In November of 2005, Arlo wasn't feeling himself.  When I saw him visiting the litterbox frequently but not producing anything, I immediately suspected that he had a urinary blockage.  This is a fairly common condition in cats and is usually caused by crystals in the urine.  It can be fatal in male cats in a short period of time, since toxins quickly build up if they're unable to urinate.  Arlo went to see the emergency vet right away.

He did indeed have a blockage and had to stay in the hospital overnight.  In addition, he was constipated - probably because he'd become somewhat dehydrated.  The blockage was not caused by crystals, however:  it was a mucus plug (which sounds really disgusting).  His regular vet explained that this type of plug is a random occurrence and, unlike the crystal plugs, is unlikely to happen again.  We hope that's the case.

"SKIN CANCER" - OR NOT

Early in 2006, Arlo developed an odd, discolored spot on the bottom of his nose.  We figured he'd rubbed it raw or something and waited for it to clear up, but after several weeks, it was still there, unchanged.  Since he's a light-colored cat, we started to worry about the possibility of skin cancer and made an appointment with his vet.

His vet did the usual exam and looked at his nose a bit, then decided to wet down the fur over the discolored spot so she could see the skin better.  She gave his nose a few good swipes with a wet piece of gauze and voila:  no more "skin cancer."  The discolored spot had been dirt.  Evidently, Arlo isn't much into washing his face!

This was probably the silliest visit I've ever made to the vet.