Early Friday morning, I added a caption to Ms. Wally’s photo saying that her poor appetite had me concerned.

An hour or so later, when we got back from our early morning walk, she jumped up into my lap and I took the occasion to take a better look. When I took a quick look in her mouth, never an easy task with a cat, and ugh!

I couldn’t make out exactly what was going on in that mouth, but it wasn’t right! I marched right to the phone and, after some back and forth, lined her up for a 5:30 p.m. visit to VCA in Kaneohe.

The bad news was that our regular vet’s day off. The good news is that their whole team at VCA is excellent and I knew that I didn’t have to worry.

So we spent a shortened day in town and left early in order to get back to Kaaawa, about a 26-mile drive, packed up Wally and then turn around to repeat the 13-mile drive back to Kaneohe.

And it’s a good thing.

Positive signs. She hasn’t lost weight since last month’s visit, weighing in at 13 pounds, 2 ounces. And she didn’t have a temperature.

But when our vet of the day, Dr. Crystal Force, opened Wally’s mouth, she quickly determined that Wally is suffering from a laceration on her tongue. No wonder she wasn’t eating!

Now the scary part. Without knocking Wally out, it wasn’t really possible to do a full assessment of what’s going on with that tongue.

Possibility #1: A recent injury, something sharp doing the damage. Possibility #2: Oral cancer, which would require a biopsy, and this isn’t simple to do with a tongue, Dr.Force explained.

We finally agreed on an approach. Wally got a shot of a new antibiotic which continues working for two weeks, bypassing all the individual daily doses that bring cat owners to their knees with fear and frustration. And she also got a shot of a narcotic pain killer, along with a vial that she gets to dip into three times a day for several days.

If her tongue begins healing and she starts eating, then it’s most likely a recent injury and she’s on her way to recovery. If she doesn’t respond, then it’s on to anesthetics and a biopsy.

Wally and I made the drive home. She didn’t cry at all on the trip, unlike the way to the vet, which was marked by an almost constant meow.

It wasn’t long before she was in the kitchen, eyes dilated, standing alongside her food bowl, begging.

We went slowly. First I opened a can of tuna and have her a spoonful. She at it all, although it was a slow process. Her injured tongue obviously slowed her down, but she worked steadily until it was gone. I also worked steadily, keeping seven other jealous cats from pushing Wally out of her place.

A while later, I opened a can of regular cat food and gave Wally another small serving, this time putting a small spoonful in each of seven other cat dishes. That’s a better strategy for managing cats than simply trying to stand guard over Wally’s dish.

This morning, Wally continued to eat. She managed to slowly work her way through two small servings of cat food, the second mixed with a bit of that leftover tuna. She also got another dose of that pain medication, and is now going to sleep it off.

I’m pretty hopeful now that the simpler explanation, an injured tongue, is what we’re dealing with.

Wally and I return to VCA late Sunday afternoon for a recheck, scheduled so that Dr. Force can consult with our regular vet, Ann Sakamoto.