I’ve always had mixed feelings about the description “dilute calico” (or its counterpart, “dilute tortoiseshell”).

“Dilute” seems so…thin. Weak. Faded. Why not “pastel calico?”

A certain pastel calico, in particular, has made it clear this spring that there’s nothing “dilute” about her. I propose we rename Precious our mighty calico, or perhaps our powerhouse calico.

That’s right: she is whupping lymphoma’s bottom all over town. (And, since Ringoes is not exactly a megalopolis, she’s whupped it around at least 14 times.)

I wish I could tell you our girl is cancer-free. That’s not the case. And, frankly, it’s not likely to be the case any time soon, according to our veterinary team. But, in her quiet, mighty way, Precious is showing lymphoma that she has no intention of letting it ruin her life, whether she has a month or many years left.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a calico who could do a better job of clobbering her chemo. Unlike human beans, cats on chemo don’t tend to lose their fur…but they can be prey to a flood of other nasty side effects, such as vomiting.

Can be…unless they’re Precious, that is.

In addition to snubbing vomiting as beneath a cat of her stature, our ultra calico has also drop-kicked the expectation that her appetite might suffer. To quote Karina, Precious is “eating like a crazy woman.” I haven’t had the pleasure of dining with too many mentally-ill folks recently, but I assume this means Precious is gobbling up everything in sight, Cookie Monster style.

She’s certainly gobbling up more human affection than ever before. There was a time when Precious required a “socializer” of her very own: one of those brave, patient volunteers who would make weekly pilgrimages to Casa Precious in the hopes that our calico would learn to trust and even like human affection.

Well, super-socializer H.A. still makes those weekly pilgrimages…but Precious can now socialize herself just fine. Visit Suite C and, inevitably, one of the first happy “ker-plops” you’ll hear will belong to Precious as she jumps off the ramp onto the cubbies, anticipating your adoration. She’s equally forthright with felines, claiming her share of love from ladies’-cat Desi and snuggle-sisters Star and Venice, among others.

Shy and retiring? Not so much.

Dilute? Not for a second.

Lymphoma, on the other hand, is looking rather…weak. Yes, it’s still present, and, yes, it’s still all too likely that it will be Precious’ final battle…but we’ll get there when we get there, and she’ll be darned if she’s not going to master the meantime with love and vim and all the things lymphoma can’t steal.

Oh, Precious. Dare I say, you go, girl?

Tags: desi, lymphoma, precious, star, venice

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