Yesterday evening as Kazon lay on the bed blanketed by the warm light of sunset, I watched him bathe for a short time before he curled up for a nap, and I realized then that today marks the end of his two-week regimen of medication.  His last steroids and antibiotics will be taken today, and I hope this defines his last struggle with the upset stomach they cause.

Our next course of action stems entirely from the results of more tests, more blood taken to see if his immune system has calmed down enough for him to be safe.  There’s also the question of his needed dental surgery, which of course can’t be addressed if we’re unable to reign in his immune system.

His weight stabilized after the first week, but it never recovered to its previous level and he now maintains a lightness that frightens me each time I pick him up.

Only time will tell where we go from here.

I’ve been asked why I subject myself to this variety of high-maintenance animals, many of whom have chronic health conditions.  That heralds entirely from rescuing unwanted and abandoned animals instead of seeking out kitten-mill produce and designer breeds.

Navel-gazing notwithstanding, saving a life to me is more important than effortless companionship by way of taking the safe route.

I would rather have a few short years of profound love with a sickly animal than many long years with a healthy one that I took in trade for knowing the loneliness and pain I left others to endure.

Had I not rescued Kazon when he was so young and so sick and so feeble, would anyone else have come along and provided him a good home with plenty of care and affection, provided him with safety and family without worrying for the cost his troubled childhood would bring later?

Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

Only my compassion drives me in these matters.

And when I am showered with such unbridled adoration and cared for with such heartfelt desire…  Well, to me that’s repayment well above and beyond whatever tribulations and trials we may face together.