November Greetings to You, and to All Fenek’s Friends!

The little guy continues to hang in there. He’s as loving as ever, and in the past month there has been no further bad news. In fact, recently he had another echocardiogram, following up six months after the pleural effusion that was diagnosed in late March. And the result? Stable, so no change to the medication he’s been on. The next follow-up is in another six months.

A close second on the list of Fenek’s health concerns is his diabetes. For that, he had another blood glucose curve, with the same steady-as-she-goes result. Vet staff will continue checking his blood glucose twice a day. For now, his insulin routine won’t change. It could be better, but it also could be so much worse.

As we know, the price of insulin (just to give one example) isn’t cheap for anyone, human or cat alike. But he is receiving and will continue to receive all the care he needs, and your caring and your generosity help make it possible. As someone who looks forward to visiting Fenek and loving on him, thank you so much.

So the good news is that there isn’t any fresh bad news. Along with that stability, something else that hasn’t changed is his character, including his general disdain for medical attention. Put it this way: He doesn’t submit to all this testing with a smile. If you bring him food, oh yeah, he’s here for it with virtual bells on. But if someone administers yet another shot of insulin or a dab of salve for his ears, then his affable nature turns to sour grumblings of protest. Still, the mood passes quickly, and soon he’s back to being a proper Distinguished Gentleman cat.

Here’s what I mean by that. He is quite possibly the lap-cattiest of the lap cats at Tabby’s Place, but he has never dashed over to where I’m sitting. Not once has he leaped up as though I was a long-lost friend. No, that’s not Fenek’s way.

I know better than to try hurrying him. You won’t hear me squeal, “Come on Fenek, come here boy, whoozagoodboy!” I say hello to get his attention, and he acknowledges it, making eye contact. But he doesn’t scramble to his feet in a heated rush. To me, it looks like he would say, “Yes, I see you. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Then when he’s up, he might mosey over to the drinking fountain first and take a few sips. But only when he feels ready, only then will he amble over to me. I don’t mind the wait. (Much.) Then we both enjoy some Quality Time, for as long as he likes.

Hopefully, you can come to visit Fenek, too. When you get to the Lounge, you’ll see some brand-spanking new furniture, kind of a extra added benefit to the support that helped make Quinn’s Corner a soon-to-be reality.

Before I go, since Philadelphia is the big city that is closest to Ringoes, New Jersey, the Phillies and their surprise run to the World Series were a big deal to many in the area. With that in mind, here’s a link to a 1962 cat food commercial that featured Yogi Berra and the voice of his longtime batterymate, Whitey Ford.

Wishing you all good things…

Your correspondent,
John