Felix the Cat

after days of not ljing about the happy things, this one's a crappy one:

Our kitten (Felix - yes, i know, but she really is a girl) hasn't been using her box for part of the time lately, so I took her into the vet yesterday to get them to run tests and things.  They gave her all of her shots and I brought her back home, and then woke up this morning to find she was favoring her back leg and that she'd peed in the bed last night (oh yes, right between the two of us.  So fun).  I freaked out a bit because last summer she'd had those problems with her back legs after we'd given her some medicine, so we popped back to the vet's with her (and it was so awful - she actually backed away from me when I put the carrier down and went to pick her up this morning!  Poor baby!), and even though they have absolutely no clue what it is, they ruled out the shots being the cause.  On the bad side she's also running a fever from the shots (kinda like when you get a flu shot and get a little fever), and so ... we have no real clue what's going on.  They called us a couple of minutes ago with the results of the blood and urine tests they ran yesterday and it looks like, even though they ruled out lukemia, she's definitely got some trouble with her kidneys -- AND they spotted something on the x-rays we brought them (from the visit to the emergency hospital last June) - they're weird deposits near the back of her body that aren't consistent with surgery or anything else ...

The upshot is I get to take her back in for more x-rays tomorrow so they can see if the weird deposits have grown or not since last June, and they're going to get more blood and things to retest.  If they cant' figure out what it is after that we'll be doing an ultra sound on her to see if they can find something in her bladder, etc.  

Oh, and she's also got the beginnings of cataracts.

Our poor baby.  She's curled up on the couch right now, sleeping the sleep of the tired and stressed out and probably achey.  We'll see what comes of the tests tomorrow ... at least I'm on spring break and have the time to run her into the hospital every day.

focus on the positive... there is still joy beyond the worry

First things first:
HAPPY BIRTHDAYtx_cronopio!
You are an amazing woman and it is my constant delight to have found a fellow liberal in these here Texas wilds. May this day (and this year) be top filled with joy. Cuz you, lady, merit joy, darnit!

Second things second:
Saturday night we went to our second concert in Austin, to see Matisyahu at Stubb's.  The concert was an absolute blast, and for those of you who think 'hasidic reggae'? what?  if you haven't heard him, you really don't know what you're missing.  Beautiful voice, and his encore was like a gigantic prayer - the best kind, where it's beautiful and moving and delighted all at the same time.  We came home energized and impressed and in love with him and his opening band ... Balkan Beat Box (yes, I know, another weird one)

Third things third:
We finally finished finishing our entertainment center, and spent a couple of hours hooking up the cables and the tv through the whole thing, and now we're offically entertained (or something like that).  The stain we picked is a dead on match for our coffee table, the two coats of poly look lovely, and we even raised the shelf and drilled new holes without major mishap.  Surprisingly we managed to fit 8 components inside along with the TV!  And they all work!  Yay for electronics.  There's even a little room left... which Neil promptly started to think about filling with another game system.  *shudders*

Fourth things fourth:
I'm on spring break!  Sleeping in!  Oh how I missed sleeping in!  I am, however, trying to finish all of my delayed (or ignored) homework before our friends Brad & Dar arrive on Thursday, which kind of belies the whole 'break' aspect.  But sitting on one's couch (or in the Vet's office) reading make a change of pace from my usual sitting on one's couch or in the Union reading.  Right?