She's just the cutest

On really cold days, Connie can't get close enough to the heat. She's affectionate, alert, and seems to be feeling fine.

But she's not fine. She has a heart murmur and a tooth that needs extraction. Because she's a senior citizen -- about 10 years old -- these conditions can be worrisome. So she had a full battery of tests, both blood tests and an EKG. 

This was a nightmare for her. She never goes outside. (I could leave the front door open and she wouldn't go near it.) So to be confronted by strange smells and sounds, manhandled by strangers, stabbed with needles, shaved (for the EKG) was as bad as it gets. Yet the vet tech called her "one of the sweetest cats ever."*

All the test results are back. The heart murmur is considered "minor," which is very good news. Her kidneys aren't performing as efficiently as they should, but that's not unusual in a lady her age. 

So our next step is the tooth extraction and, if necessary, a biopsy of the tenacious sore inside her mouth. Or maybe not. The animal hospital my vet has referred me to specializes in this sort of thing and we're going to let them decide.

Because she's behaving normally and her test results were better than I expected, I'm going to schedule her for March. I have a trip to Tampa scheduled for the end of February (hello, Anthony Rizzo!) and I don't want to leave her when she's recovering.

I don't know how people with human children do it. These decisions are hard!

*The same vet tech never said that about my beige demon, Reynaldo. 😼