Oy! Kids!

[miss_yt]

Well, I'm back from Roo's vet appointment. And guess what? She apparently broke her tail. Happy fuckin' holidays.

I don't know how she did it, although considering her penchant for running all over the place and climbing on (and into) things, she could have done it in a number of ways. I had to leave her at the vet's office and I'll have to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 for x-rays, a splint and medicine. Fortunately I can pay that out of my savings, but it's annoying, especially since she just got her last round of shots a few weeks ago and I didn't expect to have to bring her in again for at least a year.

I called my dad on the way back from the vet and told him how much it would cost. He said I should have asked the vet about my options (in other words, whether it was really necessary to treat the fracture). Dad said that if he'd broken his toe, he'd ask the doctor whether it was necessary to treat it. I was kind of surprised to hear this from the man who, when his own pet cat was hit by a car, put on a tallis and tefillin to pray for her recovery. Of course, he was only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time. These days he's also a bit penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I said I wasn't sure about the severity of the fracture, and in my admittedly un-professional opinion, leaving it untreated could put Roo at risk for infection. Also, if she doesn't get the break in a splint, she could aggravate her injury. Since I'll have to leave her by herself for a few days when I go to New York, I really don't want to take that chance.

Well, I guess my Hanukkah money this year will be paying for Roo's treatment. But I don't regret it, if it means she'll stay comfortable and healthy.

Comments

[cinnabunny.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm glad that you're helping your kitty! Though, you know, I've broken a lot of my toes ('cuz I'm a klutz) and there really isn't anything a doctor can do for a fractured toe other than wrap it in gauze and send you home. :(
But I'm really happy that you're not one of those people who just doesn't care. :)

[alashiya.livejournal.com]

Awww. I don't have a clue what a tallis or a tefillin is, but it sounds like they are important, and that long-ago little boy putting them on to pray for his sick cat is a sweet image. I am happy to hear Roo's tail didn't turn out to be broken.

Dad's right--don't go to the emergency room if you break a toe. All they will do is tape it to the one beside it, with cotton in between them (so you don't rot), so it will heal straight, and you can do that yourself one heck of a lot cheaper.

[miss-yt.livejournal.com]

A tallis is a prayer shawl with special tassels (it's got a fringe and four longer, braided tassels, one at each corner). Traditionally only men wore them, but now in most synagogues women wear them too. I used to have a pretty nice one from my Bat Mitzvah day but I lost it.

Tefillin are two small metal boxes with prayer parchments in them, attached to a leather strap that you're supposed to wind around your arm in a certain way. I don't know the ritual requirements for them. I think Dad still has a set. They have the same little prayers written in them as a mezuzah, the little ornament that Jews affix to the doorposts of their homes. This is in accordance with Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which is also part of the shema:

“You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign upon your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”.

I am not very religious, but I do have a mezuzah on my door - a nice purple ceramic one. :)