In May 1998 I had to go into hospital for an operation. Everything went alright and I was allowed to go home two days later. My kitties were very happy to see me when I got home -- they had missed me and I them.

During my two week convalescence, my kitties Romeo and Juliet became particularly smoochy and spent almost all day every day sleeping with me in bed. Romeo slept on my tummy, whilst Juliet's preferred sleeping place was curved next to my side with my arm around her. Both cats sleep under the covers and purr almost continuously. Occasionally, when they feel especially good they might drool a little, but never enough for me to be concerned.

One week into my recovery, I noticed that Romeo spent a lot more time in bed with me than he usually does. I also noticed that he was drooling a lot. Not just two or three drops -- I mean POOLS of drool! By the third day his condition did not improve so I promptly took him to the vet.

The vet checked his teeth, gums, and asked about Romeo's general well-being. As I conveyed to him, Romeo had not lost his appetite and was not exhibiting any signs of discomfort. The vet was puzzled because he could not see any reason for Romeo's excessive drooling. He did say that the condition was probably brought on by some kind of allergy, and that I should keep Romeo inside for several days to try to ascertain if it's something outside that is causing the allergy. He also explained that it could be something inside, but that we could only work this out by using the process of elimination.

I was just about to leave when it occurred to me that Romeo was drooling a lot more whenever he was cuddling me. I explained this to the vet and he advised me that the drooling could be the result of me changing my brand of deodorant, soap, or perfume. I had not changed any of these things. In fact, since the operation I was unable to use deodorant or perfume at all! I told the vet that the only thing different was that I'd had an operation 10 days earlier.

The vet instantly recognised that this was the reason why Romeo was drooling excessively. You see, when cats are wounded their instinct is to lick the wound and apply saliva to it in order to cleanse the area and promote healing. With his acute feline senses my darling kitty was aware that I was wounded so he was spending more time with me and drooling to help me heal.

What a sweetie ... my Romeo was looking after me ....

I love my kitties.

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