He can stop it if he pleases

One of the Old Woman's frequent admonishments, favorite quotes was from Alice in Wonderland:

Speak roughly to your little boy
and beat him when he sneezes.
He only does it to annoy,
he can stop it if he pleases.

I heard it anytime I took to whining about sniffles or aches or as what we might term today "first world problems, yo." And, I will admit that I tend to recite it when I feel someone is acting more for attention than real discomfort.

This week, the cat formerly known as Oscar the Bold went to the vet for his annual visit. They poked, and shot, and flushed ears, and gave him more attention than he wanted. When I got home from work, I noticed that he had one eye more significantly dilated than the other.

The next morning, same thing. I called the vet, explained my concern, and they suggested I bring him in. After spending a day blinking lights at him and shining flash lights at him . . . they decided he had an irritated nerve, probably from their cleaning his ears. They said it would probably resolve itself within the next two weeks.

When we got home, Oscar got a special treat of a bit of roasted chicken from the previous night's dinner. He was loved upon and spoiled. And, his eye went back to normal pretty quickly. Little, expensive, attention hound.