a large lump grew suddenly on rufus' left rear leg...thoughts were that it was
a site injection tumor, but from the time of exam to the date of surgery
it grew much larger...the biopsy revealed osteo carcinoma...xrays of his chest were clear,
and so, his left rear leg was amputated on 6.26.07

update 7.4.07: rufus is confined to three rooms upstairs (and i think he's rather bored), he's getting around ok,
hopping instead of thumping...sister jo thinks he's depressed...with the painkillers we give him, methinks he's just
doing what most cats do most of the time, ie, sleep...with the recovery his body has to make that's about all he CAN do
right now...until he gets "used" to hopping instead of running, he won't be playing as much as he used to either...
he did show interest in red dot so that's a good sign...i'm thinking, two-three weeks from now he'll be a different kitty :o)

update 7.7.07: rufus' appetite is fine, snarfed a piece of chicken
...also, he went down the stairs all by himself

the staples were removed on the 10th and rufus is moving around a LOT better now...there's a small problem near the end of the scar tho, not enough skin left to completely close a small area so there's flushing and medication to be done, twice a day until it closes up