Saef, sorry to hear about Fritz's illness. I agree, I would take him in to the vet straightaway. I hope they can find out what's wrong and help him!

Oh, saef, I feel bad for you and Fritz and your mom. Hiding is definitely a symptom of something awry. Hopefully it isn't anything serious and a round of antibiotics will solve the problem. Keep us posted.

Oh, Saef I'm so sorry to hear about poor Fritz. I hope they are quickly able to figure out what is wrong and get him some help!

Oh saef, I'm thinking good thoughts for Fritz.

saef, so sorry about Fritz. I know how difficult it is when our beloved pets are sock.

Thanks, all. My mother got Fritz out from under the bed and took him to the vet, where they hydrated him (I don't know if they run a little IV line or what), gave him a shot for nausea and also a pill that was supposed to increase his appetite. They said his temperature was up just slightly, but that being at the vet's can cause this in cats. The vet still didn't have the lab work results. Anyway, he's home now. When he got out of his carrier, he ate a little. He got up in a hassock & is sitting there, my mother tells me. Which seems good, as he's not hiding.

Please keep him in your thoughts. He is beloved.

When my father was dying of cancer at home, Fritz sat n the hospital bed we'd set up in the living room right by my father's hip.

After my father died, my mother kept going partly because she had to feed Fritz, let him out, clean out his litter box. He was a great comfort to her and became a lap cat who stayed with her while she watched TV in the evenings.

And after I moved in with my mother temporarily, Fritz also comforted me, as he left my mother & started sleeping with me every night, woke up with me in the morning, and always came by the desk while I worked on the laptop to get his ears rubbed. Or else I'd play with his fishing line toy with him while I was on the telephone.

Now that I live back downstate, when my mother visits, she brings Fritz in his carrier, with his scratching post & litterbox & other assorted Fritz-related miscellanea, and he stays in my apartment with us. He isn't particularly pleased by this, but he does cuddle with us at night and likes my really deep windowsills, which are more than ample for a sprawled-out cat.

He is a good little guy, but he's 14 years old, with detectable kidney issues, that pending biopsy, and obviously, he's not well just now. Though a little better since his trip to the vet.

I didn't think that hiding away was a good sign, Allison. I definitely don't know as much about cats as some people on this board, except that I love this one the way I'd love a person.

Saef, sending good thoughts to you and Fritz. Hydration will certainly help whatever kidney issues he might be having. But, you're right, 14 is fairly old for a cat and it makes it hard for them to come back from illness.

Michele, eek. I'd be freaking out, too, at the idea of going somewhere so far away and so culturally different from what I'm used to. I do think that Beijing cleaned itself up a lot for the Olympics but that pollution...scary stuff.

Dagmar, definitely get the house you want that fits into your budget. It's a big purchase and you shouldn't have to settle too much (although I think most of us have to settle some, since we can't afford our dream homes). And resale is a good thing to consider, if you're planning to sell when you retire.

My big accomplishment for today was figuring out how to get my Ipod to play in the new car. Nothing is ever simple - I had to get Pandora, which meant going to the Itunes store, which I just hate. And I used the backup camera to park at work - fun!

Saef, cats and dogs can sense when something is not right. Your story of Fritz sitting by your father in his hospital bed is testament to that. Try and stay strong and remember all the wonderful memories, your Mother needs your strong support right now. Hopefully Fritz will recover but I would try and be prepared for what may be inevitable.

Bargoo, thanks.

Thanks, all, for your kind words. If anyone understands worrying over a sick but beloved cat, you all do.

Poor little guy is hardly eating, though he's not hiding anymore. We're still awaiting test results.

I'm sending Fritz . I hope the vet has some good test results for you today. Maybe your mom could put a bit of beef or chicken broth on Fritz's food as an enticement to eat it? Sometimes animals respond well to scent.

Dagmar

saef - I'm so sorry about Fritz. I was never a pet person (we just never had them) but BF has a menagerie of 3 dogs and 2 cats. It's really opened my eyes to the love people have for their animals, and I'm sorry for you and your mom.

Michele - Feel free to PM me! Yes, pollution is an issue, and not a small one. The city I was in is even more polluted than Beijing, and some days were hard, but you get used to it and make adjustments. I agree with Jessica, actually; if I'd just been vacationing, China would be a really difficult place. But when you know you're living there your perspective changes.

I originally only intended to live in China for 2 years, which became 3, then 4. I only moved back to the States because my nephews didn't know who I was.

Saef, Really really sorry to hear about Fritz. Hope things turn around for the little guy! We lost two cats in two years about five years ago and I cried for days. My pet-loving friends understood totally, non-pet-owners are often baffled (it's only a cat).

Day One of our ten-day quasi-cleanse post-Restaurant-Week-dietary-reboot begins today for me 'n Karen. I'm a little nervous but at least sort of confident. Daylight Savings Time leaves me feeling like spring is here and I am definitely responding well to the warmer temperatures and later sunsets!!!

Saef-- fingers crossed for Fritz!!

I'm still in panic mode. Day four of my book fair and I'm exhausted and brain dead. Couple that with my two girls home from college not getting along (and one with PMS), worrying about this impending move-- there is so much to think about! We will have to move eldest dd to Houston (hopefully)-- assuming she gets a job-- move our Great Dane out there too (driving from CA to TX)-- find and settle younger dd back in college in an apartment-- but the bulk of the stress is figuring out how and when to sell our house-- what do we get rid of, what do we store, what do we ship and where to? Just so much to figure out. Not to mention figuring out where to live on the other end, how to get animals over there, quarantines, etc.....

And eldest dd wants to take a cruise this summer (family cruise) to celebrate her graduating with her masters-- and she needs it to be service dog friendly so we may be fairly limited-- some lines are better than others-- some ports are better than others (ie-- she doesn't think she wants to leave US)-- so.... we have a lot to do and figure out in the next few months-- understatement of the year.

I'm hoping my weight will just fall into line without much panic....

Michele , that is a lot going on but I want to compliment you on having such a wonderful daughter. Many daughters her age may want to go on a cruise, but heaven forbid if parents come along ! Friends, yes, but parents NO .

Michele~I don't know how you can think of all those impending changes and not go bonkers! I know I would!

DH and I met with our attorney the other day and something that came up was the last suit that we're involved in (the HUGE one that has been going on for the past 6 years is finally over and we were deemed not to blame!). One of the attorney's "solutions" was to dissolve our corporation and start a new corporation. Sure it's be a bit of a hassle, but the attorney would do the majority of the legwork but DH basically put his foot down saying that the move itself has been a huge hassle and he'd rather not do that. I said later that I didn't feel that the move was a huge hassle--not compared to getting set up to do business in another state (Washington, which we did years ago). That, to me, was a huge, huge headache and I never want to go through that again--and when it was suggested we do a job in Mexico and another in Dubai, I firmly stated NO!

Meanwhile, an update on the office cat, Culley. We've been letting him out and he will go outside for 10-15 minutes and come back! This morning, he was protesting the closed front door, so we propped it open for him. He ran back to our desks, demanded a head rub from both of us and then left for 2 minutes then had to come back to see what we were up to. When he comes back in we give him a treat. We've moved his carrier outside so in case he's gone when we leave for the day he has a place to stay, although I don't want to leave food for him out there.

Keeping Fritz in my mind today and hoping that he's feeling better.