The Best Christmas Present Ever

Whew! The vet called this morning to let us know the biopsy came out negative. Arthur will be fine. Liz was so nervous when she saw the vet's number on caller ID this morning, she almost didn't answer.

The good news is that we just have to take him back in a week to have his stitches removed. Meanwhile, he has to wear this silly looking collar to make sure he doesn't try to groom the stitched area.

The collar makes him look like a renaissance king, a court jester, or a patient at the dentist's office. He's a little upset at the indignity of it, but he'll be ok, as long as he doesn't pull it off and his brother doesn't try to groom that area.

We've been keeping a close eye on the boys to try to stop them from wrestling, which they do at least twice a day, but I'm not sure what will happen when I leave them alone for a few hours to attend Christmas dinner at Liz's parents' house. I'd stay here to watch the boys, but Liz would kill me.

Health Scare: Could Arthur Have Cancer?

My biggest nightmare is that one of my boys will develop a serious illness so I'm always on the look out for something abnormal in their appearance or behavior. This morning, I was petting Arthur when I felt a bump on the lower portion of his back. Every time in the past I've felt something odd on one of our boys, I'd call Liz over and she'd determine that whatever I'd felt was just a tuft of matted fur and that I was just paranoid.

However, today, we discovered that Arthur has a raised brown bump - it looks like a large mole - on his back, and I don't think it was there before. We're going to call the vet tomorrow and try to get the next available appointment, but I don't know if the holidays are going to mean the vet is out of the office a bit. I am very nervous and upset and it's hard to put it out of my mind and think about other things. Losing one of my boys is the worst thing I can possibly imagine. I hope it's just a harmless mole like people get, but I don't think it was there before. Has anyone experienced this?

UPDATE 12/22/08 2:15 PM
Just took Arthur to the Vet. They are keeping him for a little while to do a biopsy so they can send it for tests to determine if its harmless or not. Will be going back at 4PM to pick him up then have to wait two days for the test results.

UPDATE 12/22/08 4:20 PM
Returned home with Arthur. He is soo not happy with me right now but he doesnt seem to have suffered ill from today's adventure. He has a soft collar around his neck to keep him from messing with the stiches from where the biopsy was done. He has a small shaved section that we need to keep protected from him and his brother messing with the stiches. Other than that its a 48 hour wait to see what the lab results say and a kitty who is not happy over being forced out in this cold weather to have all this done to him.

Kitty in a Basket

Both boys love sitting in the laundry basket on top of piles of clothes. They like it so much that Liz leaves the other-wise clean comforter in the basket sometimes so Arthur can use it as a bed.