Strange But True

Earlier this week, I noticed that Guinness was winking and rubbing at his right eye. The eyelid and area around the eye were red and irritated and I immediately assumed that he had another eye infection. When I called the vet to make an appointment for antibiotic shots, she asked me if Guinness was also sneezing or wheezing and I reported that he was, indeed.

Wheezing is not unusual for Guinness, in fact, we often refer to him as "The Squeaker" because of his wheezing and raspy breathing, so it didn't occur to me that he might have a cold rather than an eye infection.

The vet explained to me that it probably wasn't a cold, either, but, rather, seasonal allergies. She recommended that I purchase some children's Benadryl and give him .5 ml. every twelve hours for a couple of days to see if the irritation cleared up. Surprisingly, it did.

I never in a million years would have thought to give a cat Benadryl. I never would have thought that a cat could suffer from seasonal allergies, either.

You really do learn something new every day.

I also learned that Benadryl, when given to a cat, causes said cat to drool uncontrollably. Actually, that's not quite accurate; it causes a cat to foam at the mouth like Cujo on a rampage.

I'm really glad he doesn't weigh more than five pounds because that shit could get scary, fast.