Colby Just Has to Share Everything

From the Friday I started giving Thimble his antibiotics to the next Wednesday, Colby was extremely jealous that Thimble was getting treats and he wasn't. He was so jealous that he was pawing at the pill bottle, saying, "give me some so I can get treats!"

Well, Colby got his dearest wish. Thimble's symptoms started with soft poop, then a desire to poop and nothing happening, acting tender around his tummy area and then becoming vocally distressed in the litter box (which is when I took him to the vet). So when Colby began the same pattern, and I saw him try to go and nothing happen and he got very puzzled about that, I called the vet and told her and asked if I really had to bring Colby in too or if I could just come get antibiotics for him. And also could I have more for Thimble.

That was because although Thimble's symptoms had all cleared up, they'd done so only one pill before the end on Thursday morning (the 12th). Now when you take antibiotics, your symptoms should be gone about halfway through the antibiotic course. If I stopped Thimble's pills, the remaining bacteria, now a population too small to affect him, would simply multiply till he "got sick" again. I needed a few more days to kill them all off.

Thursday I stopped in and got the pills for both cats, and Thursday night Colby got his first pill.

He wasn't nearly as impressed with it as he thought he was going to be. He was far more dramatic about taking it, rearing up on his hind legs to pull away from my hands into the corner farther. (This obviously doesn't work, but he tried. And then once the pill was down his throat and he'd swallowed a few times I let him go while I got the treats out.

Thimble always stayed on the box with me, waiting for his treats. Colby, in drama queen style, jumped off of the box with great indignation and was about to stalk off when he heard the treat bag rattle as I pulled the ziploc apart. That made him stop in his tracks but he wasn't going to admit it, so he crouched on the carpet in a sulking mode.

I tossed him a treat, since he wasn't coming back up on the box with me.

He was sulking and wouldn't be tempted out of his sulk by just any old treat and ooh, that did smell good, perhaps he could make an exception just this once...

As he sniffed at it and decided that yes, it was okay to come out of his sulk enough to eat it, Thimble decided he'd taken entirely too long and didn't want it after all, and stuck his nose in to see if he could have the treat.

For the first time, I saw a serious hiss and swat. Colby put claws out and swatted at Thimble (deliberately not making contact--this was a warning, not a full fight). This was his and did Thimble have any idea what he went through to get that treat?! No way was he giving it up! He scarfed it down to make sure Thimble couldn't get it.

I'd been giving Thimble two treats with each pill, so I held out another one to Colby. Since he'd just had it demonstrated to him what happens if you wait, he came over and took it out of my hand. He didn't eat it out of my hand; he picked it up in his teeth, dropped it on the ground, and then ate it.

He stayed miffed at me for about half an hour, until I decided that was enough miff and scooped him up and cuddled him into a better mood.

Colby was watching me fold laundry.
This was actually back on the 7th, before
Colby started getting pills too.