T-minus 23

…or, the 5th Day of Thanksgiving. (I warned you. I like them both, so I'll use them both!)

Today I'm thankful for a (relatively) good report on Biddy. In fact, I guess that, relatively speaking, it's a great report. Her heart, liver, thyroid and pancreas are all okay. She has renal pyelonephritis, a bad kidney infection, and hopefully that's what's causing her symptoms—and hopefully it won't leave any permanent kidney damage after it's gone.

She's not acting like she's feeling great, but she's not acting
like she's feeling terrible anymore, either. I'll take it!

The good news is that she's acting more like normal, coming out of hiding and wanting to eat and be petted. The bad news is that she doesn't much like being handled and we'll be treating this infection for about six weeks. So sad, Biddula, but you'll get used to it. (I find that most animals, if you treat them kindly overall, will get used to taking regular baths or having to take meds or being confined or facing other things that they might otherwise find disagreeable, once they get used to it. It's not knowing what's going on that they object to. And you can't really blame them. After all, I prefer to know what's going on; don't you?)

Does that really count as something separate from yesterday? Well, just in case, I'll add this: I'm thankful that something inside me changed, somehow, somewhere along the line, and I became a serious animal lover. Having the pets we've had, and loving them the way I have, has added a whole new dimension to my life and to me, as a person. I have to assume this feeling is a pale reflection of what it feels like to have kids. (We were never so fortunate.) The pleasure at seeing them happy, the worry and fear when they're sick or hurt, the satisfaction at taking care of them and providing what they need. It means something, in the overall scheme of things, I think.

So I'm thankful for all my four-legged family members. And their continuing good health!