How to Spend $34

I enjoy spending money. I don't do much of it, but I enjoy it. Here are some of my favorite ways to spend $34.

* 34 Whopper Juniors at Burger King. Not all at once.

* 9 fluffy coffee drinks. Not all at once.

* 54 Polar Teas. (Replacing the Polar Pops.)

* 68 items of clothing at a really good yard sale. (A rare find that that many 50 cent items would be worth having.)

* 7 items at Fashion Bug. (Assuming I hit a good sale and have coupons.)

* 2 CD's at my local Christian bookstore (BIG gamble that the ones I want are actually in stock...another story for another day when I've calmed down.)

* 7 books on the sale table.

You get the idea.

Wanna hear how I actually spent $34 today?

It was the fastest departure of said amount that I've ever encountered in my pet-mothering years.

I took Kaegan to the vet. Last week I noticed that he'd ripped about a quarter size piece of fur off his belly and was scratching and licking his skin until it was red and raw. I warned him that if he didn't stop, he'd have to go to the vet. I thought that was threat enough.

See, I took him to the vet when he was three months old. He lost his claws. I took him to the vet when he was six months old. He lost his manhood. I took him to the vet about two months after that for a rather annoying projectile pooping issue. The receptionist failed to suggest that I also bring a sample (which would have been oh so easy, yet gross, to collect), so they had to do a kitty-colonoscopy to dig out a sample. He hated me for quite a while after that. I figured with said experiences behind him, he'd be receptive to straightening up on his own.

I was wrong.

Quite frankly, I was worried I wouldn't even be able to catch him and put him in the carrier to get him to the vet. He knows that little box can't lead to anything good. But despite my worries, I donned my thickest winter coat and gloves, held him tight and got him in the carrier. He literally howled all the way to the vet. I cried all the way to the vet.

Once inside they weighed him (in the carrier) and the vet and I waited while Mr. Kaegan worked up the nerve to exit the carrier. I held him down, and the vet pulled up one of Kaegan's hind legs, rubbed the raw spot, and said, "He probably just irritated it. I'll give you some salve." Those two sentences cost me $34. I forked out another $7 for the salve - which I can only hope gets remotely near the sore. So much easier to apply when there are two people to one cat.