It was shortly after 4:00 am Sunday morning.  I was sound asleep.  As I’ve mentioned before, I awaken at the slightest noise that’s out of the ordinary.

You can image, then, that it was with real concern when I was startled from sleep by Kako‘s cries of agony from the living room.  I bolted out of bed and rushed to where she lay curled in a corner wailing in pain.   I’ve seen this before.

I checked her abdomen carefully.  As I expected, she reacted harshly near her bladder.  Another urinary tract infection.

So we rushed to the emergency vet.  They were able to get some fluids and antibiotics into her and, after what seemed to me to be a terribly long time, she began to feel better.  Once the fluids started to move, you could see the relief in her eyes.

We spent a few hours monitoring her while she soaked up more fluids and the antibiotics started breaking up the infection.

I brought her back home and spent the day monitoring her.  I had to be certain she began to eat and drink soon (the latter more important than the former).  She slept for about two hours, then she slowly made her way to get some water.  I do mean slowly, too, with much discomfort.

By that evening, however, she was much better — albeit not feeling great.  She eventually began eating and, now some days later, is doing significantly better.  She’s on antibiotics for about a week more.  Trust me, it’s harder on me than it is on her (she makes it so).

Poor little lady.  OK, she’s not a lady at all, but still…

Lest I forget, I got a speeding ticket on the way to the emergency vet.  How’s that for public service?  The cop never asked why I was in a hurry, never even pretended to be interested in the status of the obviously ill feline in the cat carrier sitting in the passenger seat next to me.  No, he didn’t give a damn.  He announced ceremoniously that he had turned the radar gun off after I hit 10 mph over the posted limit (which is as much speeding as I was willing to do); he vehemently demanded I produce my driver’s license; when I had difficulty getting my wallet out of a buttoned pocket and tried to disarm the tension by saying something akin to “Gosh, that was more difficult than it should have been,” he abruptly shoved his head in the window and demanded to know what I had said; overall, he was a dick.

While I appreciate concern about speeding and the need to enforce the laws, I must ask: is it necessary to be such a dick under those circumstances? is it too much to ask that you be mindful of the situation and determine if perhaps some level of haste may indeed be in order? does it cause pain if you act like a human being and demonstrate empathy in upsetting situations (both Kako’s condition and getting the ticket)?

Maybe I’m asking for too much, but I doubt it.