Tonks Tuesday and the Letter B

Hello, friends! April's A to Z Challenge started yesterday with none other than the letter A, and today we're ready for the letter B.

Our A to Z theme this year is All Things Cat. As I explained yesterday, this means we're sharing all sorts of doodled items that are shaped like cats. They specifically will have cat ears and a cat face in some way, shape, or form. And today, the letter B stands for baked goods.

Not only do we have baked cupcakes for you, but also a baked chocolate chip cookie.

Now, unfortunately, don't get used to multiple doodles per day. I believe most or all of the rest of the days only have one doodle. I simply could only fit these two doodles under baked goods, because of what the remaining letters of the alphabet stand for in our All Things Cat theme.

Oh, and if you thought B would be for books, it almost was. Don't worry, though, because those books will show up for a later letter.

Do you have any guesses what our letter C will stand for tomorrow?

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On this Tonks Tuesday, the calico wanted to share a few of her favorite flashback photos.

Tonks loves her big brother Evan, and today Tonks said she would help me give another update on Evan.

I mentioned yesterday how Evan's right ear, which currently has an aural hematoma, also seemingly has yet another infection. I emailed our vet, including a picture of Evan's ear and the infection-indicating moisture in and around it. The told me to bring Evan in at 5 pm for another antibiotic injection in order to give him some quick relief. Evan wasn't thrilled about being shoved in his carrier the second I got home from work, but I did my best to explain that it was to help him feel better.

Evan's vet also cleaned and flushed out his ear. I've been having trouble keeping it as clean as I'd like, as the hematoma is largely blocking the ear canal and Evan is not a fan of having it cleaned. I was really glad the vet did an cleaning while Evan was there, so that at least as of last night it was freshly flushed out.

With his antibiotic injection now on board, and in addition to his other meds, Evan has been feeling and acting a bit better. He even played a bit with none other than calico Tonks. When Evan gives playful little mews and chirrups to the other kitties, I know he's feeling pretty good, and he's been doing that lots since his appointment yesterday evening.

Tonks hopes that Evan feels good enough soon for her to have a little game of tug with his tail like in the flashback photos above. Evan's not so sure how he feels about that.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

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Tip of the Day

As we said yesterday, April is Heartworm Awareness Month. For this reason, we are repeating a series of heartworm tips. Our second tip relating to heartworms is to know the potential symptoms. Since heartworms can affect the heart and lungs, early symptoms can often resemble those of asthma. Coughing and a lack of desire or an inability to exercise are commonly seen. Other potential signs of heartworm disease include decreased appetite, weight loss, and vomiting. The more severe the heartworm infection, and the longer it is present, the more pronounced the symptoms may be. Severe cases may also involve fluid buildup in the abdomen, as well as acute symptoms of pulmonary or cardiac failure, often due to heartworms causing a blockage. If you have any concerns that your cat or dog might have heartworms, seek veterinary care as soon as possible.