This is an update on the problem I first described. Hazel was alone at the vet's office from Monday until Thursday. The first blood panel compared favorably with that done when she was spayed in January. The estrogen test, done to determine whether ovarian tissue remains, will not be back for two weeks. The lab in Detroit sent it to Cornell University in New York State. I took Ben in on Thursday to be reintroduced. What we had all hoped would go well did not. The vet was startled to see that as he put it "I did not expect this at all. There is obviously bad blood between these two." He had, in fact, introduced Hazel to another male cat the day before, and all went well. However, Hazel and Ben would initially have nothing to do with our plans. She hid under the cages, and he used language and behavior I did not teach him. It was loud and nasty. We put Benny into a large cage near the floor, and allowed Hazel to roam. After she came out from under the cages, she spent a lot of time sitting next to me on the floor, glowering at him. We eventually put each in a separate carrier on the surgery table about a foot apart. The hissing and spitting continued. I left. Then the vet put the two carriers on the floor, 4 feet apart and opened the doors. One cat came out (I can't remember which one) and the other stayed put. Eventually the vet got them in the same carrier. All the time, he was in the room with them. Eventually he put them in a large boarding cage. They each staked out a corner and hissed and spit at each other. However, they calmed down and the vet left them that way for the night. (That would have scared me; however, I trust this guy totally. He has cared for my animals for a decade.) When he came in on Friday morning, they were cuddling. The game plan now is that I am allowed to call and check in but not visit at all until Monday. This is because I am afraid that they be arguing over who owns ME. I got this idea after she was sitting so close to me in the cat room when he was closed in a cage, as if to say "Nanner,nanner, she's mine." The last thing I said to the vet was "Unless I hear otherwise, I am to assume everything is going well. Right?" The answer was "yes." I am trying to remain positive about this, but truth to tell, I am afraid she may not be coming home. If it comes to that, the vet and I are in agreement that he will find her a good home. I adopted her from his office in the first place, and all of her medical care has been given to her there. They all say that she is a lovely little animal. However, I have owned Benny since he was 6 weeks old, along with his brother Jerry, who died in my arms at the same vet's office last summer. He had been treated for megacolon for two years, and his poor gut finally just quit and could not be revived. I will let you know more as I can.

This is very difficult.

Sheila

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