Lumpy

We took the older cat in for a look at two lumps that have been around and seemed pretty harmless, but started showing redness in the last few days. After the insertion of a couple of needles into them and a look at the results under the slides, it appears that are a type of mass that is typically benign in cats but can change and cause a problem. So we have a visit with our regular vet already set up in a couple of weeks to assess his overall health and talk about surgery. The redness is probably more an indication of excessive licking than a scary change, but I suspect that the final advice will be for surgery.

This cat has periodic bouts of being just ill enough to cost us money but never having a really serious or debilitating problem. He's a neurotic mess in a tank of a physical plant. He is the only cat I have ever lived with whose sanity relied on licking a plastic orange bag (grapefruit also OK) a few times a day. When we arrived here for vacation, having forgotten the bag from home, our first purchase had to be a bag of oranges. His rituals at this point include a calming collar, the plastic bag to lick, a rope scratching pad or post of the right shape and size between where he sleeps and where he eats, a ready supply of mouse-like mouse toys and occasional dabs of a homeopathic calming oil. We have spent less effort and creativity keeping cats on daily medication for terminal illnesses on an even keel than this guy. But we keep doing it - proving that loyalty often lacks common sense.

Other than that news, it has been a daunting but good day. We are going home without my violin of over 30 years, herself being replaced with a new (old) one that promises more sound and an easier playing experience than her. She is in good hands and will find a decent home, far enough away from me that I won't find her next to me being played by some fool that I can't stand.

The conditions here today have been quite lumpy, not a day for small craft with high winds and fog banks rolling in and out. It is a damp kind of day all around.