Grooming

Note: I apologize for the lack of any posts, but with the holidays and everything, I just haven't really thought about it.

So, my foster cat was recently diagnosed with Stomatitis. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about (which I suspect is most of you, as I hadn't heard of it either) it's an inflammation of the gums. It results in bad breath, drooling, and bleeding of the gums. Basically, it is a really nasty condition to deal with. So because of it, he can't eat anything but patte. Which smells horrible, but ok, whatever. He also doesn't groom himself because, well, it's just too painful. I took him back to the vet and pretty much told him to do what he could to fix it. The last time I took him in, he pretty much blew me off so I was already perturbed. His response was basically that it was all part of the condition and the condition is incurable. Well, I suspected that even if it is incurable, things could be done to make him feel better (and maybe stop drooling that nasty, stinky crap). So an injection, steroids, and more liquid antibiotics later, he finally started grooming himself last night. So why is this noteworthy? Well, most of you probably don't care, but for me, it was a special moment. It's why I do these sort of things. Like take in cats that have been locked in closets. I had been incredibly frustrated with him because of the condition and other quirks he has as a result of his misfortune. But seeing him finally start to groom himself, and then turn around and start to play with me, was reward enough for me.