Sunday, April 13, 2008

Oh No CO?

Theo and I had a rough week. Besides his discontent Monday as I stayed home sick, I accidentally stepped on his tail yesterday causing a bit of a yelp. Then today I accidentally pinched his tail as I was closing the dryer door. Maybe it's best for him to keep his distance from me for a few days.

Actually, he also hissed at me for the first time. He was sleeping on my chest and I reached over to get a bottle of water on the coffee table. I don't know if I startled him, or if the plastic bottle rubbing against the table made some noise he didn't like, but he hissed (albeit it was a small tiny hiss).

The hiss and his Monday behavior, plus his vomiting a couple of times this week made me think that maybe he isn't feeling well either. I got a bit of a scare Friday afternoon when I went back to the doctor to have my hemoglobin level retested. While I was waiting, I Googled "cause of high hemoglobin" and one of the first listings mentioned carbon monoxide poisoning. Given my observation that Theo might not be feeling well, the thought flashed in my mind that we were all being poisoned by a bad furnace or something. When I got home I moved my carbon monoxide detector to different spots in the house including by the furnace and the reading remained zero. I am still paranoid since how does one know if one's carbon monoxide detector is functioning properly?

5 comments:

Angel MoMo and Charlotte said...

Get another one to check against the one you have may be an answer. It is unusual for a normally placid kitty to hiss at such minor disturbance

Karen Jo said...

Momo has a good idea. Also, is there somewhere you can get it checked? Maybe the city or county government has a department that helps people with situations like this.

Daisy said...

That is a little bit scairty. We do not have gas where I live so I do not know anything about carbon monoxide. You are smart to check it out though.

I almost never, ever hiss unless I have been startled. I have hissed before when my Mommie stepped on my tail.

Anonymous said...

We only hiss at the evil Menace Cat across the street when he tries to come into our yard. Sometimes a little paranoia can be helpful. If you're concerned, you should probably double check to ease your mind.

Denise said...

I second the motion that you should buy a second one. They need to be replaced every ten years anyway and it's really not worth the risk. Sound like you'll be able to open some windows tomorrow!