Looking Him in the Eye

Yesterday, Presto went to the doctor again for a second opinion on his left eye. The eye is still not clear enough for a very good examination, but it does look like the lens is detached. Depending on where it is in the eyeball, it could settle back into place, or it could cause further problems. In the meantime, there is pressure building, and the doctor is worried about the possibility of glaucoma developing.

There is a chance that a special surgery can correct the problem, if the exact problem could be identified. That surgery would be very expensive and not necessarily conclusive. It’s not felt to be practical for Presto.

For now, he continues to receive the Prednisolone drops - which have reduced some swelling and discomfort - but he is probably looking at the loss of an eye.

The Other Side

Coda is still apprehensive over my presence, but comes out of hiding while I am in the back parlour. He stayed hidden for the whole of the movie on Saturday night, but I think the extra voices he heard scared and confused him. The same thing happens when I am in the room and speaking on the telephone. But he is growing used to me.

He is also interested in the cats beyond the closed door. The Tempos are especially curious about him. This Friday, he will have been in quarantine for two weeks, and he shows no sign of any illness. This weekend, therefore, Coda’s world may expand.

Millie's New Life

Every time there is an adoption through the rescue-group, I interview the new owner and write an article about her or him  and their new family member for the group’s newsletter. I spoke with Millie’s new human recently and, though I don’t have permission to publish any new pictures of my former foster-cat, I can report that it is a very successful adoption.

Millie had little trouble adapting to her changed situation. I am sure that part of her missed the routine that was comfortable and familiar at the Cosy Cabin. I am also sure that missing her old life didn’t last long when she realised that she was now an only-cat. She and her person are getting along very well. Millie sleeps with her every night, usually on her pillow, sometimes on her head. I knew Millie wanted to sleep with a human when she quickly chose to lie on the bed during my naps; I am very pleased she has the freedom to do that at night, too, now.

She also plays more, and has a collection of toys that she sometimes brings into the bedroom. Her person described how she will wake to find a small pile of toys has been gathered during the night. Millie is enjoying being brushed, something for which I didn’t always have time; I was told that it is quite funny how Millie contorts herself into different shapes in her delight at being brushed - though, ironically, it make the brushing more difficult.

Millie is eating well - with the time and security to eat when she likes - and using the litter-box without a problem. Readers may recall that that was an issue with which she arrived at the Cosy Cabin. I think the evaporation of stress that occurred moving to a home where she is the only animal plays a great part in its continued resolution.

Initially, Millie’s person was interested in Valkyrie, but the Eternal Kitten would not have suited her, something she knew even at the time. Valk was too young, too energetic and liked other feline company too much to be an only-cat. After Valk was adopted, I told the woman about Millie, who is a much better fit. Millie, who has a different name now, could not have found a better home or a better person. Her final home is her happiest, by far.

Sooner or Later

This is Sable. Why she is sprawled in front of my computer monitor, I don’t know. She has just started doing it. She also lies on the top of the short, small dresser next to the desk. If she wants to be cool, there are other places she could lie that are farther from me.

From her lying on the near side of Moxy while on the bed at night to letting me squat very close to her to lying on my desk, Sabe seems to want to be physically closer to me - yet she still won’t allow me to touch her. Nonetheless, I will use the opportunities she’s presenting me. When she is on my desk, I will sit and try to work on the computer. That may allow her to grow used to my hands moving while very near her.

Sooner or later, my girl, sooner or later…

A Mother's Love

I’m not the only one who cares about the Tempos’ well-being.

Periodically, I lock them in the library, especially at meal-times, when being among the other cats may be distracting to them. As well, afterward, they tend to snooze, their tummies full. This allows the adults some time away from the antics of the kittens. But then I let them out again.

Every time I let them out, Rhapsody comes and waits for them, usually at the top of the staircase. They gather around her, purring loudly. She still loves her boys, and they still love her.

A Serious Development for Presto

Over the past few days, Presto’s eye condition returned, so it was time to take him to the doctor. Unfortunately, the rescue-group’s regular veterinary was fully booked until next week. However, my own cats - as opposed to my fosters - go to another hospital. I like to maintain that situation for such events as this. I called my veterinary hospital. They too were full until Monday, but they promised to call if was a cancellation. There was, and Presto travelled to see a doctor at two o’clock this afternoon.

Unfortunately, his eye condition is serious. I didn’t think it was a viral or bacterial infection, since Presto has not been under any condition that his brothers have not, and he has associated with them freely and continually since birth - and with the perma-cats almost as long. No one else has suffered from his ailment. And Presto continued to eat well. I suspected an injury: an infected scratch, a poke, etc.

The doctor diagnosed lens luxation. This is the detachment of the eye’s lens, due to the breakage of the zonules, which are the tiny filaments that hold it in place. (I didn’t know anything other than its purpose kept it stationary.) This, indeed, may be caused by injury, but it may also be genetic. A clearer examination of the scene is required, and so prednisone drops have been given, to reduce the inflammation, pressure and discomfort Presto is probably feeling - and to present a better means of observation.

If the damage is great enough, Presto could lose his eye. There is the possibility that, if genetic, the same thing could occur in his other eye. For now, though, the the problem exists only in the left, which could need removing.

To be honest, though the examination was thorough, and the diagnosis meets the symptoms, the conclusions are so severe that I felt a second opinion was in order. In this, I am fully supported by the rescue group. The trouble is that the doctor Presto saw is a locum tenens, a temporary staff member, and not one of the doctors at that hospital with whom I am familiar. This is not to disparage the doctor, who seemed very competent and knowledgeable. But I don’t know her technique, her manner of assessment; whether she is quick to draw conclusions, or prefers to try different methods. If this were a simpler matter, I wouldn’t be so concerned about a second opinion. 

In any case, Presto will be seeing the rescue-group’s regular doctor on Tuesday. This will give the drops time to work. In the meanwhile, the report on Presto will be forwarded to the other hospital. I suspect that the first doctor is perfectly correct in her findings. But with anything as serious as this, being told that by another veterinary is, I think, necessary.

Rhapsody’s first-born is accepting the medicinal drops manfully, is eating satisfactorily and is even active, though not entirely as playful as he has been. He will receive his treatment over the weekend, and be assessed again next week.

That Sudden Moment

A number of readers have asked how I am feeling. I am better; the worst aspects of whatever I had lasted only a day and a bit. A dry cough continues; I have found that a cough tends to linger after the more troubling symptoms of an illness disappear. I went back to work the day subsequent to staying home, and am recovered to a great extent.

More importantly, Coda has emerged from hiding.

I have been spending time lying on the floor in the back parlour, talking to him. Last night, he came out, bit by bit. He was still wary, but he was purring the whole time; this may have been, though, a nervous purr, used to reassure himself. In any case, he took the dare and showed himself. There always seems to be that one moment when a cat decides, suddenly, to risk the chance.

He even sniffed my fingers. I don’t think he liked the smell. He knows there are other cats in his new home, but knowing their presence and smelling it are two different things to a feline. That will be dealt with. In the meantime, he is becoming braver, more confident; he is playing, and looking out windows. He still has a week remaining in his quarantine; I will use the time to let him become more accustomed to me. I then intend to let him meet his fellow kittens, and perhaps Moxy.

Yes, Coda is a kitten. I mentioned that previously, but not his age, until yesterday. The veterinary explained to me that a cat’s adult molars, incisors and fangs (it’s silly to call them canines…) come in at different stages. I think she stated that the incisors grow in first; then the fangs, and lastly the molars. Coda does not have his molars, which places him at about five months of age. That makes him approximately two weeks older than the Tempos. Just the right age for making new friends.