I've put Daphne's picture here because she is very ill. The house is so quiet without her. She had (we think) a very bad reaction to some eardrops (with gentamycin) and has not eaten nor taken in water for 5 days. She is with the vet being hydrated but now cannot eat. With cats, not eating can quickly turn into lipidosis, which can be fatal. Our next step may be to get her into a veterinary hospital for enteral nutrition as a preventive measure. Daphne was a feral cat who I adopted from a no-kill shelter. She was rescued after wild foxes killed her kittens, and it took me nearly 2 years to accustom her to being groomed and loved. She is a loving, vocal cat now who does not hesitate to demand food (even at 3 a.m.!)

Update, 12/22/08: Daph is coming home tonight! She finally began to eat 3 days ago, is drinking, and able to stand with some measure of certainty, though still quite wobbly. She is so missed in this home! I hope she will be able to re-acclimate and claim her spaces, becoming more stable as she does so. It has been hard to think of her (perhaps feeling abandoned, certainly bewildered) in a small cage in a mobile vet's van for the entire last week.

I am not thinking of cost.