Spoke with the vet and we are THANKFUL to learn that after Xrays Max has nothing major going on. I neglected to mention earlier that our buddy took a swing at a big doggy that invaded Max's space just over a week ago, and his claw caught in a railroad tie (that lines our walkway) and came completely out. He goes outside *only* on a run or supervised walks and the dog was also on a leash, but it just came too close. We called the vet, "fixed him up" and were told to just watch for infection. When he started acting lethargic we took him right in and they put him on meds and gave him a pain killer injection. In a matter of an hour he was better, but then he got much worse Sat. Eve into yesterday. His symptoms no longer seemed related to the accidental "de-claw" because he would scream when he moved quickly and it seemed his back end bothered him. Because Max is so feisty (call it "cattitude", they still haven't been able to properly check him to see "where" it hurts, or to conclude it is a pinched nerve or pulled muscle, but we can live with that as long as there is no rupture or growth or worse. They said the "de-claw" is sure to be extremely painful for him because the quick is exposed, and it could be that the pain is travelling.

We look forward to having Max home again!