Mo'i in the moonlight...

Mo'i in the moonlight...  Just before 2 am I woke up, after about 7 hours of good, solid sleep.  That's a lot more than I've been getting recently, mainly because of Mo'i and his age-related problems (he barks to be let outside generally between 1 and 3 am), and Maka Lea's illness.  So last night I went to bed very early, and I woke up on my own before Mo'i did.

I woke Mo'i up (he was very startled!) and took him outside for a walk.  I didn't need to turn on any outside lights, as the moon was shining brightly in the clear sky.  I really didn't need a jacket, either – it was 38°F outside.  That's much warmer than usual for a February night here, and it's forecast to be that way for several more days.  The moonlight was bright enough that I could (dimly) see color in the evergreens and in the orange paint of our FJ Cruiser.  Mo'i walked confidently, making his way to the trees whose trunks are full smells he wanted to imbibe, and letting him find the vole runways that he loves to hunt on.  I delighted in the moonlit vista of snow-covered mountains, startlingly bright over the quiet and darkened valley.  That was a more pleasant walk than 2 am walks generally are :)

After we came back inside, I checked on little Maka Lea.  We'd taken him to the vet yesterday afternoon, worried about the vomiting, diarrhea, and continued lack of urination. The vet reported that he was just about perfect in every way she could test for.  Blood, urine, X-rays, urethra check – all showed a kitty in remarkably good health, especially for his age.  There just was no discernible reason for the symptoms we were seeing.  So last night we decided to let him stay with the rest of the cats, out of his isolation cage, and we just hoped for the best.  This morning when I checked on him, he looked happy and calm – and there were no pools of vomit or diarrhea around him.  Because he's now sharing litter boxes with the other cats, we can't tell if he's urinating.  We're still worried about that, but we'll just have to watch for other signs of urinary tract blockage.  For now, though, we're cheered by his apparent turnaround...