Ichthyophobia

Hi, my name is Katie and I am afraid of fish.  Specifically the idea of eating fish or touching fish makes me feel all ookey inside.  I get this weird feeling in the small of my back that makes me wriggle when I think about either of those things.  Also, I have problems with smelling fish or being too close to fish.

I know what you are thinking, how do I handle scuba diving?  First of all, I wear a wetsuit while diving to minimize the chances of actual skin contact with a fish.  But there is also something magical about scuba diving because when I'm down there, it's like being an observer in a completely different world.  The fish don't care that I'm down there watching them, and I do my best to give them (and me) some serious elbow room.

I've had some recent encounters with fish that have made the people around me curious.  This last week we went to dinner at Iguana Cafe where they primarily cook fish.  The guy next to me ordered shrimp, so I thought I knew what was coming.  Instead of typical American shrimp though, the waiter puts this massive crayfish down right next to me.  I immediately jumped up with my plate because it felt like the extra long antennas were going to touch me or my food.  Uck!

While snorkeling in Champagne Bay I pushed the limits of my fear by being so close to so many fish.  Snorkeling there was beautiful, but there were just too many fish at once.  At one point, there were several schools of fish that kept surrounding us, and I ended up swimming directly behind one of my friends hoping her movements would make the fish swim off.  I started to get all queasy inside and felt the need to get out of the water immediately- which makes no sense at all.

I like to call my problem a "mental allergy."  Rationally, I know fish are not going to hurt me.  I know that eating a bite won't kill me.  However, I just can't bring myself to eat or touch one. 

What's really interesting is how my fear of fish effects other people.  There's always a person who wants to trick me into eating or touching a fish.  And always a person who sympathizes because they have their own {irrational} fear.  The latter are usually the kind I ask to taste-test dishes that look 'fishy.' 

Sick kitty

What a day we've had.  Little Evie wouldn't eat yesterday and we noticed that she was very lethargic and pale in the ears/nose/mouth.  Her health started deteriorating very quickly last night to the point that Chris and I starting feeding her sugar water with a syringe every few hours because she was barely moving and breathing rapidly.

laying on my homemade "heated waterbed"
(the Bloggess gets all the credit for that idea!)

This afternoon a local vet and vet tech both came over to help.  She was given fluids with an IV on our counter and several different shots.  They said that she is anemic and most likely has worms.  Apparently Advantix is not sufficient in Dominica to protect your animals.  If you have a pet the local vets need to give them a special type of medicine that protects against local parasites.  Please do this if you have a cat or dog on the island.

She started drinking water this evening, and I broke down and bought tuna for her to try eating, and it worked!  I read online that sometimes cats will eat tuna when they refuse to eat anything else.   If you know me, you also know that I have a mental allergy to all things "fish" so this was a big deal.  I also hope that she isn't allergic, but I'd rather her be scratching and with us.  My kitties have a terrible food allergy to poultry which makes feeding particularly tricky.

food allergies :(

Did you know that if a cat goes longer than 48 hours without food it's like a death sentence?  So terrible.  I am so thankful that the vet was able to come to our house.  

p.s. Tropical Storm Emily missed us almost entirely.