Moonchild

A swaddled Moonshadow is ready for her eye ointment

Moonshadow has a minor eye infection and just getting the medication into her eye is a real challenge because she puts up such a fuss.

So, when her Mom asked if I would come by and help, I was happy to oblige because I like tending to animals, and because it seemed like some eerie karmic mission, which I wanted to accept.

My beloved Maine Coon cat Rachmaninoff developed an eye infection when he was just a kitten, but the breeder chose not to treat him because he was born with a heart murmur, which meant that he would not fetch her a good price. And so, she dumped him, but fortunately, he fell into the hands of some incredibly dedicated people who cherish this breed and all animals.

Weeks later, Fate brought him to me and the first thing I did was take him to a veterinary ophthalmologist. Sadly, the infected eye was permanently damaged by then, but Rock's vision in his good eye was perfect and he went on to live a normal and happy life. The veterinary ophthalmologist called the breeder's negligence "withholding medication for a treatable condition."

Thereafter, for the 18 years that I was lucky to have my Rock, he needed eye ointment in his good eye every day to make sure it stayed that way. (And it did!) Putting his ointment in became just another routine, like brushing your teeth. The fact that Rock was always an amazingly cooperative patient made it super easy.

Putting medicine in Moonie's eye reminded of the days when my Rock was still with me. Though it's now going on two years since he died, I continue to miss him very much.

"It's a two-person job," Moonie's Mom told me. But I knew that once I swaddled her (I wrapped her in two large bath sheets) she would calm down and allow me to get exactly the right amount of ointment into her eye. As soon as I did, I let her go, saying, "Have a nice day." The less you make of these treatment sessions, the better. Afterward, she didn't seem to hold it against me.

At last, this Moonchild is on the mend!