Hello everyone, I know I know I know! I have had so many things happen since we got back from Scotland at the end of August…and no time for sitting down and writing a post. Well, I did write a sort of post about Scotland, but I never got around to finishing and publishing it.

I am well, very well, I mean in terms of my health. Nothing has changed there, thank goodness. Something else happened, as I am about to tell you.

On May 24 I wrote a post about London and our new Maine Coon kitten, Poppy, who was born with a bunch of problems. When we returned from Scotland, she underwent a bunch of tests that finally identified those problems. The diagnosis was not a good one. The “digestive issues” I mentioned in that post turned out to be caused by megaesophagus, a very rare condition in cats. In a few words, her esophagus was being constricted by a vascular ring anomaly, one she had at birth. This meant that everything she ate wasn’t getting into her stomach fast enough, but remaining and fermenting in her esophagus. So she wasn’t getting the nutrients that kittens need to grow…and in fact she has remained quite small, considering she’s a Maine Coon. Even worse, though, whenever she regurgitated her food, some of it risked slipping into her lungs…And in fact her tests turned up small traces of food in her lungs. Ouch!

I did a lot of research in that period and came up with a temporary solution that helped, even though I knew that it would not solve the problem: an elevated bowl stand, which kept (keeps!) her neck in an upright position while eating. With that tiny change, she finally stopped regurgitating her food. But, as I mentioned, we knew that it wouldn’t last forever.

After consulting with different vets, we knew that she would need surgery to deal with that blasted ring, otherwise she faced a short life of increasing suffering and illness–chronic pneumonia, in particular.

It didn’t take long to find the best vet surgeon in Italy for this type of difficult and dangerous operation. A brilliant surgeon who works in the city of Milan, about a 3.5 hour drive from Florence.

The three of us left for Milan on November 27, and Poppy went in for surgery the following morning. It took hours, but around lunchtime we got a call from the surgeon himself. Technically, he said, the operation was a success, but the next 48 hours were critical. Two days later, we got the news that she was going to be okay. Happiness, pure happiness!

Stefano, Poppy and I returned to Florence about five days later. She and I then spent a couple of weeks in the guest room (her convalescence period, which still isn’t quite over). She was still weak and had to be kept isolated from our other cats (not as easy as it sounds!).

Last week we let her out of her confinement, and the other cats welcomed her as though she had never left, indeed, those encounters were such a joy to witness. I am so proud of all my cats!

Anyway, Poppy is doing really well, really really well. She still has to eat wet food only, no dry food!, but YAAAAY she is eating like a super  hungry horse and gaining weight (instead of losing weight, as was the case before the operation; it is going to take a while, since she lost weight in the postoperative period, of course).

She has almost returned to her normal self, happy, affectionate, and playful, although she understandably hates her body suit, the one that protects her scar (and the stitches that still haven’t dissolved entirely)…but I will take that off in early January.

Okay, I have to go now and check on my little darling, but I did want to get online and write a quick post to let you know what has been going on for months now. We have been through some very scary times, with difficult decisions to make, but that is all over. We did the right thing: Poppy is still with us. Our little bundle of joy.

Since the Xmas holidays are just a few days away, I wish you all a very happy and healthful holiday season. I hope everyone is okay! Ciao!