Happy Holidays from All of Us, and Jack.

Especially from Jack, even though he doesn't know it's Chanukah. He's a cat.

(This is where the old ChipIn widget resided on my blog for years. ChipIn does not exist any longer.)

Our cat, Jack, is doing very well. He could've died, and most people would've chosen to put him to sleep because the options to keep him alive — and to just get him through his hospital stay with an unknown medical complication — were going to be very costly and possibly for naught.

We decided that it wasn't his time to go. After two days of fluids and trying different antibiotics, Jack's fever went down, and he started eating, eating food I brought him, of course, because he was not going to touch the food they had no matter how hungry he was! When I visited him on the second day, he was so weak, he didn't get up in the cage to say hello. The next evening, he not only got up, he tried to jump into my arms to come home. He rolled over onto his back and wanted his belly rubbed...for 5 minutes. He was not ready to die. He still had a fever, but he was improving. They still couldn't find the reason for the multiple problems, but he was beginning to stabilize, so I gave the go ahead for him to stay in hospitalization and be treated. They began a new treatment a couple of days later that was for FIV cats, and they continued the antibiotic that seemed to work on the infection that must've been what tried to take him down. Within a few more days, we were able to come pick Jack up and bring him home.

Jack is doing well now, and last night I even caught him playing with cat toys. To think that Jack was a feral who used to run the moment he saw any human, and now he's a family cat who wants someone to pets him and a warm bed all the time. In fact, Jack doesn't just want a warm bed, he must lean on you when he sleeps. He's adorable, but sometimes I feel guilty if I want to change position in the middle of the night!

I thank all my dear friends who helped with part of my huge hospitalization bill. None of you know how much I greatly appreciate your help during such a difficult time — not just with Jack, but with all the family matters.

Every dollar adds up, so to my friends, please keep passing on my Chipin Widget.

Thank you, and Happy Holidays!

All the best,

Suzanne
(and Scott, Harry, spookie, Morris, Stella Blu and Jack)

Happy Hanukkah!