No answers yet

Why, I ask you, can't it be the easy solution just once?  The vet called me today, and said he's 98 percent certain, based on the early test results, that Louie does not have hyperthyroidism.  That's good news...but we still don't know what's wrong with him.

It could be as simple as a parasite, which is easily diagnosed with a $30 test, and cheaply treated.  Or it could be a GI problem, or an inflamed bowel, or some kind of cancer.  In order to diagnose these latter three, we would be looking at an ultrasound ($800) or an endoscopy ($1200), and that's just the cost of figuring out what's wrong--not treating it.

Have I mentioned that I really like this vet?  He gives me detailed information with which to make informed decisions, and he's sensitive to cost and practicality when it comes to treatment.  So if the parasite test is negative, he suggested that we put Louie on a special hypoallergenic (=$$) diet, and monitor him for a month.  If he gains back some weight, we know it was the bowel thing and he just has to be on that diet for the rest of his life.  If not....Well, we didn't get that far.

I love my pets, I really do.  And I want to be a responsible pet owner.  But I also try to be practical.  He is my cat, not my child (does this sound familiar, readers? remember this same debate from a year ago with a certain German shepherd?), and I don't think that just because we can treat animals with advanced internal medicine and specialized procedures, we necessarily should.  Even if he has something that could be treated and give him additional time, I'm concerned about his quality of life.  A person can rationally understand that even though a treatment is painful, it is for a purpose.  My cat is not going to grasp that concept.

Sorry to get maudlin on you again.  I'm just worried.  And tired.  And stressed out at work.  I like my job most of the time, but lately I feel like I'm getting about 10% of 10% of the necessary information to be effective.  My immediate supervisor only gets some of the facts (nobody seems to know everything, so at least we're all in the same boat there), and she only has time to throw a few of them my way when I see her between meetings and crises.  It's been chaotic and frustrating.  I think it will get better.  I just hope it's soon.

I've been having headaches, too.  I went to the doctor last week, and he thinks I'm clenching my teeth in my sleep, so now I have a very attractive bite guard (think hockey player) to wear at night.  It seems to be helping, because I haven't woken up with a migraine.

But in the interest of ending on a positive note, here's some good news:  the community orchestra I play with has a new director, since our founding director retired in 2008 and we tried out three candidates last year (and hired my favorite).  I think it's going to be a great season, and I'm motivated to practice my viola for the first time in ages.  There are so many new players that we actually ran out of chairs tonight.  So that's good.

I'll try to post an update when we know more about Louie.  Not to be indelicate, but I have been waiting for him to leave a, um, sample, so that I can take it to the vet for testing.  Sensing this, he has been avoiding the litter box.