So, Zeldarelly had to have surgery the other day. She has feline gingivostomatitis, which is a big word to say her immune system attacks her teeth and gums. There are drug regimens to treat it, but they have the potential for some gnarly side effects, and she would have to take them forever, so we decided to get her the surgery. She had 9 teeth pulled. It's drastic, but it has a good success rate, and I can tell you it's worked a miracle for Zelda. I expected her to be groggy and in pain for at least a day or two, but the change in her is just awesome. She was on the good drugs when we picked her up, but from the get go she's been even more loving than she was before, more confident, and she's been eating like a piggy. I asked the vet to recommend a food to put weight on her, and she had us get this prescription diet stuff, and she's already put on a little bit of weight. And of course, she's getting spoiled rotton for a bit, until she's healed up a bit at least. She wanted to eat dry food today, but I want to keep her on the wet as long as she'll let me. Her mouth has been inflamed and sore for so long that I don't want to rush the transition back.

She's gone from the "lap seeking missile", as Patrick called her, to full on tart. Now when you pet her she doesn't just purr like mad, she gets into it and will sometimes roll over on her back to get more lovin's, and she wriggles around like crazy, LoL. When we first picked her up, she had two bandaged front wrists, because they had trouble trying to find a vein for the IV. She looked like a little Emo kitty coming home from the hospital after a suicide attempt, and we wanted to get a picture for ICHC, but sadly she pulled them off over night, so all thats left is her little bald spots.

I was so nervous dropping her off, because any time you have to use anesthesia there is some risk, plus I read somewhere that there have been rare cases where cats eyes get punctured during tooth extractions (the eye orbit is right on the other side of a very thin bit of bone from the top molars.) The vets were great, they didn't mind when we each called to check on her, or me acting like an anxious mommy. They told us that all the techs and people in the back fell in love with her, which I can believe. She's a great ambassador for her species, because she's the friendliest, cuddliest cat on the planet, especially now that she's not in pain anymore. I can't rave about them enough, really, and if you're up here behind the redwood curtain, I highly recommend them: Arcata Animal Hospital, on Giuntoli Ln. Dr. Bithel is amazing! Zelda may never be afraid to go to the vet again.

Other than that, things are good. Schools almost over, we're thinking about applying to be air traffic controllers, which would be a good job for both of us, so who knows.

One thing I have to say, though....

Dear Flogging Molly,

I love your music, I am a huge fan, however... The words "boat" and "float" should not rhyme with the word "soda". On Jay Leno, the other night, it was like "So don't... don't sink the boatAAAAGH, that you built, you built to keep afloatAAAAAGH". It was kind of obnoxious and distracting. I love that song, it's on my myspace profile, and I listen to it all the time, so I know it's possible to sing it without the AAAAGH sound. Please, get rid of the AAAAAGH.

Sincerely, your ardent and loyal fan,
Me.