A Shrine for Albert

My little cat Albert, who showed up at my door several months ago, is very, very sick. He’s had tests done, and is at a specialist right now getting more tests done. Hopefully they will tell us what is wrong because so far, my normal vet can’t figure it out. I’m waiting to hear the results of the new blood work to see what the next step is. He will probably either have an ultrasound done on his kidneys or need endoscopy (where the go down his throat with a scope). I took the photo yesterday before taking him back to the regular vet for a check-up on how he was doing, which wasn’t good. He goes back and forth between eating on his own, and having to be force-fed. He’s probably around a year old, and I hope he has a long life ahead of him.

On the way home from the specialist, which is about 45 minutes away from me, I stopped at a grocery store to get more cocoa for hot chocolate. Shortly after I got in the store, which caters to the Hispanic community here in Lawrence, I spied some religious candles. God knows I’ve already got more than most catholic churches, but I saw one I didn’t have, and thought I should get it to make a shrine for Albert. So as soon as I came home, I found an empty spot on a shelf by my cockatiels and started the shrine. The hope is that from making the shrine, my intention will be set forth for him to get better without needing super expensive tests and biopsies done. Or, that I’ll know what steps to take to either help him get better or to make him as comfortable as I can. The specialist thinks it’s kidney or intestinal problems. Hopefully the first round of tests will give us good news on something that’s easily treated. When he saw I was from Lawrence, he said “oh . . ” He said that for some reason, outdoor cats who live in Lawrence pick up more strange viruses and diseases than cats other places don’t get, as if Lawrence is still a frontier . . .