"I haven't seen a word about Lydia on your site in days, Mark, and I'm worried. Please, please reassure me she is all right. I have come to care about that little cat in a way I do not care about some members of my own family." So writes Jennifer Wahl, whose e-mail was but one of many that's shown up in my e-mailbox the last day or so. Here, as they say, is the latest…
I just spoke to the vet's office and they say Lydia is resting comfortably after the surgery, which was performed last evening. She is already eating which, they say, is an excellent sign. She was pregnant. She is no longer pregnant, nor can she get that way again. She has had all her shots and is now in fine shape, but I'm going to board her there for another day of post-op, just in case, and also because I'm too busy to get out there and pick her up today. Tomorrow, I will bring her home and return her to a backyard which has not seemed the same without her. My house sitter will pay special attention to her while I'm away in the wilds of Manhattan.
And that, pretty much, is that. We can now turn our attention to getting certain members of Jennifer Wahl's family spayed so perhaps she can care a little about them.
Thanks again to all who have sent suggestions, encouragements and especially donations. I didn't start telling this story so you folks would pay the cost of fixing Lydia but that's how it turned out.