Pete got into one his Mr Hyde moods the other night and bit me on the arm. In the morning, one of the punctures had started to swell. So, I went to the urgent care to get some antibiotics.

Apparently there's a county regulation that any doctor treating an animal bite has to report it to the local animal control department. So, last night I got a call from an animal control officer who took a statement about the incident and asked for Pete's vaccination records, etc.. He also said that Pete has to be quarantined for ten days - but, he can do that at home. Which is no different from any other 10 days, because Pete isn't allowed outside. And, they're going to send an animal control officer around to check to make sure that he's in quarantine (aka: in the house) twice during those ten days.

Our little guy now has a permanent record.

A few months ago, our vet found a mass in Pete's abdomen.

So, he went to the 'specialty vet' (which is the same vet Tricksey went to for her cancer treatments, so I already have doubts...). They did an ultrasound and a biopsy. The biopsy was "inconclusive" for cancer. So... But... the diagnosis was "gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia", which is a form of intestinal inflammation that cats are prone to. It's non-cancerous but can be dangerous because it can block their intestines or rupture or ... etc..

"Surgery!" The vet said. $10,000 worth of surgery! Intestinal surgery that could kill him or leave him with a lifetime of digestive problems including the need for constant vitamin injections and constant diarrhea!

Pass.

Instead, we opted for oral steroids. They make him constantly hungry. All of this coincides with the loss of Pepper. That loss meant losing access to Pepper's leftover food, for Pete. She had almost stopped eating in her last months, leaving a ton of extra (high-fat, low protein) food for him to eat when we weren't looking. And he lost a lot of weight (which he needed to lose) in the months after. This has the vets somewhat concerned. We've increased his food.

Last week he went back to the vet for a followup ultrasound. And, they found no sign of the mass. It was gone? He goes back to the regular vet in a few weeks to check again.

I'm afraid of optimism because no story that starts with "found a mass" has ever ended well, in my experience. But, I guess I'll take what I can get.

Our little handsome guy has a mass in his abdomen.

Tests begin soon.