I've been so behind in this thread, but thanks for the well wishes everyone. She doesn't seem to be having anything in the way of pain, so that's good. Mostly she's tired most of the time. She feels lazy if she sleeps too much (the too being entirely of her own definition).

He was yellow, and it was terrifying to see.

It's so unnatural looking, like if they'd used yellow for the Wicked Witch of the West instead of green unnatural. And the eyes get yellow too. So disturbing.

my bank account is sort by a million bucks

Sorry, your statement to the universe contained a typo. Request denied. So close.

Daaaaaang. You want a job as a proofreader? I totally didn't see that!

I really wanted that million bucks, damn it.

Dean and Maddie were siblings. So that's one reason I worry, but the last few times I've worried about Dean it's been nothing. This time it's something.

So back from the vet - he lost 2 lbs and was dehydrated. He walked fine and kept jumping on the exam table. Whereas this morning after I called the vet he couldn't jump on the couch, his right hind leg didn't seem to work and then his right front leg didn't seem to work.

But he's alert and was purring and affectionate to the vet tech, which they said was a good sign. He has a low body temperature (they took it twice!) and they took blood and urine for testing.

He might have Irritable Bowel Syndrome and he might have Pancreatitis. They may get an idea from the lab work but he may need more test, but I may not be able to afford them (like an ultrasound).

In the meantime they gave him an appetite stimulant and Pepcid and saline. And I need to keep him isolated for awhile so I can monitor his food and water intake and if he's using the litter box.

He's breathing is fine and his heart murmur hasn't changed.

The person from Molly Maid just came to give me an estimate. If I get the apartment cleaned every other week, it'll be $84 per cleaning. If I get it done once a month, it's $106 per cleaning. Does this seem reasonable? It's a bit higher than I'd expected, but I don't really know what this stuff usually costs. (The apartment is a small front room, living room, kitchen, stairs, bedroom, and bathroom.)

Hil, I used to pay $75/week for once-a-week cleaning of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house from Merry Maids (whom I don't recommend, btw). I don't know how much difference it ought to make, how often the cleaning is done.

I don't know how much difference it ought to make, how often the cleaning is done.

I think they figure that, if there's more time between cleanings, it'll get dirtier during that time.

Yeah, I guess. It's just.. what, will they have to vacuum HARDER? Wipe the counters with more vigor? I don't think it's a real thing, I think they use it as a reason to charge more. It's not like they'll need a shovel and a flamethrower if it's a week longer between cleanings.

That seems high based on how big your place is. We use Molly Maids and we pay $85 every two weeks. Our condo is 2 bed, 2 bath, ~1300 sq ft.

My office is cleaned once of month for $89, our house is cleaned every two weeks for $129.

I can see the logic behind the more cost for less frequent, I know that our house would need significantly more cleaning on a 4 week interval if we didn't do cleaning in between. Things like the bathroom are much easier to keep clean with regular intervention.