BAAAAD Mommy! BAD!

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Okay, many who are owned by cats call themselves "meowmies." But today, my name is Mud. A long time ago, a former roomie & I promised to take care of M.'s (a friend's) cat while she was away, & she gave us the key to her house. Okay, fine. But for 3 days, we were so swamped with activities, we forgot! Then one of us suddenly remembered, & off we sped to M's home, & sure enough, her poor starving (we thought) kitty ate every smidgen of food we gave her, then promptly threw up, of course. We cleaned it up, & let her try a little food at a time. We apologized & apologized to her (yes, we besotted cat-lovers do practice that sort of thing), & gave her lots of love. We did this for the rest of the time M. was gone. And we were too much the cowards to tell her, too, we were so embarrassed at ourselves. Well, years later I told M., & she cracked up. "That explains the owl feathers!" she said. "I forgot to close one of the windows, so she must have gotten out--she caught an owl!" And M. forgave us, generous, sweet soul that she is. At least that time we had a lame excuse for our error. This time, I don't. Elic (bff, helper & fellow MyLotter) had to leave town for a week, which meant the agency which hired her needed to find substitutes for 5 days to come cook & clean for me. If you know anything about such agencies, you know they can't pay enough to attract competent workers; most of them make a box of rocks look like college material...the stories I could tell you! I'd had a hellacious week, training approximately one new "helper" from Girling Home Health Care per day. The first one took out empty garbage cans first thing, then later, refused to empty them again after they had trash in them because she was only required to take them out once. That should give you an idea. Let's just say that all but one of the rest were even less bright. Even the really bright one Friday did a few goofy things, but I forgive her because she was so much fun we're actually going to at least email one another! Okay, so at the end of the week I was about an 11 on the stressometer, so I tried to rest up for Sunday, so as not to miss Mass. I'd actually been physically ill due to Girling's lack of instructions for helpers to "ring the doorbell & enter, & call (me) before you come so I can make sure the door's unlocked." Plus I never knew what time the helpers would arrive, & it was different every day. At least once one came while I was asleep, & banged on the door, which woke me up. This meant I had to yank on a gown & get to the door A.S.A.P., which meant I didn't have time to transfer my oxygen from the bi-pap machine to a tube. By the time I got to the door (& I walk very slowly), I was gasping for air, & overheating. This brings on faintness, nausea, & I turn bright red. After I opened the door, I barely made it to a chair. The "helper" didn't do anything to help, & didn't seem to hear me saying "I need oxygen! I'm going to faint!" Why am I boring you with all this? Because--not as an excuse, but as a reason--I need to tell you the shape I was in at the end of the week. You see, for me, the ultimate no-no is missing Sunday Mass. And instead of being able to rest, dat ol' debbil Insomnia struck. As tired as I was, I couldn't SLEEP. When Sunday morning came & my friend L. called to ask if I needed a ride, I'd given up on sleep, & was MyLotting. I told her no & explained, & hung up. I still couldn't sleep, but I went back to bed. Finally the Sandman kicked sand in my face, & I hit dreamland. That was probably about 9:30 A.M. I woke up at 2:30 A.M. Today. Monday. At least I'd gotten rest, but I still felt hammered & groggy. I staggered into the bathroom, & Minnie, poor baby, followed me in meowing at me. I told her it was too early for her treat (that's 7 A.M. sharp each morning), & she, being the obedient little soul she is, went away. But a moment later I saw her again. She approached the cat litter slowly. I geared myself up to endure a stink bomb, but she didn't get in (well, I hadn't de-lumped it yesterday, I thought. No wonder she's reluctant...). But then she did something I'd never seen anyone do, though I've heard of it happening to those desperate enough, & I was so ashamed! She nosed up to something on the floor beside the litter that I couldn't see, sniffed it a few times, then...she gave it a couple of cautious licks! Just enough, I realized, to keep her overly-dry tongue from cleaving to the roof of her mouth! And she was so thirsty she forced herself to drink...(shudder)... I ran to her water bowl, & sure enough, her water bowl was over half empty, so low she couldn't reach the little that was left! I filled it rapidly, & she dove into it & lapped & lapped & lapped! And I apologized & apologized & apologized...& de-lumped her litter, too. She had indeed, probably in an effort to avoid the bodacious lumps in the litter, accidentally peed a bit outside the box, so.... My guilt was crushing. So I came straight here to confess. I feel like the lowest slime in the gutter. I love my little furbaby, yet I let her down. Hydration is so important! Don't forget, cats emerged from a desert milieu, but while they can go for a while longer without water, even they must drink eventually! So there you go, I feel like a baaaad meowmy. Have you ever done the like? Did it hit you as hard as it did me when I failed my responsibility to my helpless charges? What did you do? Did your kitty forgive you? (I think Minnie has...) Cat-lovers of MyLot! Please tell me how to forgive myself! Maggiepie "The smallest feline is a masterpiece." ~ Leonardo da Vinci