He's been going a bit bald on his back, and has a bunch of scabs which have been spreading, so we went in to get it checked out.
Came home with what seems like a lifetime's worth of drugs, though I think it's just 2 weeks of antibiotics and about 3-4 weeks of steroids (strong doses at first and then tapering off).
He's also got a heart murmur, which I knew about but wasn't too concerned with. The vet recommended I do an echocardiogram to see what's causing the murmur, but frankly, as they cost ~$300 and Ruby's a young, happy, active kitty, it's not exactly high on my radar. I'm of the school of thought that just because you can do something (have chemo done for your pet, pay tons of money to get your pet painted funky colors, etc), doesn't mean you should.
I could shell out a few hundred, subject Ruby to this test, buy whatever medication they recommend to tackle whatever condition he has, and he could be on that for life. Or I could just continue to make sure that he's happy and active and doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. Sure, meds might prolong his life, but they might not, and since I don't know what his lifespan should be (beyond just the "cats can live for a couple decades-ish" range), it's not like I (or he) will miss out on that time. (That's not to say I won't be sad when he dies, obviously.)
Anyway, mini-rant on weird things we do for pets thanks to medical (or other) breakthroughs aside, the vet loved Ruby. She was raving about him the whole time...he was purring the minute she came in, he lay on his back for her to rub his belly (really to check his belly scabs, but not according to him), and was, by all accounts, a model patient. (Except that he was purring when she was listening to his heart, which makes it a bit more challenging.) Of course, the minute I put him back in his carrier to drive the 1/4 mile back home (which takes less than 5 minutes), he began complaining about all his life issues once again.
Gotta love kitties. :)
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