Sitting in the corridor of the pet hospital now, looking at the closed door of the operating room, my heart is filled with indescribable complex emotions. This 15 – month – old female Siamese cat is a precious “daughter” to my partner and me. Today, we accompany her through this “tough battle” of sterilization, and every minute of waiting feels like an ordeal.
Recalling the reasons and circumstances leading up to her sterilization, there is nothing but helplessness and heartache. She didn’t experience her first heat until she was 14 months old, and during the examination, we found out she was too thin. The days of her heat period were a “tribulation” for both her and us. For a whole week, she was restless and kept howling, and I couldn’t sleep well every day. We tried to find a mate for her, but it was unsuccessful. Watching her suffer, my heart ached. Siamese cats are known for their hardiness. They are usually lively and active and rarely get sick. However, once they face health problems, the feeling of distress can only be truly understood through personal experience.
The process of sterilization was even more nerve – wracking. I watched nervously throughout the injection process. When collecting blood for the blood routine test, the needle went in multiple times before getting a small amount of blood. She resisted fiercely due to fear and pain, refused to be held down, and soon the area where the blood was drawn became swollen. When it came to the anesthesia injection, it was a long and difficult process. The first two attempts were unsuccessful, and it was not until the third try that the injection was successful. There were two more injections of medicine after that. Watching the thin needle pierce her small body again and again, my eyes welled up with tears from the pain in my heart. Now, she lies quietly on the operating table, her small figure making the tears I’ve been holding back well up in my eyes.
My partner was also extremely tormented. He couldn’t bear to watch and went out to smoke several cigarettes. When it came to blood drawing and injections, he always held the cat tightly and wouldn’t let me get close. He said, “Let Pi Pi hate me instead.” In his own way, he silently took on this pressure, just to spare me from more sadness.
During the waiting process, a strange and tense feeling came over me, as if I was standing outside a delivery room, filled with anxiety, fear, and worry. I’m afraid she won’t wake up, that there will be sequelae from the surgery, and even absurdly worried that she will run away out of resentment when she wakes up. I know that from the moment we decided to raise her, we took on the responsibility. She will need to receive intravenous infusions for three consecutive days, and she can’t eat until 8 hours later. She has already been hungry for a whole day for the surgery. Just thinking about this breaks my heart.
The arrival of this female Siamese cat has allowed us to experience the feeling of “being parents” in advance. In the process of educating her, we may not be perfect, but she has made us deeply understand the difficulty of balancing work and companionship. Raising a pet is never an easy thing. It means responsibility, dedication, and countless moments of concern. Whether it’s raising a Siamese cat, other pets, or even before deciding to raise a child, we need to think carefully and be prepared to take on everything. Because once we make the choice, it is a lifetime of guardianship and love. At this moment, I only hope the surgery goes smoothly and my “daughter” can come back safely. In the days to come, we will still be together.
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