We have three cats. Two we’ve had since they were babies, but our most recent, Smudge, we adopted in October 2012. She’s a full figured mature gal who loves to lounge.
Recently Smudge had to visit the vet for her annual check up. (Yes, I’m that kind of pet parent – annual check ups included.) It was in the middle of Mercury retrograde, but it was the only weekend we could get a Saturday appointment, so off we went.
As a fairly active cat Smudge appeared healthy and was doing well with her physical exam, until the vet looked in her mouth.
Smudge is 9, which is getting on in cat terms, and so teeth become a potential problem. And so it proved on this visit. The vet, the ever patient Sharon, was a little concerned by what she saw, and mentioned kitty dental surgery may be in Smudge’s future.
We consented to Smudge having a blood test for further checks, mostly make sure that if she did need to have surgery she was truly well enough to handle it.
After watching the vet and two assistants spend 45mins trying to get blood from our stubborn yet gentle old gal (which included her having to be muzzled) I believe the saying ‘Trying to get blood from a stone’ should be reworded ‘Trying to get blood from a cat’.
Eventually Smudge consented to holding still long enough while being prodded to allow sufficient blood to be collected. Sharon promised to someone would call early the following week with what she described as ‘Hard earned results!’
The blood tests showed Smudge was generally healthy, all organs in good working order, with some slight glucose elevations (apparently a normal response to stress for kittys) but also the possibility of some anemia.
As this was the first and only blood tests the vet had run on Smudge, they advised we return in a month for a follow up blood test, so they could place the blood results in context. What showed up needed a comparison to be meaningful – the hard earned results weren’t that clear after all!
After my inner cat lady fretted about all possible reasons for these anemic indicators – was she sick? Did she have a disease? What would this mean for her future and our morning cuddles? – the astrologer in me laughed out loud.
We’d taken out cat for a blood test while Mercury was retrograde and the results were possibly concerning but not necessarily and could we please come back for a re-do!
All that effort for nothing concrete – expect of course the invitation to return to repeat the process a month later.
Mercury retrograde doesn’t prevent or block, but it can delay or mean we expend effort for little or no return. And so it seemed with Smudge. Like all good Mercury retrograde stories, this little story ends with a the classic
To Be Continued….
How was this Mercury retrograde for you? Has it helped you go deeper or slow down on some of your personal Saturn in Scorpio themes? Don’t know how Saturn in Scorpio might be influencing you? Grab my eBook to find out more!