January 5, 2026

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟓 - 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲

As I mentioned yesterday, today was our surgery/doctor day. It was nice that we didn't have to focus on kittens and spay/neuter. Today, we got to pay some more attention to other things. The drug protocol for Escalante was much better this time and his dental went beautiful. He is now what we call a "gummy bear" meaning he has lost all of his teeth. He told us his mouth hurt by his weight and his overall unkempt appearance. However, when we looked at what we could see of his teeth, it didn't match. This is why dental x-rays are so imperative. They showed us what was really going on underneath. His teeth were resorptive which means most of them were being eaten away below the surface. This is very painful. In a couple of days, he is going to feel much better, and we will all celebrate a whole new kitty.

We were able to get a mass removal done on a kitten with a lump in his armpit. We are suspecting (and hoping) it's just a reactive lymph node from a previous vaccine but we are sending out the masses removed to the local university to get a pathologist review to be sure.

In working up one of our new seniors after she was noted to have lost weight, we used the ultrasound to get a good look inside and unfortunately, we found a large mass. We don't know what that means for her yet. Our doctor took samples and those are also going to the pathologist so we know what we're dealing with.

Unfortunately, we gained two more kitty angels. One was a senior who never recovered from being surrendered. I had stated on a previous day that sometimes these cats basically go on a hunger strike. This cat wouldn't let anyone close to him and wasn't eating and his liver was failing. He would not have allowed the aggressive medical management required to attempt to save him so sadly, we had to let him go. The other was our wonderful clinic cat and my constant desk mate, Buster Brown. He was a FIV+, diabetic with hypertension. Last week we did an ultrasound and found that his liver was very enlarged. He was still him and was enjoying his life lounging on my desk. Today was a different story. While he was still himself, we could see the decline. He was giving head butts until the end and he drifted off to sleep eating his favorite thing - string cheese. He also got some whipped cream that we save just for these occasions. I will miss my paperweight who was always happy to distract me from work by sitting on my keyboard, sending e-mails on my behalf unbeknownst to me and who was always happy to nudge my hand off the mouse as if to tell me it was time to take a break.

We also had a shelter return today that is sure to make a lot of people sad. He was part of a bonded pair we had from a few years back. This brother and sister pair eventually were no longer bonded and were both adopted out to other people. Today, Sir came home. He is angry and doesn't understand why he's back. Now we begin helping him settle once again. Sir needs good thoughts to help him as he adjusts back to shelter life.

We celebrated 60 years of existence last year. At our birthday gala, a special appeal went out to get some updated medical equipment to facilitate anesthesia more effectively and improve our diagnostic capability. One of those items we were able to purchase due to some amazing donors was a new anesthesia monitor. We got to put it to use today and really enjoyed the opportunity to use this new state-of-the-art piece of equipment.

In this job, we take the good with the bad. It requires a lot of rolling with the punches and buckling in for the roller coaster of ups and downs. At the end of the day, we got to help more cats due to this well-orchestrated day. I am always sad for the ones we lose but I tend to change my thinking realizing that each soul lost opens the door for another. We will continue to do what we do, even if it's with a broken heart. Every day, we will continue to do our best for each cat until we can't. Then we get up and do it all over again. Rescue is hard. It's not for the faint of heart. We love deeply and hurt the same way as well. There are many others who need us so we must go on even when we don't feel like it.