UPDATE: 4/2/98
Presh has a hard lump on her stomach that seems to be getting bigger.  We're taking her to the vet to check it out.

UPDATE: 4/10/98
Presh had surgery to remove a tumor on her stomach.  Poor Preshie.  It was cancer. All we can do now is check her frequently for lumps and have her examined again if we find any...

UPDATE: 5/8/98
Preshie is doing fine. Her scar has healed and is hardly noticeable. She is back to her old chatty self again. Lately she's been playing with a new fish toy given to her by her Granny Gayle.

UPDATE: 7/3/98
I think Presh is mad at me.  I ran over her favorite toy (by accident of course) with the vacuum cleaner today.  Yes the one Granny Gayle gave her. It was a green felt fish attached to an elastic string with a bell on the end of it.   The vacuum cleaner sure  smoked a lot  when I ran over it and the bell made a terrible noise, like it was caught in the motor or something.    I thought the thing was gonna blow up!  I felt really bad.  It was the only (store bought) toy I've ever seen Presh play with on her own without me teasing her with it first. She loved that thing. I've heard the jingle of that little bell coming from the hall and when I go to look, there she'd be chasing it all over the carpet.   Oh well, I guess we'll have to get her another one.

UPDATE: 8/12/98
Presh seems much more talkative lately.  I think the older she gets, the more vocal she becomes.  She talks all the time.  She just looks at me and meows.  She always replies whenever you ask her a question, and she always has an opinion on every subject.  It's really very amusing.

UPDATE: 2/13/99
Presh got a bath last Saturday.  She loves baths!  Many cats hate getting wet, but Preshie enjoys it. 

UPDATE: 8/22/99
Presh has been the perfect big sister to the new little Sugar Glider.  She met Xylo yesterday and sat watching curiously as I held and petted him.  She didn't seem overly interested though.  I assured Presh that she was still my baby too and I made sure to give her just as much attention as the new arrival.

UPDATE: 10/02/99
One day shortly after I brought Xylo home, I was standing up with Xylo on my shoulder and Presh was sitting at my feet.  I had been worrying about how Presh would react to this new little squirrel like creature, when suddenly Xylo leaped off of my shoulder, glided down and landed on Preshie's back!   He looked like a little bull rider clutching her fur in both his hands.  She let out a yelp and ran forward while he bounced along clinging tightly to her back.   I was so surprised that all I could do was laugh.  After a bit, Xylo just turned loose and slid off and Presh was glad to get away from him.  I still giggle every time I think about it.

I used to have a pet Ball Python, that was given to me.  I liked having a pet snake but no one else liked it one bit.   Especially Presh.  She wouldn't even come into the living room where the snake was for about two weeks.  She would just sit out in the hallway and meow a most pitiful cry.  Finally I persuaded her to make friends with Pyth but it was a long process.

1/13/2000
When Presh suddenly became ill, I wasn't prepared for it.  I had figured the cancer would catch up with her someday, and she was getting pretty old, but she seemed so healthy to me.  She just stopped eating and drinking and she became so weak she couldn't stand.  The vet told us her kidneys were too weak to support her.  He did everything he could to try and rehydrate her, he kept her on an IV for 3 days to try to flush out her kidneys and help her recover but he said it was no use.  She was old and her kidneys were failing.  I can honestly say that was the most terrible day of my life so far.  I had to take the responsibility of making a life or death decision.  I didn't want her to die, but Dr. Fisher said she would not get better.  I couldn't bear to see her suffer.  She was wasting away and it was excruciating for me to watch and I can only imagine how bad she was feeling.  We had to let him put her to sleep.  That was the heaviest my heart has ever been.  My heart still aches for her.  With tears rolling down my cheeks, I fought back the sobs because I didn't want to scare her.  I stood against the cold metal table as she lay there looking up at me. I was afraid to pull her close to me because of the IV and she was so frail and thin I was afraid I would hurt her.  I stroked her fur as my mind reeled, "How do you say goodbye?  How can I leave her here and go home knowing I will never see her again?"  It was pure agony.  Then as weak as she was, she stood on her hind legs and put her paws on my shoulders.  She wanted me to hug her close.  I broke down as I stood swaying back and forth with my baby in my arms for the last time.  No one can ever know the pain you feel in your heart unless they have been through it.
I must commend our vet, Dr. Fisher.  As I said, that was the hardest day of my life, but it could have been even worse if we hadn't had such a wonderful doctor.  His kind words and his empathy was comforting.  He was genuinely  concerned for her well-being and his carefully chosen words and gentle manner was a relief.

I sure do miss my Presh.

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