Adventures in catsitting a high maintenance cat

This wasn’t going to be the usual slam dunk catsitting gig of just feeding and lots of petting. Oh no, this time syringes and drugs were involved. After an orientation from Theo’s “mom” of how to administer antibiotics and insulin, and the all important demonstration of how not to hurt myself with the syringe, I was up for the challenge. My main concern was that I was going to hurt Theo, afterall I’ve never given anyone, let alone a cat, an injection. Actually, giving a cat a shot was easier than I expected. While Theo was eating, I gently pulled up the scruff of his neck with one hand and then with the other hand poked a needle in the back of his neck. In the subsequent days, the insulin shots were a breeze and Theo lapped up the antibiotic-laced milk. The hard part was gauging Theo’s mood… one day he was friendly, the next day he was skittish and anti-social, then the next day he was friendly again. I thought maybe the drugs were making him bi-polar, but when he pooped outside his litter box, it did cross my mind that he was sending me a “high maintenance” message.