It’s been a long and difficult week on the cat front, for the boys at least.

Romeo was the first to head to the vet after I noticed a wound on his right rear foot. I couldn’t quite figure out what I was seeing, and he wasn’t cooperating. So we headed to our vet at the Hawaii Kai Vet Clinic bright and early on Tuesday.

Dr. Sakamoto found that the claw on the outside of his right rear foot was “detached,” and she had to remove it, clean the wound and the paw, give him an antibiotic shot, and send him home. There was more bad news. Romeo has continued to lose weight, and is now a little less than half of his “fighting weight” back in the day.

“He’s fading away,” she said.

But there’s more. His heart murmur, noted years ago, has now developed into pronounced arrhythmia. Bluntly put, his heart if failing.

“He could go at any time,” and, she added, “it would be a blessing, wouldn’t it?”

And there was her quiet challenge, softly phrased but pointed.

I’ll just let that lay on the table for now, and move on.

I drove Romeo home, and he actually was feeling better after getting the paw tended to. He ate well that night and the next day.

Kini was back at the vets’ office for dental surgery. We picked him up eight hours later, minus six teeth. And there are several others now on double secret probation (Animal House fans will recognize the term).

He came home with three small pills for pain, one per day beginning this morning. Just put it in something he likes to eat, Dr. Sakamoto suggested. Well, the problem is that he likes dry cat foot, although on occasion he’ll eat canned food. But he’s not a table scraps cat. Just not interested. And he lost the right lower canine, so I’m hesitant to try my luck at pilling him, since my entry point would be right about there. far, he’s eaten a little dry food that I softened in hot water. Just enough not to be starving. He turned his nose up at people tuna, along with several varieties of Fancy Feast that were arrayed in tempting fashion.

I think, at this point, he’ll just have to live with whatever pain goes with the extractions and sutures. He’ll live.

Now, on to Feline Friday on Good Friday.

There are plenty of stories to go with this week’s photos.

Take the “cover” photo, below. After we returned from our early morning walk, I was setting up today’s batch of FF photos, and was this scene, with cats on the screen and Bessie in the background. I couldn’t resist, and added it into the mix. Sadly, there was another version which also caught Kali on the window ledge to the left. The problem–Bessie’s head was hidden by the empty bottle of V8 juice on the table. I went back and forth on which version to use, and eventually decided on the one where Bessie is visible, but Kali isn’t. Tough call.

Then there’s Kali on a chair next to the remnants of the bag that the catnip pickle toy came in. She had found the bag and enjoyed ripping it into shreds. I hope the pickle itself is that much fund!

The photo of Bessie looking out the kitchen window was taken as we returned from our morning walk. She manages to slip in behind the window shade and look out, while hidden from the other cats. When we got into the house, I got a couple of other photos as she emerged from her vantage point.

There’s a photo of Kinikini and Kali examining the cat carrier after we brought Kini back from the vet, then two other shots of the still-stoned Kini rolling happily on the floor.

And Romeo, always the trouper, hanging in there for another week, Dr. Sakamoto’s challenge not withstanding.

Anyway, please click below for this week’s feline photos!