Plans and Setbacks

My plan was to show Heath at cat shows that are relatively local to us. The setback has been that Heath has ear polyps. Due to the polyps, his ears have been infected basically ever since he came home. I want to be clear that this is not a genetic problem, but just one of those random things that happens with living beings. His breeder has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She is one of those people who give breeders a good name. Purebred animals bred by responsible breeders are no more likely to have health issues than random bred animals and should have less of issues we are able to test for. I think mutts and domestic shorthair and longhair cats are wonderful pets, but if a purebred is what you want, you should know that your chances of having a long relationship with a healthy animal are excellent if you choose a responsible breeder.

We decided shortly after getting Heath that we loved him and were going to keep him despite the realization that his ears were a problem. (My husband is the best!) I've done a lot of research about ear polyps in cats. The cause is unknown. A middle ear surgery called ventral bulla osteotomy, which involves scraping the polyp out of the middle ear, is almost always completely successful and curative. Heath has bilateral polyps, meaning he has them in both ears, a very rare condition. He will be having VBO surgery tomorrow. I am praying for an excellent outcome and looking forward to putting the issues with his ears behind us for good.

Lasting complications are rare. I hope he will still get the chance to try for success as a show cat, but if that is not to be then I know we will still have a great time with Heath as our pet. He is such a character that one way or another I'm sure he has big plans for his life!

After this week, and bringing Heath's life up to date, my plan for this blog is three posts a week. Tuesdays will be general updates on Heath's life. Friday will be pictures from Instagram. Do you have an iPhone? I love the Instagram app, and Heath is my most frequent subject. Follow me @ tacarlile on Instagram. Sunday's posts will be about training or living with a Maine Coon.

Please pray that Thursday's news will be all good.

I'm not coming out if you're messing with my ears!