Harlee

I took Harlee to the vet this afternoon. The vet didn't find anything wrong during the exam, but I asked for a blood test to look for the most common problems for elderly cats. The vet said that the test showed Harlee is in the early stages of renal disease. I knew something was off with her. Anyway, the vet wants me to bring her in on Friday so that they can get a urine sample from her. And then we'll talk about how to manage the disease. In some ways, it's a relief to know what's going on and that we'll do our best for her.

I am patting myself on the back a little for catching something wrong so early. Harlee hasn't "crashed," isn't dehydrated, and didn't need to be hospitalized to be stabilized. My nightmare scenario is what happened to Nima (remember her?), in which only three weeks elapsed from when we realized she was sick to when she died. I'm hoping that we can keep Harlee going for quite a while.

I'm already pondering my vacation plans. I had thought about going to my mom's house for 4th of July, but if Harlee's sick, I might not go. A colleague told me about a winery near the MIssissippi River that has hotel rooms in the form of cottages, and getting away for a weekend sounds theraputic and might be doable.