Prayers For Ginger

    You never know when something someone tells you could save a life; something you read in the paper, see on the big screen or hear in passing.
     We have the cutest little kitten. She is an 8-month-old calico that we rescued from underneath my friend's house. She bounds up and down the stairs, stalks our other cat (3 times her size) and jumps on him when he isn't looking, hides underneath a fake Christmas garland when she thinks she's in trouble, and follows you around the house if you are eating a banana hoping for some -she loves bananas! What cat loves bananas?! How could you not love such a quirky feline? Especially one who climbs on your lap purring away the moment you sit down after a long day. She's fabulous!
     However, for the past few weeks she has not been eating much. It seems that every time we go away for any length of time she gets sick.We figure she has separation anxiety. But it usually lasts a couple of days. This time she hasn't been getting any better. And every time I get her to eat she throws up. She's like a furry little bulemic model; it's been driving us nuts! So we took her in to the vet this morning. She got blood drawn for lukemia: negative, thank goodness! And then my husband mentioned something I told him a guy at Petsmart told me one day about his cat not eating because he was chewing on yarn and a wad formed in his belly making it difficult on his digestive system. So, they had to surgically remove it.
     The vet decided to show us signs that we would look for if that was the case ... when low & behold! He did see something. Apparently Ginger had also swallowed some sort of string and it got wrapped around the back of her tongue and has been dangling down into her belly. Immediately we had them do surgery to see how severe the problem might be. I had no hesitation, saying I will give my next paycheck to pay for it. Some people see animals they own as pets. To me they are part of my family. We give them homes, we feed them, clean up after them, provide them basic needs and toys. And love them. And, boy, do I love that cat!
     Right now we are waiting. The string (that I know not where she got it) was 8 inches long and ran from the back of her throat to her colon, slicing into her intestines along the way. I can't even believe it! Who even thought something like that could happen?! The poor baby hurting all this time and no one knew why.
     If she makes it through the next 48 hours she has a strong chance of a full recovery. We are fasting and praying now. She is a fighter. And she is just a baby still and needs to be with us for lots longer. We are maintaining faith that that's exactly what will happen. If you've ever had a pet you love ... send a little prayer for Ginger; our home already feels empty while she's away.
     So, two important notes: the whole kittens playing with yarn theory ... find another toy. Those laser lights are fun. And 2: The vet wouldn't have checked without Jason mentioning the anecdote. Jason wouldn't have thought of it without me relaying it to him. And I would never have even known about it without some conversation I had with a random guy trying to help me out. Sometimes that little bit of information you hear could save a life. I sure hope it has in this case!