Lizzie, I really think you are stressing yourself out too much about Beans! He isn't that different from taking care of any "normal" cat he just gets around a little different from the others. I think you are going to worry yourself to death about him. He is doing great and adapts very quickly and effortlessly. When I said he doesn't like his front legs bothered it is not because it is painful to touch them but to try and trim his nails it would be because you have to move his little paws that are folded under. The reason I know they aren't painful to him otherwise is because he props himself up on the to sit up he moves them back and forth to try and cover his mess in the litterbox up( which is soooo cute to watch him, litter flies everywhere but where he is trying to get it to) Yesterday I called in sick mainly to take him to the vet because the night before he had some diarhhea and also to trim the front nails and to rule out ear mites in his ears. He was great at the vet! He didn't have earmites but yeast. I am treated his ears with tresaderm for 10 days. He got a shot and is on antibiotics for the diarrhea. The vet also told me to mix some of my WD in with his food. This morning his stool was already formed. The vet couldn't clip his nails without gasing him a little bit because it would have hurt him to do it. he did fine with that and the nails are clipped now so they won't catch on anything. i asked the vet if it would be a good idea for Beans since the way his front legs are deformed that he be front declawed so that he wouldn't have to go through this wover and over. She said yes that it would be best for Beans to be front declawed because of the way his legs are deformed and it would be painful to try and keep on clipping them. I told her I didn't know how you felt about declawing but I would let you know. And she said it realy would be better medically to do it for Beans. She said how good a cat he was and to let her know if the diarrhea didn't get better in 3 days which it already has. So please don't stress yourself out about Beans and his legs and you taking care of him. He is no problem to take care of I promise! In fact when he does leave to go to you I will really miss him. He is a great cat! I ahve a new pic of him from at the vet but i don't have time to post it tonight. I will tomorrow.

Melissa