Humour

No poem or quote for this one. Nothing seemed quite right.

Jaxson and Daisy have been part of our family for almost 13 yrs. Jaxson was adopted first when he was 3 months old. The lone kitten that no other family wanted at the adopt-a-thon  as he spent most of it lying in his crate and who was slated to be transferred to a different foster home as all his siblings had been adopted out. We learned quickly how much he loathes being crated and how special he truly is. Cross the persona of your average football player with Barney combined with a dark sense of humor. Grey claims the mold was thoroughly smashed into a gazillion pieces the day he came into the world. After all the years of shenanigans, back stories, close-calls and crazy moments, it's hard not to agree. Daisy came a year later, immediately upon our return from our honeymoon. She solidified her place in our family after spending a week kicking the shit out of Jaxson, landing herself on valium to overcome the PSTD she had experienced based on her time at the animal shelter. Jaxson laid on her while she was on valium, too zoned out to do much else than accept that he was there. And they've been inseparable ever since.

The love I have for both these animals goes deeper than I have for many humans. I remember once someone lecturing me for using the term "furbaby" as they were quite convinced that no animal could ever be on the same level for love as a human, especially a child. And yet, after all we've gone through, all the heartache, pain and journey that lead to the Beats, I can still attest that my love for them is not less than that I feel for any other member of this family. They've been my rocks in some dark hours, loving me in ways so many failed to do.

The weekend was a warm and sunny one. In addition to running the Beats, I've been spending some time with Jaxson and Daisy on the deck. Allowing them to time to be outside, to sun and be part of nature. It was nice to see them both so happy.

So with that happiness in mind, what I discovered this morning absolutely rocked me. Jaxson's been putting on more weight recently. A sign that something is off. Today while on his cat tree, I noticed he was drooling more than usual, so I decided to check his teeth.

In 2008, Jaxson had both his front canine teeth extracted. The vets discovered the roots were completely rotted out, meaning he had been living in pain. The only clue that something was off was that his weight was high (he peaked at 23 lbs). Two weeks after the extraction, he dropped down to 20 lbs and 4 months later he was a slim 14 lb cat. The vet was absolutely blown away by the change. So teeth have been on my mind.

What I found was a large plaque of tartar on one of Jaxson's back teeth, with very inflamed gums. Something that developed within the last 6 months (his teeth were okay when the vet checked him in Seattle prior to the move). Pulling away as I opened his lips, I knew he wasn't feeling well.

It's humorous, really. Just as one crisis ends, another one hits our family. I need to call around tomorrow to find a vet that will also do dentistry. But Grey and I also had a long talk about how far we were willing to go with this. That we can't have him living in pain solely for our benefit or to hold-off with saying goodbye.

Tonight I've been loving Jaxson. Petting my sweet boy and promising him we'll make sure he's okay somehow. Here's hoping it involves nothing more than a cleaning.