A trip to Dr. Jones

Cashew came flying into the house, hacking and coughing. He'd back up, then run forward, hitting his head against the wall. It was obvious that he had something caught in his throat. He settled down and we thought he'd hacked up whatever it was. But no, he started up again—horrible hacking and choking. As it was 10:00 p.m. and he settled again, we hoped the obstruction, whatever it was, would either be hacked up or digested by morning.

Cashew is a very lively cat, always playing, or running around. In the morning, he sat quietly, curled up into a little ball and we knew he was still in trouble. Off we went to see Dr. Jones.

Cashew wearing cat armor while attacking his catnip mouse.

The waiting room was full and dominated by this trio. The owner, Me and Mini Me. Me, was a great Dane mixed with something. Mini Me was some kind of boxer. They were fairly well behaved only moaning and panting heavily, very agitated. We left Cashew out in the car until we were called to spare him the stress of sharing the small space with the dogs. 

Owner, Me and Minime

Minime, handsome but anxious.

Just as it happens when you take your car into a garage with a problem, the problem disappears, so did Cashew perk up and start jumping around on the examining table while we waited for Dr. Jones. He peered into C's throat and said it was red. He couldn't see an obstruction. We left while he took an X-ray and anesthetized Cashew for further examination.

An hour later, the assistant appeared with the offending stiff, pronged grass in hand. It was stuck in Cashew's palate; the poor cat was really suffering. The quarter is only for size comparison. The price was much higher—$450.00. Worth every penny for the services of the excellent and compassionate Dr. Jones. He is worth his weight in gold.