided to Fix Itself just before the end of the window that the cable tech was due to show. The glaucoma doc’s people, whilst demanding I fill out Yet More Forms, at least moved a Whole Waiting Room Worth of People quickly on through. (I’m still surprised at how many were seen.) Doc was happy with the results of the 2nd laser surgery and has cleared me to go back on antihistamines. (Crowd ROARS) I promptly scuttled to the hospital pharmacy and got me some Zyrtek and then to the cafeteria for food & drink to take with it. I am waiting for my eyes to quit being blurry (dilating drops) before I take myself to the accountant to sign paperwork. I am hoping this will be the End of Sinus Headaches for a few months. The last 2 months were miserable.
Belle like a bell. Is there a way for her to get down via short jumps? Or does she just prefer LONG jumps?
Bell like liberty bell. A good day so far. Enjoyed a long brush/cuddle session with the dogs and then the cats joined us for a rousing game session of laser light chase and then hunt the treat. It’s my birthday and I received a delightful box of goodies from an Facebook birthday swap and have been informed that there are other delights in store.
I have always said her name as “Bell”. On the other topic, as my cat Wasabi loves to crawl under the bed covers, he is often referred to as “The Lump”.
I have always pronounced it as “Bell”.
Bell for me, too. I’m very glad it’s nothing terribly serious. Years ago, we had a cat who developed a sudden, serious front leg limp; we took him to the vet and discovered he had a large tumor that had dislocated his shoulder, so when you wrote about Belle’s problem, I was worried.(For anyone who needs to have OUTCOMES, read on — otherwise, you can stop, here. Our cat had surgery to remove the tumor, which was very successful, but the tumor was cancerous, and about a year and a bit later, the cancer metastasized to inoperable places. I still miss him, but he was 18 when he died, so though it was sad, it wasn’t that unexpected.)
I also had a cat named Belle, and I pronounced it like “bell”, although one of her many nicknames was “Bella”… along with several others that aren’t nearly as polite (she was a very temperamental kitty).
Sounds like Belle needs a launching pad. 😀 Or, really, just some steps would do. But I wonder if that would take all the fun out of gaining the coveted High Ground?
So happy to hear that Belle (also pronounced like bell) has nothing serious amiss. I have a high jumper and trapeze artist as well – my skinny boy Star (started life as L’Etoile, which I’m told means “litle star” in French). Tops of tall appliances, counters and once the medicine cabinet in the bathroom (!!!) are favorite hang outs. I gasp at least once a day, twice on Sunday. Maybe some graduated kitty stairs or book arrangement to help her climb rather than jump? I’ve got so many books this works well for me whether from low bookcase to top of next or floor to low bookcase shelf. Best to you both on recuperating and belated happy birthday! I’ve been trying to accomplish two moves over the last two weeks – my office is moving and I’m trying to pack up my apartment as well. Been a tad busy but didn’t want to let the day pass without some acknowledgement on my part. HappyhappyJoyJoy!
Max! used to leap to the top of the door — seven feet up, approximately 8 inches wide — and settle down on his toes there to nap. We’ve offered Belle easier ways to descend, but she’s having none of them.