Friday, August 29, 2008

Au Revoir

Sorry to once again be missing from the blogosphere. As anticipated, things have gotten very crazy very fast. The move is slowly coming together. We put in our notice, arranged for the movers, and Dean's mom is flying down to help with the drive and the kitty-moving. The only thing missing is a place to go. We've narrowed it down to two apartments and we are waiting on some additional photos. Hopefully one of these will work out, but if not it doesn't seem too difficult to find housing, especially through the University affiliated housing exchange where I found the two current prospects. Mostly the people that post there own duplexes they are trying to rent out half of, which will be very comfortable for us. And the prices are much more reasonable than going through a commercial rental property.

Some troubling news to share: McLovin needs to have his arm amputated. I took him to a different vet than the one the rescue group was paying for to get him evaluated for neutering. Given his paralysis, I was nervous about putting him under anasthesia and wanted a second opinion. The rescue group would have paid for neutering through a high-volume, low-cost clinic but I didn't feel comfortable with that in this particular situation. However, to pay full price at the rescue vet was going to be quite expensive. So I took him to a reasonably-priced cat specialist who looked closely at his arm and determined he wasn't getting proper circulation in his arm and he'd be all around better off losing what literally is just dead weight. She showed me the red flags, and ultimately I agree that the arm should be amputated, and she's right, he'll get around much better without dragging it. But I'm very nervous about the surgery, it is quite involved. And it's one more thing that needs to happen in just the next couple of weeks. But I'm grateful she caught it and I can't imagine what I'd do if I hadn't taken him in and his health started deteriorating due to circulation issues.

Anyway, I'm off to France tomorrow morning. I know I haven't made the rounds in a little while, and I likely won't be able to until I get back a week from Monday. I'm really excited and scared all at once. I'm all packed and my arrangements are in place. I'm of course bringing my camera and will share thoughts and pictures when I return. Wish me bon voyage!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dead weight. What a metaphor. May we all shed what we are dragging around-- that which stands between us and our lives.
My thoughts are with McLovin. I look forward to videos of tripod kitty primally pouncing on invisible (sic) prey. (sparkly balls will do for those of us with impaired vision.)
Bon voyage and may all our future conversations be en francais!

Minnesotablue said...

Oh Natalie! So sorry to hear about your kitty. Thank goodness though she found you to love and cherish. You are going on a wonderful and exciting journey and I wish you nothing but the best. I will be waiting to see your pictures and hear about your trip. Love you a lot. Gram

dr sardonicus said...

Hope all goes well with Ray McLovin's surgery. Have fun in France.

Dianne said...

thank goodness McLovin found you!

I know you are going to take Paris by storm - right now I picture you in a cafe sending e-mails to Deano and the kitties

Look forward to hearing all about it

Anonymous said...

Natalie:
Have a great time in France!
And what ever you do...
Try not to bring back
A "Francais LaMew"
Catsforsure

fermicat said...

Aww, McLovin. He'll be fine, I hope. He is lucky to have hooked up with such great cat parents.

Have a great time in Paris!

Scott said...

McLovin--awesome name. I saw that movie and thought the scenes with McLovin were great, but the potty mouth humor from the curly haired kid was way too much and ruined what could have been a classic.

Sorry about the arm. At least you caught it in time and McLovin can still have a long and happy life.

Such a big heart you have.

Hot4Teacha said...

Aw, McLovin', this will make you all the more adorable! I'm sure your "big brothers and sisters" will take extra special care of you now. Not to mention, your "parents" are freakin' awesome, dude!

Beth said...

Wow, I'm glad you received a proper diagnosis for McLovin. And wow, going to Paris. That's wonderful and I hope you had an amazing time.