Puddy is still behaving strangely. She purrs a lot which, as you may know, doesn't necessarily mean contentment. Cats also purr when they're comforting themselves and it's also a symptom of anemia. Puddy hisses and she hasn't done much of that lately at all. It's Puddy's hiss that tells me she's herself. When I first began her subQ treatments a couple of years ago, she really put up a fuss, partly due to my lack of confidence and fear of hurting her and also because who likes to have a needle jabbed into them every day? However, after I got the hang of it, she accepted it w/grace, sat there calmly during the treatment and scampered off afterwards. Now she cries during the entire subQ treatment and she quivers. I fear that 3 more injections of Epogen a week will just be too much for her body and even for her strong spirit. I've contemplated iron injections but they're intramuscular and painful and I will not put her through that. She had one during her last vet visit a few days ago and that's enough. I will talk to Dr. Lee about the possibility of giving her iron supplements, though, perhaps in liquid form. I've had to accept that Puddy's care from here on may be palliative. I've also emailed Nancy Efrusy to see if she could schedule me for a reading. Her insight couldn't hurt.

Something else to consider is that Dr. Lee told me that most vet clinics do not stock Epogen; it has to be special ordered. He has it in stock but he's a 45 minute drive each way, so I'd have to put Puddy through the stress of the drive plus the injection and I'd have to figure out how I would take time off from my work schedule to do that. So until I talk to Dr. Lee tomorrow and get a reading w/Nancy, I'm just not going to rush into a decision. It isn't the money. I've decided that I'll do whatever it takes to get the money. It's Puddy's quality of life that is my main concern. She's my "heart kitty" and has been my loyal friend and companion for 14 years and it's my obligation and pleasure to make her as comfortable as possible during whatever time she has left.