A First for Us

I cut Renn’s rear claws yesterday. Aside from the fact that he let me do so without a fuss - until he realised what I was up to - it was unusual in that this is the first time that I’ve had to trim a cat’s rear claws. I do keep an eye on them and they seem never to grow so much as to require shortening. My big boy was actually sticking to the rugs and carpets as he stepped, which is normally a result of lengthy front claws; in this case, it was the back ones.

But all was completed, and Renn returned to the rest that was undeservedly disturbed.

Party Atmosphere

The mood was one of feverish celebration when news broke that Imogen would be staying in the Cosy Apartment…

A Home for Imogen

It had to happen. Imogen has been adopted. She will be staying with me.

I have no doubt that, despite being a black cat, Imogen would have had further interest in her from other people. But some factors determined that she should remain with me.

Though she is more open to meeting new people than she was, I think she felt deeply her abrupt change of home after being abandoned. Though she would come around in time, I believe it would take her a while longer to trust someone new than it would for other cats.

That leads to another factor: Imo is not a lap-cat sort of creature. She is affectionate in her own way, and shows me that she likes and trusts me. She now sleeps on the bed next to me almost every night. She rubs up against me often and demonstrates when she wants attention. But she will as many times hurry away from me when I bend down to pet her; this isn’t fear but, oddly, humour. It amuses her to play with me. She likes to jump up on the bathroom counter, and spends many hours hidden away under bedclothes. Imogen may not be easily understood.

For her part, she has come to appreciate that there are other cats in her home, and that some may come and go with what a few felines may regard as disturbing irregularity. She has become a playmate to Percy and has tolerated (sometimes with badly-concealed annoyance) Dabney’s attempts to get to know her. She is an asset in a foster-home and, further, my opinion is that she benefits from knowing other cats (some more than others.)

Then there’s the fact that I like her a great deal.

I haven’t adopted a cat since Cammie. Though I may be wrong and Imogen would adapt very well to any new home, she is certainly no Percy or Horace, or even a Hector. Like Cammie, Imo is quite particular. I flatter myself that she has come to regard the Cosy Apartment as her home, and I her human. And I flatter myself still further that she likes that arrangement. Therefore, she will stay.

Developments

I remain guardedly hopeful for Neville. I am a bit concerned that his chin seems to be growing a little again, as if the infection was producing puss once more. I may be wrong. And the anti-biotic, which was injected this time, has a week to run its course, so this particular battle isn’t finished yet. My lion appears to be sleeping untroubled and his appetite remains decent. I placed a call to the veterinary hospital yesterday to talk to the doctor about Nev, and made another this morning. The doctor is the only one at the hospital for this week.

Another development is with Dabney. He has taken to sleeping at the foot of the bed, on the comforter, most nights, though he rarely stays the whole time, and is gone when I wake - though he readily comes to bid me a ‘good morning’. He also enjoys sleeping on the bed during the day. In addition, he has begun demanding his meals when he is hungry. I think these are positive signs, and shows an acceptance of the indoor life that was previously only partial. Dabney has become friendlier toward me, too, which I think demonstrates not his feelings to me so much as his potential for being open to other humans, and that bodes well for his future adoption.

Hope for the Lion, Part 2

What a reversal of fortune for Neville. He went to the hospital, and is still there.

A doctor different than the first saw him, and is certain that Nev’s problem is an abscess due to infection in the hole left from a tooth extracted a few months ago. He explained how an abscess can form in the chin – due to a lack of any channel that may be used for drainage – and how it can be emptied, the cavity cleaned and the hole sewn shut to avoid it happening again.

The surgery is taking place now, thanks, I think, to most people believing that this veterinary hospital was closed today (most businesses take Monday off in lieu of Saturday’s Canada Day; the hospital closed Friday, instead.) Time was available, which obviates Nev having to be brought in for another appointment tomorrow or whenever there is an opening. Afterward, he will receive an injection of strong anti-biotic; the previous ones we used either made the Nevsky sick or had minimal effect on the abscess, because of its isolated situation.

I asked the doctor outright if he thought Neville had cancer, and he said that it didn’t appear so. His partner had noted her ‘suspicions’ of carcinoma – which is not the more certain statement made to me – but even from the look of the infected spot, it seems not to be cancerous. Once the abscess burst, the infection subsided a bit, and it appears smaller and less red now than previously. It will, of course, worsen again without treatment, which is what Neville is receiving now.

Another blessing is that, while the veterinary was very reluctant to sedate Nev with normal drugs, due to his unmanaged diabetes, there are drugs that can by-pass such dangers, and that is what he will be given. Even so, my lion survived his dental surgery not so long ago without trouble.

This is a great relief for me. I will not assume that Neville has no cancer, though it now seems improbable. But he is at the age for it, and has had every other crisis, so I won’t uncross my fingers yet. And this is clearly a tricky condition he has, so I won’t disregard the possibility that it will recur. There is still his uncontrolled diabetes; was it caused by this infection, slowly working its way into an abscess? Maybe, maybe not; the diabetes may remain a difficulty. That written, I will consider first things first. A victory over Nev’s immediate problem feels impending, and he likely does not have cancer. I am very confident of better health for my grey lion.

Hope for the Lion

Today, I was going to take Neville to the veterinary hospital to say good-bye to him. Since the previous blog-entry about him, his condition had grown worse and, instead of not giving him his daily dose of pain-killer, I knew he had to have more than what had been prescribed. He was in a bad way.

But yesterday, a great deal of blood and puss broke out of his chin, which has now been reduced to a more normal size. Moreover, his behaviour makes it clear that he is not as distressed, and is more restful than he had been. These factors have made me wonder if his recent problems have stemmed from a severe abscess. So today, Nev is going to the vet, but for an examination and, possibly – possibly tomorrow – a cleansing of what may remain of an abscess while under sedation. This will be accompanied by an injection of a powerful anti-biotic. This has the advantage of being given directly into the system, though the disadvantage is that once it is given, it is given, and any ill effects must be endured. But a surgical cleansing would, hopefully, eliminate a recurrence of the infection, which would return unless aggressively dealt with.

The diagnosis of cancer could have been in error. Then again, it may have been correct. But I feel I can’t pass this opportunity for giving my grey lion a chance at a few more years, without pain. If it is cancer after all, then he may still have months ahead of him. I think it is worth investigating. In any case, I won’t let him suffer, and my eye will be closely on him.

A Sad Day

Poppy Q has died. For those who don’t know her, she was a lovely little girlcat who lived with her mum in New Zealand. She was sixteen, I think, and failing. Her mum knew that she would have to say good-bye very soon, so there was some time for her to prepare, but that never helps much when it comes to loss, anyway.

I visited Poppy’s blog every day for years, to see what was new. Hers were, perhaps, ordinary adventures: a new bed, a trip to the veterinary hospital, something delicious to eat. She would often wake her mum far too early, or prevent her from sleeping well during shift-work. But I don’t think it was minded too much.

Her mum thought it was time for Poppy’s last trip to the hospital earlier in the week, but the little grey cat rallied for a final day. It reminded me of when my Tucker was able to enjoy one more day, one more tasty meal, one more evening with his human. These are the splendid times we remember.

If you would like to visit Poppy’s blog and leave condolences, I think it would give comfort to her mum. Awareness that your loved one was known and is missed is a gift.

http://poppyq.blogspot.com