?

He is 8, neutered male, sweet as sugar. He's been acting a little "off" for about 6 weeks, but nothing I could really point at and say he is sick. But now it is all adding up. He has vomited a dark liquidy stuff twice this week and a hard, kind of fudgey one once. His tummy is moaning and groaning, sometimes very loudly. After a loud one last night, we both jumped, and then he let out a long, low moaning cry. (He is a talky cat, but this is a new sound heard lately.) He also passed a bit of gas twice that i smelled. He seems uncomfortable in positions that he usually lays. He is eating a little bit, but often. He is a dry Iams guy, and I am surprised that he is consenting to eat a little baby food chicken today (about a teaspoon full twice),he seems to be drinking enough. Not playing, just wants to be held but not petted. There are 4 cats using our huge litterbox, so i cant identify Myrrhy's stools... no diarrhea in there, but was one really *long* one.

I've moved and have no vet. Trying to get a reference all day...and now it looks like no vet til monday.

Any help or suggestions thankfully received. Ive had cats for 40 years and never had one with bowel sounds i could hear so far away.

We are leery of showing it at home (afraid they will come back and steal OR mug us for it) so Craigs List and ads are not the way to go, because we also can no longer ride the bike to meet a prospective buyer (health reasons)

Also, it would be priced about 15 grand and people dont do cash deals with that much money. What kind of check is safe to take these days? Or anyone know a good honest affordable agent that sells bikes?

Its a limited edition, 95th anniversary dyna wide glide with low miles in near-mint condition. Has been in the garage for 3 years.

I adopted a small starving (*very* thin, 3.5 lbs or so) Calico last fall. When she went for her checkup prior to coming in the house, her abdomen was hard and distended, pee & gums orangey, and her bilirubin and another lab value were way off. They told me she had a pancreatic tumor (likely) could not have anesthesia, and sent her home telling me she would become very ill very quickly and would not live long. They did try to help me arrange for a lo-cost ultrasound, but it fell thru. I brought the the cat home to make her comfy as I could for her remaining time.

But she really fooled us! 8 months ago her hard abdomen softened and went down. Her activity level is very high. She has never had an episode of diarrhea and only 1 vomiting incident (but another cat also vomited the same canned food.) She is now at a stable weight of 5lbs,drinks & eats very well (esp poultry breast) and plays hard and bosses my older much larger neutered boys. She has been more or less in heat since October, and we feel like she really needs to be spayed before we all go 'round the bend. We seriously love the teeny girl and don't want to risk her, though. How can we know if she might be fit for surgery ? We're on SS and have to be very careful with our cat-care budget.

I really like the Mallory series by Carol O'Connell. The last book (Shark Music or Find Me) where Mallory finds her father seems to to be an ending of sorts, and I've heard nothing about a new book. The only real ongoing question is her relationship with Charles Butler.

I've really admired this series, and feel it has an integrity that most detective franchises don't have. (I like Stephanie Plum, but it's gotten extremely commercialized.) I would like more, but feel this would be a natural ending place.

If you're a Carol O'Connell fan, what other writers do you like as well?

Do you make up songs, or sing pop songs? Do you change the words to fit your cats? Do the cats enjoy your singing? What songs do they like or dislike?

Also, my Mean Kitty loves acoustic guitar playing as much as he likes tuna. He will sit as close to a guitar player as he can and stare soulfully at him. (But it doesn't mean he wants petted.) Any more like that out there?