A Haunted Thankful Thimble Thursday with an Update on Trapper

Hello and happy Thursday, friends! Thimble is of course here and ready for Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Today, Thimble is grateful that she recently found one of her festive ghost toys that had been lost for who knows how long, possibly since last Halloween. I don't know where she found it, but she ended up with it on my bed the other day.

Prior to these photos Thimble was actively playing with that there little ghost, but as soon as I pulled the camera out she instead opted to pose like the model she is.

Today, Thimble and all of us are also grateful that my parents' kitty Trapper is still hanging in there. As I've mentioned, Trapper is Thimble's littermate who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive, terminal cancer. He's exceeded the median prognosis for his diagnosis, and while he's certainly lost weight and is nowhere near as active as he used to be, he's still showing interest in certain meals, getting drinks from his beloved bathtub, and going on some of his strolls around the house, as well as some of his other usual things. My parents are giving him pain meds as well as a variety of other medications to keep him comfortable while he's still showing interest in such stuff. I go to my parents' house every day to not only visit Trapper, but to also help give him subcutaneous fluids to combat the dehydration caused by the cancer. I also give him a vitamin B12 injection every couple or few days, as his vet sent a bottle of that home since it seems to perk Trapper up a bit.

Trapper took a little trip to his usual vet yesterday for an antibiotic injection, as the poor boy's cancer is causing paraneoplastic dermatitis, and a couple lesions on his skin were starting to look aggravated. His wonderful vet gave him said antibiotic injection, and he also did another recheck ultrasound. Trapper's tumor still appears to be roughly the same size it was when discovered a couple weeks ago. The oncologist did say that it's very likely the cancer has microscopically spread into nearby organs or other regions of his body, but so far the main tumor is remaining about the same, and no other big tumors have been seen on imaging.

My parents and myself are grateful for any days we get to spend with sweet Trapper.

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Now, let's share the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. _________ is a useful skill that I have.

2. I recharge by _________.

3. My job as a _________ taught me _________.

4. I wouldn't mind visiting a house haunted by _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

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Spooky Flashback Doodle of the Day

Today we have the flashback doodle starring Thimble in her Halloween costume. Her costume was rather easy to pick. After all, this tabby girl loves nighttime cuddles, so much so that she constantly wakes up this human mom of hers at all hours of the night in order to request said cuddles. Since she doesn't believe in sleeping, here we have Freddy Thimble Krueger.

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Tip of the Day

Today's tip is an extension of yesterday's tip, when we reminded you to only put Halloween costumes on furbabies who tolerate or enjoy it. Now we're here to mention the importance of choosing safe and secure costumes for those kitties and pups who do enjoy wearing them. There are a number of considerations to make in order to ensure that a Halloween costume, or other item of clothing, is safe for your furbaby. For example, you of course have to make sure that there are no embellishments or other decorations on the costume that could be chewed off and ingested, as this could indeed be dangerous. You also want to make sure that no strings or other similar parts and pieces could lead to a furbaby getting tangled in the costume. What's more, make sure the costume is the correct size and fit. A costume with too small of a neck hole or with too small of leg holes could be not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous for circulation. Dressing up our furbabies can indeed help you and them get into the Halloween spirit, but it is far more important to ensure their comfort and safety.