The last Monday of 2008, I was holding Pu’Yi, my amazing Siamese puppy-cat, when I noticed a large, open wound by his groin. Rich made an appointment the next day to take him to the vet. Unfortunately, it was late in the day and the only remedy the vet could offer was a shot to soothe the pain along with an antibiotic.
The next day, New Year’s Eve, they operated on Pu’Yi and discovered that he had an infected anal gland — an ailment more akin to dogs. He was sent home with two drains (rubber hoses hanging out of the sutured area), syringes of painkillers (once daily), ointment (twice daily), and antibiotics (twice daily), along with an Elizabethan collar to prevent him from licking the wound.
Here’s Jujube comforting Pu’Yi and making sure he didn’t have a fever. 
Jujube, even though he’s a male, has been very attentive, snuggling with Pu’Yi and cleaning his head.
By New Year’s Day, he was doing better and had the drains removed, which were super creepy. He was also perky enough for us to pack him in the car and take him camping on Saturday and Sunday in our motor home. We went to Washington Park in Anacortes (Fidalgo Island)… and thoroughly enjoyed hiking, beach combing, playing the Dot.com version of Monopoly, talking to other campers, petting a multitude of dogs, and taking care of Pu’Yi.
Because Pu’Yi was doing a good job of not licking his wound, we removed the Elizabethan collar. Big mistake! Sunday evening, he wandering into our extra bedroom and promptly nibbled off a couple of his stitches.
Monday morning, he was back to the vet and once again had to be anesthetized so they could stitch up the wound. Unfortunately, the wound opened up and they had to replace all of the stitches, which now can’t be removed until a week from this Thursday.
In the meanwhile, he has to wear the Elizabethan collar around the clock and be isolated from the other cat at night. Throughout the day, Rich removes his collar and lets him eat and drink. Poor Pu’Yi!
Even though we have to watch Pu’Yi around the clock, he doesn’t mind traveling. Last weekend, we took a mini trip in our motor home. Pu’Yi came along. We put his litter box in the shower and he was a happy camper!
Here’s a picture of Washington Park, a 220-acre park on the tip of Fidalgo Island. I’m in the blue sweater on the beach. It was in the 20’s and my two long-sleeve tee-shirt, wool sweater, scarf, gloves, and fleece hat were insufficient. The next day, I added a windbreaker and was much warmer!
Rajalary 