Fun with Felines

>>  written March 18, 2020 -- how COVID-19 interrupts everyday life  <<

We were supposed to be in Chicago this weekend (Thursday - Sunday) taking care of P and J’s cats while they were away on their respective bachelor/bachelorette weekends.

P and their two cats

Yes, you read that right.  Me taking care of a cat. 

Several weeks ago P called and asked for a favor.  I said “Don’t ask us to babysit your cats.”  Ha!  Little did I know.

Early January one of the cats, Bella, was diagnosed with diabetes.  They changed the food and had to give Bella insulin shots twice a day.  I knew JB would be able to handle the shots, and I figured I’d be able to observe.  Then P said it was really a two-person job: usually he held the cat and comforted her and J would do the injection.  That made me double-think.  But …..

I’m getting a little excited thinking about eating breakfast/lunch out in their neighborhood.  I took a look at Google Maps and spotted several potential restaurants.  I started thinking of easy suppers I could prepare for us and what foods I would need to tote along.

JB said he could occupy his time watching March Madness.  I knew I could either sit in a chair that does not entice a cat to want to sit with me, or I could hole up in the guest bedroom.  P said they’d move the litter box out of the guest bedroom closet.  Ya think?

I went to the library on Friday (instead of Saturday which had precipitation forecasted) and borrowed a couple books.  A custodian told me they’d likely shut down the library.  So JB and I went back Saturday morning during slushy snowfall so he could get books and I could find a couple DVDs.  If we’d waited for nicer weather, the library would have been closed.

I was excited to find Amadeus on the shelf.  I’ve been wanting to see that again for a long time -- it’s never on TV.  I also borrowed Suffragette.  I know nothing about it, but Meryl Streep is in it, and I like her.

Then, things changed.

I was getting a bit antsy about needing to “shelter in place.”  In other words, people really shouldn’t be traveling around no matter how safe they think it is or that they feel o.k.  It just seemed like being a good citizen required JB and me to not go.  But I didn’t want to screw up P and J’s plans.

I needed to put a vacation hold on our mail and newspaper deliveries.  So Sunday morning I asked P if the weekend was still going on.  He had previously told me that Bella had improved and wasn’t taking insulin shots at the moment.  Since this was a “vacation” for us, we still planned on watching the cats.  But on Sunday P was concerned that his elderly parents shouldn’t travel into the big city, and he said they would get friends to stop in a couple times a day to check on the cats.

Then the next day he said their weekend plans were canceled, too.  Wise decision.

So, I don’t get to watch Amadeus.  And we wouldn’t have been able to eat out at restaurants with all of them closed.  I get to “shelter in place” all that I want.

Meanwhile, their wedding has been postponed and they are considering their options for a future date.

Update: March 20, P texted that their other cat Jack had been lethargic and weak lately.  They took him to the vet, and it sounded like he has liver cancer.  Then the next day, P said Jack died the night before.  So very sad for them.  But as it turns out, this happened the weekend P and J were supposed to be out of town.  So, even though it was very stressful for them, at least they were home with Jack when he died.

Jack in February