bunchofgrapes

And she gave me what she called "the best news in the whole world". Or at least my world. Sophie's growth was a melanocytoma, a benign tumor of the pigment cells. It's just in the skin and as long as the excision was complete and they got it all, they don't expect it to come back. And the surgeon was 100% certain she got it all. Right now the little princess is curled up on a pillow with her face stuffed into her tail. The tail she gets to keep.

A ginormous thank you to everyone who sent good thoughts! I really, really appreciate it!

Sophie had her surgery today and is back home. And boy, is she ever happy to be home! She's been clingy all day but I think part of the reason is because she's a hurtin' kitty. I got some pain meds to give the little girl and she took the first dose okay but it's obvious she's still in a bit of pain. She keeps making this squinty face and she won't settle down. I think she will when I go to bed though. She has a couple of shaved front legs and her tail has a little pom pom on the end and three inches of shaved tail. They put stitches in her tail and I was worried that she might be pulling at them but every time she looks at it, she instantly turns away, like it hurts to even think about licking at it. I should hear in the next few days whether the growth is benign or malignant. If it's malignant, her tail will have to come off. Obviously, I'm really hoping it's benign.

( And now, A Space Oddity! )

Got Sophie to the vet today but not without some effort. She was out and about and all lovey and purrific but then when the time approached, she hid in her spot. I tried everything to coax her out but she wouldn't come out and I can't go after her (it's behind the bed and the bed cannot be moved. So I called the vet office and told them I would at least be running late however, while I was sitting at my desk and on the phone, she came out. I've noticed that whenever I'm on a conference or work call, she always comes out and meows at me to pet her.

Well, she doesn't know the difference--just that I'm on the phone and in the work chair. Pretty normal for a Monday. I hang up with the vet thinking I can keep talking and grab her but the minute I start talking to the dead air on the phone, she heads into hiding. I call a friend who also has cats and understands the mind games one must play with them. I know she would let me ramble on until she came out of hiding but she's not home. I call the vet back and as I'm talking to her, Sophie comes out again. This time, I grab her, hang up the phone, and stuff her into the carrier. We were only 11 minutes late. Cats are very smart. And evil.

Now to the reason I took Sophie to the vet. She has a growth on her tail. I noticed it when I was petting her tail a couple of weeks ago and thought maybe Harry bit her while they were playing. When I first found it, she wasn't very happy when I touched it but this past week, she was much better about it. I wanted to have the Dr. take a look at it and I'm glad I did. Not sure what it is yet but it could be a basel cell tumor or melanoma. The vet spoke to the surgeon today and no matter what it is, the surgeon wants to remove the growth. The good news is it's towards the end of her tail, where there's really only skin and bone. The bad news (which is sort of good, bad news) is that if it is malignant, they will have to take off part of her tail. They took blood today so they can compare to the bloodwork they took back in November. I should know tomorrow if anything's off. However, now she has to go back to the vet for surgery to remove the growth. I always get nervous when a furkid has to be anesthetized and yeah, I admit it, Sophie is my baby so I worry about her even more.