July Recap

It’s been an incredibly busy month for me here, for several reasons. Not only am I getting Seventh prepped (and still so excited for it!) I’ve also had tons of good stuff coming in through my day job including a possible promotion, plus an award nomination from the lovely Obort over on The Sublime Ink (which I’m hoping I can get to soon).

Unfortunately, it hasn’t been all good news this month.

Meet Jasper.

This loveable jackass is my 17-year- old-cat. I’ve had him since I was twelve. He’s one of my two fur-babies and undisputed ruler of meal time.

About the middle of June we discovered he was having a hard time breathing. A trip to the vet reveal what’s called a pleural effusion: essentially liquid surrounding his lungs. That in itself is concerning, but the cause behind that fluid build up is even more concerning.

Heart disease. Specifically hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart muscles. It’s not uncommon for cats of his age and breed to develop a heart condition. It’s common enough at least, that treatment is relatively easy. Medication and low-stress are the two key requirements. It’s also impossible to predict whether it will affect his lifespan or not.

Moving forward brings challenges and a lot of changes I hadn’t expected. It’s hard to say for sure what those changes will mean and whether or not I’ll have to adjust the way I do things for his health.

At the moment I’m glad he’s happy and still a part of my life. I don’t know what next month holds, but I’m thankful for the good things this month.