Thank you all for your kind thoughts about my Polly-cat. They seem to be helping--well, the kind thoughts along with the antibiotic. Polly prefers the kind thoughts. As do I--do you know how much fun it is to try and give a 17.5 pound polydactyl cat a 3.5 ML dose of strawberry-flavored suspension three times a day? Kind thoughts are much nicer...

She's eating and drinking normally, her litterbox skills have improved dramatically (as has the state of my house), and she's even playing. Polly is a very sophisticated cat and she has never been much for playing. It can be so undignified. But this week, she's gotten into my kitchen cotton more than once (she now has her very own ball), and I caught her playing with a catnip-infused fish yesterday.

We go to the vet this afternoon for a follow-up, so fingers are crossed that everything is better and the vet can return to harping about the cat's weight.