Hello everyone! Many of you know and love our bookstore cat Eleanor. She hasn’t been feeling well the past couple of days, and yesterday (12/18), she was looking pretty bad so we had to make an emergency vet visit to see what’s going on. As you can see in the photo (you may need to zoom in a bit), her third eyelid on one of her eyes is stuck halfway up. She was also lethargic, but our main concern was her eating, as she had refused food for two days. This is very concerning for her, as she is one of the most food-motivated cats we’ve ever seen (if she doesn’t get 2-3 meals a day, we don’t hear the end of it!). We explained all of these symptoms to Dr. Sheahan at Rosedale Vet (highly recommend, she is an amazing doctor and it’s an excellent facility). The likely diagnosis is an infection behind her eyeball (the pressure of the built up fluid/infection is pushing the third eyelid up involuntarily). This infection has also caused ear pain, as well as lots of swelling and irritation in the throat, giving her a massively sore throat. The other possibility is cancer behind the eye, but it’s much less likely. We were sent home with antibiotic chewables that she must take for 10 days, twice a day, and they administered a steroid shot at the vet, which helped tremendously. Altogether, the vet bill was approximately $250, so that’s our tentative goal for this fundraiser. If we raise more than that, it will all go to future vet expenses and/or food for Eleanor. If she doesn’t improve drastically by Sunday, a return visit will be required to run some tests and perform a sedated exam. We will raise the goal and keep you all updated if this occurs, although we hope these medications will nip this in the bud. Help us make Eleanor’s holiday season a bit more merry!