False Alarm

DB's fine. He started eating again in earnest this afternoon, and all his tests came back normal. Why'd he stop in the first place? Anybody's guess. But he had lost weight, was behaving sluggishly and was slightly more than moderately dehydrated. So something was out of kilter, but not dangerously so.

I think DB's body is a system in flux, always teetering on the edge of extremes. He has so many minor issues that can sometimes add up in unexpected ways. I think in this case he somehow wound up more dehydrated than normal, which may have caused more gastro-intestinal distress than he normally finds himself in and made swallowing difficult or painful. He stopped eating which led to listlessness and a lack of motivation. Once we got him drinking again, which took a few hours to really take hold, everything seemed to start turning around.

Or maybe he's just experimenting on us. I wouldn't put it past those befuddled masking keenly aware eyes to rattle the cage every so often, just to see who's paying attention.

We are, you schmuck. Now cut it out.

Mildly Blah is Fine As Long As It's Not Getting Any Worse

Monday I started feeling a tad under the weather. Just a sore throat. Then Tuesday I came home feeling mildly feverish. I was. I had a temp of a 100. Not very high, but just enough to make me a little achy, dry out my eyes and run me down. I was nervous because the next day I'd worked out with Renegade to work a night shift so that I could spend all morning and afternoon at Stevenson Ln. I took two Excedrin and the fever broke. The next day I was fine.

Two days later I still have the mild sore throat, but that's it, and things don't show any signs of worsening. For me, this is generally as sick as I ever get. Sometimes a runny nose, sometimes a cough, and always the sore throat, but that's it.

So I count my blessings. I could have Ebola.

I love our cats

Our cat Banjo hasn't been feeling well lately. The vet listed a few scenarios that could explain his symptoms, and so far tests have ruled out everyone of them except for an extreme shift in food preference and cancer. And Banjo's never been terribly finicky. It's a very strange experience. Banjo has been healthy his entire life. I honestly can't remember a time in the last 14 years when he's been even slightly ill. I was beginning to imagine that he was either the feline equivalent of a Highlander, or just too dim to figure out how to get sick (Banjo's agile and friendly...but he's not a triple threat.)

So to suddenly seem him sleeping all the time, not eating, and slinking around with his head low, breaks my heart. In the process though, I'm reminded about just how important he, and DB, and now Midnight (Kate's cat) are to me. I figure I've known Banjo and DB longer than most of the people in my life. In a very real sense, they are two of my oldest friends. And my only non-english speaking friends.

So yeah. I love our cats. It's an obvious positive, I'll admit. But it's not until you're faced with potential loss that you realize fully what it is you have.