The day after she arrived, Mia developed an abscess in her mouth, probably as a result of her bad teeth. We went to the local vet, Dr. Anne-Laurie Plessy-Monroy at Clinique Vétérinaire Codes Sur Ciel, who turns out to be awesome. She speaks English (husband grew up in the US) and is thoughtful and patiently explains everything. She also found antibiotics without chicken (to which Mia is allergic). Mia had a week of antibiotics to take out the abscess although it did not help with the pain and she had a hard time eating. She went in today for a teeth cleaning and extraction (they kept her all day to make sure she came out okay from the anesthetic). She came home lively, hungry, and ready to play with her new cat toys and catnip ball. Not bad for 16 and a half years old!
Meanwhile, there has been a communication (through glass) between Mia and Gato Gâteau, the local cat who adopted us just after we moved in and keeps the rat population at zero. Gato is many years Mia’s junior, and is strictly outside, although we do feed her to suppliment the rats; and Mia has been strictly inside for most of her adult life and happy to stay that way.
Both cats are really friendly, though. Gato has a tendency to jump onto walls and tables to make it easier to pet her while Mia just gets onto laps as soon as anyone sits down. I’m not sure whether they will like each other, but I am guessing we will find out soon enough
