This is a test. It's more than 'just' a test, as there will be actual content. But it's my first post using a new computer, and new photo software, and I'm not sure how to make it work or how it will come out.
First, I'll try adding a picture. 
Alright, looks OK from here. This is a picture of our cat, named 'Lunch'. His name came about when hubby lived in a rough neighborhood, and though it would be funny to step out on the front step at night and have the neighbors hear him calling, "Here, kitty kitty kitty! Come here, Lunch!". But the cat has lived up, or down, to his name. He is one of the most affectionate cats I've ever met. He's moved across country with us a couple of times, settled into every new home, and made it his own. During his life, he's been skunked, shot, and gotten into typical kitty fights with resulting abscesses (always on weekends, of course) Hubby doesn't remember exactly when Lunch came into his life, but it was before October 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay area. (That was at least a year before I met hubby.) That makes Lunch pretty old. We're guessing he's about 19.
What you can't see from this picture is that Lunch is about half the size he was a few years ago. We've had him to the vet several times over the past year or so, looking for an explanation. He's gotten a couple rounds of antibiotics, first for a tooth that looked a bit infected, then for a UTI. Then he started vomiting. Not every day, just often enough to establish that it was a pattern. When the vet examined him for this, she also heard a loud heart murmur. So he's been thoroughly checked for the common things that could explain his signs and symptoms.
He's not hyperthyroid. He's not diabetic. He's not anemic. He's not in renal failure. He does have either a mass, or some thickening of his intestines the vet is feeling now that he's gotten thinner. She's suggesting either a tumor, probably cancer, or inflammatory bowel disease. And her next ideas were an ex. laparotomy or a biopsy to see what is going on. That's where we said enough.
He's old. He's probably outlived his life expectancy. No matter what, he doesn't have that many days left. At his age, debilitated as he is, he wouldn't have a quick recovery from surgery, and might not ever get back to his current state of health. So he's getting empiric treatment with prednisone for presumed carcinoma or IBD, as well as some possible asthma he developed along the way. He's also on a special hypoallergenic diet, in case there's an element of food allergy involved.
I'm so sad watching him decline. He has his good days when he seems pretty happy. And he has his bad days, when all he wants to do is nap. He insists on sleeping on us instead of next to us now, as if he thinks we can somehow make him feel better. Although he's a cat, he's been such a part of our family ever since we've been a family that I can't imagine what it will be like when he's gone. So for now, I just try to love him, pet him when he's ready to accept it, and enjoy what time he does have left. Our pets can leave surprisingly large holes in our lives when they die. I'm feeling and not liking the impending emptiness.
