Greetings to Boots’ sponsors,

First of all, I apologize for the scare of receiving a “special update:” let me put your mind at ease that our Boots is very much alive and well – indeed, hopefully on his way to feeling the best he’s felt in a long time.

Our “sharp-dressed man” has had a rather rough month. It became all too apparent that Boots’ mouth was quite painful, making pill time very unpleasant for him. We switched his medications to a treat format, which he loves, and hoped that this change, in combination with his ongoing pain medication, would help to keep Boots comfortable…

But Boots’ mouth was still getting worse. Recently, Jonathan noticed Boots crying out horribly and literally trying to run away from his own mouth, a very troubling sign.

Boots’ severe heart disease puts him at serious risk of cardiac arrest if we were to put him under anesthesia for a dental; however, as Dusty and Polly have shown, when painful teeth endanger a cat’s quality of life, that dental just might be worth the risk.

For that reason, Boots took a special trip to the University of Pennsylvania today, for a dental with the same “dream team” of cardiologist, dentist and anesthesiologist that got Polly and Dusty through their high-risk dentals. At the time of this writing, Boots – most notably his high-risk heart – was flourishing right through it, and the team had successfuly removed all of his teeth on one side. Based on how wonderfully he was doing, they were about to continue on the other side, most likely removing all of those teeth as well.

All the signs are pointing to a successful and safe dental for our boy – thanks in no small part to you wonderful sponsors. But our boy still has part two of his dental, plus the critical recovery hours, ahead, so he will need your continued love and prayers this evening. Rosanna and I will certainly keep you posted on the tuxedo sweetie you love so well – and so generously.

Boots is a very lucky cat. All of this costs big money. It is the ongoing support of cat lovers like yourself who help to care for our sweet Boots and keep his quality of life high.

Thank you again, dear sponsors. I hope to write with very good news soon.