Cat update

[PKRWUD]

I'm sure most members aren't concerned, and I can't say that I blame them, but to those who asked, here's an update:

One of my 7 cats, Oscar, has been acting strange for a few months now. He's only 7 or 8 years old, so I figured it wasn't a big deal, and that he'd get over it on his own. Well, he didn't. He became real lethargic, and lost alot of weight. His skin was real dry and flaky, too. I called my Vet, and described things, and he said it sounded like cancer, but he would need to run some tests to be sure. Since I don't have any human children of my own, my cats are like my kids, so I took him in. After checking him out, the Vet said it seemed more like renal failure, but blood and urine tests needed to be done to confirm this. I okayed them, and then took him home. The next day when I returned from Moorpark, where I spent the day working on the Sprint car, there were two messages from the Vet urging me to call, but he was gone for the day by the time I got the chance to call. The next morning at 8am, he called and we talked. As it turns out, Oscar has become a diabetic. We discussed the possible treatment, and the quality of life we could expect him to have, and I decided to start giving him insulin injections twice a day. Fortunately, the $30 bottle of insulin will last for 6 to 8 months, because his dosage is so small, but the needles will cost me $20 a month. Anyway, he has been responding very well. The needles are so small, he doesn't even feel them. His weight is already up to eight pounds (he was down to six), and he is becoming his playful self again. It's really an amazing transformation to witness.

I know most people will see this as a waste of money, but for me it's just short of a miracle. The Vet says he could easily live another 8 years or more. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I need to be out of town for more than a couple days, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Take care,
-Chris