I took Rex to the vet yesterday to have his eyes examined. Overall, he's in good shape. When we pick him up, he feels strong, and he's probably gained a pound or so since he arrived ten days ago. And his eye weepiness and sneezing have diminished noticeably. But the "third eyelid" that covers most of his right eye hasn't receded at all.

The vet who examined him agreed with us that he's a mellow, friendly cat. Even after he was weighed and handled, his heart rate was a normal 130, so the vet visit didn't stress him out. At least until they gave him eye-drops to numb his eyes so they could examine them. He hated that and resisted vigorously, much as he did when we tried to give him eye meds during his first day with us.

The doctor said we were right to stop giving him eye meds, since they wouldn't have helped him. And he said that since Rex's left eye looks great, he didn't think Rex had Haws Syndrome (which can cause the third-eyelid symptom.) He pointed out a small abscess on a rear tooth in Rex's right upper jaw and said that sometimes a tooth infection can trigger eye inflammation, since the tooth and the eye are so close to each other. He said the abscess wasn't terrible now, but it would probably get worse, and that might necessitate more dramatic dental work later.

When I got home, I e-mailed a summary of the vet's recommendation to a Homeward Trails coordinator (and to Martha, who's still in Uganda) and she negotiated a discounted tooth-extraction estimate for Rex with one of HT's affiliated clinics. So I'll be taking him in for that next week.

Between now and then, Rex and the Knights will be going "on view" at PetMAC in DC this weekend. PetMAC (the Pet Marketplace and Adoption Center) sells upscale pet foods and accessories and has expansive new cages for available kittens and cats. And they're having a store-expansion event this weekend, so we hope that will lure potential adopters. Maybe Rex or a few of the Knights will get lucky and find their Holy Grails, aka forever homes.

filed by: TS