A sick cat gave our little kindergartener a hand-on lesson about what a vet does.
At 12:30 am on Monday, the hubby woke me up and said our cat Kyrie was sick. The hubby had been cleaning up stinky drops our cat had been dripping throughout the house.
With everything going on in our lives, the last thing we needed was a sick cat. The only thing missing was a crashing asteroid or locusts.
The next morning, I felt tense. Our work and homeschool week got off to a shaky start.
Right off the bat, T had a meltdown because we were putting his toys away, so he could be less distracted during school.
We managed to get him to sit for part of language class discussion on “When I Grow Up,” a fun coincidence since I just blogged about this topic.
This time, instead of saying he wanted to be a parent, T told me and I shared on his behalf with the class that he wanted to be a police officer so he can put bad guys in jail!
A few kids talked about wanting to be a vet, which T learned was a doctor that helped animals get better.
The rest of the day felt stressful because it was meltdown after meltdown with T refusing to sit for class.
As always, many tears later, I was able to sit down with him one on one to catch him up on the day’s lessons and to complete the work.
He then asked if he could join the hubby to take Kyrie to the vet.
We had a lightbulb moment to tie this into the morning’s lesson about grown up jobs.
So the hubby walked T step by step through the process of preparing the cat for the vet, including getting the crate out and giving him a calming medicine.
They left for the vet and it was so nice to have an hour and a half of peace and quiet to actually focus on my day job!
They came home with good news. The vet said it wasn’t serious. Kyrie likely chewed on something sharp that gave him an abscess in his mouth that got infected. He got put on antibiotics.
The best part was that the vet put this silly cone on him that makes him look like he’s auditioning for The Handmaid’s Tale.
I couldn’t stop laughing! I’ve always seen photos of animals with cones on but never in real life.
And the cone wouldn’t fit around T’s head. I checked and tried. Oh shucks.
The experience with the vet reminded me that for a child, learning is not just about sitting in front of a tablet or completing worksheets – although these tasks are still important to master.
There are additional ways to learn.
Getting T to participate in something he was interested in – helping care for Kyrie – gave him a good lesson into what being a vet and to care for a sick animal is all about.
After dinner that night, T wanted to pretend play Kyrie’s visit to the vet. He wanted me to be the vet and he wanted to be the cat.
Kyrie’s large crate was still in the foyer and T crawled right in! He didn’t quite fully fit in, but believe me, I had some pretty mischievous thoughts right then and there!
LoL This was such an endearing post, and I’m glad your kitty is doing well! I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Thank you! The cone is off now and everyone is doing better. And thank goodness it’s the weekend! Happy weekend to you too!
Hahaha we have all had those thoughts! Glad your adorable kitty wasn’t serious and what an excellent lesson for T! I’m glad he wasn’t the doctor and had you be the cat, that may have been hard getting out the cage! 🤣😂🤣
I’m trapped in a different cage called virtual schooling. 😭I’d rather wear a cone. Hahaha.
What a great post and learning experience for T. I love your humor and expect it helps with your solid perspective. I am so glad your kitty is ok. 🤍🤍
Thanks LaDonna! Humour is definitely a coping mechanism. Some days are just nervous laughter but it does help us get through the tougher moments of each day.
Hope you are taking care! I poke in from time to time to your blog but I imagine you are very busy outside your blogging! 😊
I’m glad you do have that release 🤍. And, thank you for checking in. I really appreciate this. I think I’m still finding my way in the blogging world.
Happy Friday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
What an experience. So pleased it worked out
Thank you. Us too. One less thing to deal with on an already packed plate!
What a great hands-on experience for T! That is such a great reminder because I know how frustrated I get with Declan’s lack of focus and interest to learning on zoom. He doesn’t pay attention to the lessons, but it doesn’t change that he actually needs to learn the material. And that is good news about Kyrie. The cone of shame is funny. I laughed when you tried it on T 🙂 I am glad it all worked out and new lesson was learned!
Thanks Robyn. I am so tired of virtual learning. His teachers are so organized and have made it easier but nonetheless still very challenging. It was only supposed to be a week then three weeks now five weeks until Feb 10. I think it’ll be till at least after March Break. Boo. Stupid pandemic.
Good luck with your own learning with Declan!!!
Oh my gosh, that is a long time. Here’s hoping for more good, instead of challenging, days ahead!