A week (or more) of sneezes

This past week, I was consumed with sneezing.

I woke up sneezing most days last week. It's the fall, leaves are molding and ragweed is dispersing. Although I don't remember seasonal allergies when I lived in Texas, they've come on a bit over the years that I've lived in the midwest.

But, really, it isn't my sneezing that consumed me. The cats. The cats. They've been sneezing.

First, it was Simon. (It's his one-year anniversary with us today! Happy anniversary, Simon!) He took a trip to the vet for the yearly check-up and vaccinations. Couple of days later, he was sneezing.

I suspect it was the vaccinations that lowered his immune system and allowed a dormant virus to "shed." But Simon is young and hardy, so it was no big deal. A couple of days of sneezing, a little extra sleep, and he was back to his old self.

In the meantime, though, Gabe got a little frustrated. He likes to get into a good tussle with Simon at least a couple of times a day, if not more, and one day Simon just wasn't in the fighting mood. So Gabe tried to start something with Clyde. Yes, Clyde. The elder member of our household (he's 20--that's 96 or so in human years).

Of course, Clyde has no interest in fighting this little upstart. So when trying to avoid him while going down the stairs one evening, he fell. That was no small upset. Elder beings should not fall. He began limping, so we took him to the vet, who diagnosed some inflammation to an already inflamed joint (Clyde has pretty bad arthritis). A few days later, he was limping less, walking more like his usual self.

But the sneezing hadn't wreaked all its havok yet. Casey started sneezing. Hacking, really. It sounded pretty awful. At 7 or so, Casey is a middle-aged fellow, but he's got immunity issues. So after a couple of days of pretty severe congestion, he got a trip to the vet, too. (Casey is not a fan of the vet. Or the car trip. Or the carrying case. He is not a scratcher or a biter, but he fought pretty hard on the way into the carrier. Legs splayed out, claws curling around the doorway. It was a sad sight to see. Pure panic.)

The day after Casey went to the vet, Clyde started the hacking. Now they're both still sniffling and sneezing, and it's been almost a week.

So send some good thoughts to the cat gods, would you? Clyde especially has had a hard week, a double dose of misery. He needs a clear nose so he can resume the blissful sniffing of catnip.