then she appeared

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts regarding Harry. I miss him a lot, but to be honest I started to feel a lot of relief almost right away. He was very sick the last day, and knowing that I could relieve his suffering gave me a little comfort.

Sam seems to be handling things well. He's run around the house a couple of times looking under things and looking in Harry's usual sports, but he doesn't seem distressed yet. I don't know how he'll be as time passes and Harry doesn't come home. To my knowledge, he's never been alone before. And he's pretty attention-needy.



It's very sad and strange to only have one little furry critter waiting at the door for me when I come home. I haven't had only one cat since 1990 (except for one month after Xing died and before I got the boys). Growing up I always had multiple cats, too. Mom is completely against getting another cat, so I think it's just me and Sam for a while.

What's that? you exclaim, A cat that hates the vet?! Unbelievable!!

Harry, who is generally the better of my two beasts, had to be muzzled at the vet today. I guess he's finally reached his limit of what he'll put up with.

Naturally he was displeased before we got there. I got him a new carrier, you'd think he'd be grateful. But no.



After they stole his blood, pee, and dignity it was back into the carrier. He had a lot to say about the whole process.

OK, so in the last few weeks I've spent a LOT of time at the vet. And, as one would assume, a LOT of money.

GreyKitty (15): After her initial diagnosis of diabetes, she had a follow-up visit a week later to see how the insulin was working on her. She wasn't eating enough, was weak, listless, and dehydrated again. My vet recommended getting an ultra$ound to make sure that there were no tumors (he couldn't tell from the $x-ray) so we had to go to Mass Vet Referral Hospital, which is a referral and emergencies only pet hospital. Meaning, expensive. Harry had his eye removed there, so I was pretty familiar with the place. After determining that GreyKitty was tumor-free, they told me that they wanted to hospitalize her and try to get her kidneys, hydration, and insulin all stabilized. Ok. She went in Friday April 21 and came home late Monday April 24. And it only cost me $2,000!

She was a lot better when she got out, and we've now added daily subcutaneous fluids to our insulin ritual. Despite being a pincushion, she's gained back a little weight and her eyes and coat are much healthier looking, but she's still not eating enough. We went in again yesterday for kidney function and blood glucose tests, and everything is pretty good except her potassium levels. This means it's now supplement time! My vet has to order some. Oh boy! Now it's $20 per month for the insulin and needles, $75 per month or so for the fluids (if they have to continue) and who knows how much for the supplement!

Harry (14?): My vet called me back after Harry's bloodwork came back and said "Now I know why Harry only gained one pound to Sam's five! Because he has hyperthyroidism!" Hyperthyroidism has sort of fun symptoms: Constant hunger but no weight gain, lots of vocalizing (Harry is VERY chatty), very little sleep, lots of activity. We never would have guessed he was sick, since he seemed so happy and healthy. But no. Medication time! $40 per month. Then, once his thyroid calms down, he gets to have dental surgery and a lumpectomy (his jaw has a lump). $700! If I want the thyroid "cured" I'd need to do a very expensive radiation treatment. And I couldn't hold him for a week, since he'd be radioactive! Interesting, but scary.

Sam (14?): Sam is fat fat fat. Sam needs his teeth done. Sam hasn't had his bloodwork done yet, because they decided Harry's teeth were bad enough that he had to be done first, and they like to do the bloodwork right before the surgery. But he'll need at least $200 worth of dental work and about $200 for the urinalysis and bloodwork. I dread the bloodwork -- it'll be such fun to find out which condition Sam has, and how much it will cost.

Lesson to be learned: Do not have cats who are all around the same age. Stagger them by several years -- otherwise they all hit their sell-by date at the same time, make you sad, and cost you a small fortune. And get pet insurance. Which you can't afford when your pets are already elderly. Sigh.

I need a third job!

So pretty, my one-eyed boy!