It’s been so long since I posted that I’m almost afraid to come back. Is there anyone out there reading my blog anymore? Luckily, followers have never been the motivation behind my writing. As with so many other things, falling out of a writing routine was much easier than doing it every day.
Ideas have been percolating in my mind but putting them on paper, as it were, has become difficult. There are so many excuses – finding the time, words not coming the way I want them to, etc. etc. etc. But this is a new year and excuses won’t cut it anymore. I miss my blog and I’m going to try to visit more often.
As I wrote on Spike and Dru’s blog , we discovered a mass by my cat George’s tail in mid-December. We took him to the emergency vet that night, then to our regular vet the following week. On New Years Eve, we saw the surgeon who told us it should come out as soon as possible. Due to its placement, she thought she could get it out without having to remove the tail, but if the mass grew any bigger, the tail would be in danger. Since George is a dapper fellow and quite fond of his tail, we arranged to have the surgery yesterday (1/2/11). In doing some preliminary x-rays, another mass was seen in his chest and the vet recommended having a cardiologist do an echo-cardiogram and aspirate the mass (remove cells using a needle) while George was under anesthesia for the surgery.
We dutifully dropped poor George off yesterday morning. After having a quick chat with the surgeon and leaving a large amount of money as deposit, we went home to wait. This is the first time I’ve had to leave an animal for a surgery that doesn’t involve routine removal of reproductive organs, and I came very close to getting sick on the way out. But Helen was there to pick up the pieces and fill me full of Dunkin Donuts.
The surgery went very well. The echo-cardiogram and the aspiration of the chest mass were inconclusive so the vet will be sending the cells to the pathologist for evaluation, along with the mass she removed from the tail. We’ll know the outcome of those in about a week. But she was so happy with the way everything went that George got to come home last night instead of today as we originally planned. A portion of his back and tail are shaved and he’s on pain medication, but he’s home where he belongs.
Since getting the dogs a year ago, they have taken the majority of my attention. Being so self-sufficient, the cats moved more into the background. They are always there but they don’t NEED as much of me. However, I didn’t realize how much I notice them, albeit subconsciously. I missed George and not because I was thinking of his surgery. He is always at the door waiting for us when we come in. He is the self-nominated food ambassador, reminding us to feed everyone – starting about two hours before their scheduled meals. He is the random rub as he passes me to get to his food bowl. He is the orange in a sea of black and white (and grey)! I missed him so much yesterday and I am so glad to have him back.
