One of Those Days'

So I found out this afternoon that Jake, our cat, more than likely has feline aids. The test came back inconclusive so they are running the test again. The vet said that she has yet to see a test come back a 2nd time negative but that it is still a possibility. So while his quality of life won't be affected the length of it may. He is 11 yrs (as long as he was actually 5 like the pound said at time of adoption) and over all doing well. Because this is his 2nd time getting sick in about 4 months it may keep reoccurring. They prescribed a strong anitbiotic today for him & we'll just have see how it goes. He had elevated kidney enzymes which at this time are not a cause for concern but we will have to retest in a while & if they continue to increase it means kidney failure.

Ben, you were asking what happened to Anthony's leg. I know he has told some people & I just assumed everyone in our family knew. If you remember when we were all together in IF in June his leg looked like a giant scab had fallen off. I took him to a dermatologist & he was diagnosed with vitiligo - loss of skin pigmentation. There are basically three tyes and he has what is called segmental vitiligo where (as of right now) it is limited to just one side of his body. It is hard to see in the picture but it does go from almost the bottom of his shin up his thigh. There is no cure for this. It may increase, stay the same or increase slowly over time. Basically he will never regain pigment in the areas affected. He does have a cream that he applies twice daily that may or may not help prevent the spread, but nothing is a guarantee. If anyone reading this is interested in finding out more here is a website I found helpful: http://www.vitiligosupport.org/justforparents.cfm. Some of the pictures are kind of graphic to look at - meaning that there are some really bad cases on there. It also looks worse because they have darker skin. Some days we think the cream has helped make his white areas not quite as white & then other days it kind of looks like he might have a few new patches that are just little polka dots right now. It is hard to say, but at least it isn't life threatening. It seems like everything in our lives right now is just a matter of wait & see. It can be more than a little frustrating.