Gorram cat...

It being that spring time of year (and being that I live in MN), I started my garden indoors last week, planting seeds in starter boxes. I have a tray of sweet pea vines (which I've never grown before) and a tray of morning glories, which I do every year for our lightpost and trellis. The seeds sprouted just fine so I set them by the sliding glass door (being my only southern light option besides Oliver's room, which really isn't an option). I do this every year, and it's never been a problem, but this year we have a new kitty. A kitty with a taste for greens, apparently. I have been spending the last few days trying to keep him away from my sprouts, but he's nipped the tops of most of them (and spread a lot of dirt around in the process). Spike Spiegel has not been my favorite cat lately.

But then last night he started acting weird. He wanted to sit on my lap, but he wouldn't purr and he made weird moaning noises when I touched him. I got on the internet and googled "morning glories, cat" and found out they are toxic plants. I had no idea. The websites I clicked to all recommended an immediate trip to the vet. Having had my last cat die quite suddenly, I panicked. (Side note - cats are like kids, these things never come up during normal office hours). Having paid nearly $1000 to keep that last cat alive one extra day because I thought the emergency vets were telling me he'd pull through (when in fact it would have required many more $1000 days of care), I put my husband in charge of things this time. I'm not capable of saying "That's too much, go ahead and kill my cat". My husband, who is still hoping for a flatscreen TV by Christmas, can make those kinds of judgement calls.

So Quin called the emergency vet, and they gave him the number of some sort of veterinary version of Poison Control, but that was a $60 phone call. Quin suggested we wait until morning and see if Spike wakes up dead. I didn't find this funny. I was also not amused by his intention to get on the internet then and there and google "Wake up dead" because he thinks it's a Bible quote. By this time I'm very upset (also the game's about to start, in case you thought he was the only one with screwy priorities). So he makes the call.

In the end, we paid $60 for a vet tech to tell us our cat was tripping. She laughed, apologized for laughing, then called a vet who confirmed that Spike was tripping. Morning glories are hallucinogenic. Now I regret not handling the phone calls myself, as my husband is wondering how hallucinogenic they are, how many you'd have to eat to feel the effects, and how nauseous you'd be before they kicked in.