We were in the vet office this pm and I suddenly realized that it's surprising that I still enjoy Christmas and the holidays so much. Maybe I'm just dumb.
 
Today we had to bring in our two youngest kittens for what looked like conjunctivitis, though they both had a few other minor health issues - sneezing and such.
 
Arthur is apparently in pretty good health and recovering from a mild infection. We still had to have him go through a bunch of test, including x-rays. 
 
Poor Alice (our youngest) may not have it so good. She's been potentially diagnosed with a fatal condition called Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). We'll know more as the tests results come back.
 
Unfortunately, we may not know for sure as cats can go through all the test and come out negative and yet still be affected. So the only real hope is if they find something else which may cause the symptoms - because there are one or two other conditions. But the absence of those other conditions would re-enforce the FIP verdict.
 
That disease progresses very quickly. Vets usually recommend euthanasia.
 
That brought back pretty sad memories of having to put Willow to sleep right after Christmas last year, December 29th, after bringing her to the emergency at 2 am.
 
The same Willow who had been diagnosed w/ diabetes just before Christmas 3 years earlier. 
 
Then I remembered my mother announcing me that she had cancer, right as I came back home for Christmas vacation...
 
Looking back, there are actually lots of painful memories associated with Christmas. And yet, every year, I'm just as anxious to put on the tree and get into the spirit. I tell you - I'm that positively dumb.
 
But even though it was heartbreaking to learn that things may turn for the worst for her, I figured that we'd just have to make the best of that poor kitten's time with us. It's just sad that she never got much of a chance to grow.
 
So a few hours and $1000 (farewell Waves Gold upgrade for now) later, here we are. We came back with a bag full of medication and syringes - 8 or 9 total I think. That's not counting the medicine we give our other cats every night. This place really is turning into a feline hospital. But we just love them so much.
 
And Christmas too, no matter what it throws my way it seems...

Rain, I feel your pain. In 2007, I came home from work to find my beautiful cat Buddy with his mouth wide open because he wasn't getting enough air. I scooped up my little guy and took him to the emergency vet, as it was almost 8:00 at night and our regular vet was closed. I kept telling him he was gonna be okay and petting him while I drove as fast as I could. I got him into the doors and they took him to the doctor in the other room. Less than a minute later, the doctor came out and said, "He stopped breathing, do you want us to attempt CPR?" I just said "no". A few seconds later the doctor came back with a syringe full of a white substance. She said that Buddy's lungs were full of the stuff. That's when I was introduced to FIP. I had my little boy for 13 years. And he lived up to his name. He was always with me when I was home. He was part of every recording/mixing session. He was usually laying on the mixer! But he was there for me when I had both feet crushed in an accident, and couldn't get around. He never left my side. And now here I was bringing him home wrapped in a towel because I wasn't there for him when he needed me. I just thought he was getting older and wasn't eating as much as he used to. I still haven't forgiven myself for that. I hope he has... Anyway, I'm hoping for the best for little Alice. :)

I'm sorry to hear about your sad situation with the kittens, Rain.  Best wishes for them.  

Sorry to hear that, lost more than my fair share of cats when I was a kid. The kitties would always gravitate to my room and hang out there so I was always close to them. But they seem to have a lot of potential health problems. With ours it was always either cancer or kidney disorders. I wonder if the breeding has anything to do with it (probably). I remember the worst time, our cat Holly went missing for 6 weeks. I hand wrote hundreds of fliers and posted them around the neighborhood. Eventually, when we'd just written her off, my mother came in through the back door carrying her. Apparently someone in the neighborhood had seen my flier and remembered that their friends miles across town had taken in a stray kitty matching the description. My mother flew across to check it out and sure enough, there was Holly. The weird thing was it turned out to be the family of a kid in my class at school, what are the chances? So I was overjoyed, but then a few weeks later she was diagnosed with cancer (yet another one) and we had to put her to sleep. I meet people with 17 year old cats and I think, how in the hell do you do it? LOL! Mine never lived that long. I hope yours turns out to be OK. 

We are lucky to have whatever time we have with our companions. I wish for you much more with yours.

You mentioned missing out on Gold Bundle.. Currently available at Audio Deluxe for less than $199

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. I know some people scratch their head when they see just how much they mean to us, but they're family. In the end, I do spend a whole lot more time with cats than with people. And you get to know them so well - just how different they are, their personalities and their habits, and how they interact with us and amongst themselves - heck, even their voice and their "vocabulary" or the way they meow. We're very lucky because they're all incredibly good cats. 
 
Mudgel - as for the Gold Bundle - I had an even better deal than that via upgrades, but with 1k gone in a blink of an eye and considering that we may have to spend more for treatment (or worst), and w/ the holiday season and all, it's not going to happen. But hey, Waves have sales all the time, I'm sure I'll catch a similar sale in due time.

I have had and lost almost more cats than I can remember.  Obviously, one of the most difficult decisions is to know when the time for the animal's last visit to the vet has come.  Too late and they suffer horribly.  My wife is one of those who refuses to acknowledge the obvious until too late and I've witnessed some heartbreaking final moments.  I'm a lot more stoic about it than she is - I cannot stand to see them suffer.  But, it's never easy.
 
Another aspect of the problem is how that money might be better spent.  Should you spend several thousand dollars to keep one creature alive for a few more months, or would that money be far more effective if donated to an animal welfare organization.  That's another terribly difficult decision to have to make.
 
Still, for all the pain and trouble they can cause, I never feel complete without some feline companionship around the house.

"I'm that positively dumb"

No your not. Christmas should be about hope, family, and counting what blessings we do have. Life is filled with pain and bad things. It is a time to celebrate the things that are good.