Bad and unexpected news

Atticus has been tenatively diagnosed with lymphoma -- pending biopsy results on Wednesday. What we thought was a very stubborn hairball turned out to be an intestinal tumor.

We don't have much more information than that. We'll be treating him with steroids to try to make it go into remission. He's coming home from surgery this evening -- apparently they keep "most" cats in the hospital a day or two but, as the vet very diplomatically put it, "Atticus will mostly likely do better at home. I don't think an IV is an option."

(It is an option -- if you like your vet techs sliced, diced, and shredded. Apparently cancer hasn't slowed him down much. Just made him barfy.)

We hope he'll get better.