Post your own pet's health journey

Hello! While we're eagerly awaiting the next step in Hamilton's hyperthyroid journey, Our Place to Paws would like to invite readers to send in their own stories about their pets' health.

Have you had a dog, cat, or other pet who faced a difficult or unusual health problem and conquered it? We're looking for inspirational stories to post on our blog and in our e-newsletter. Please send stories and photos to: faye@ourplacetopaws.com. Stories should be up to 400 words in length.

Thanks, we look forward to sharing your stories.

Happy Birthday, Fiona! She's 2!

...and tired out from playing with her toys!

New Giant Panda Cub at the San Diego Zoo!

The San Diego Zoo is reporting that one of their Giant Pandas gave birth to a cub on August 3. If any of you have been watching the panda cub at the Atlanta Zoo, Mei Lan, grow up, you now have another cub to keep track of!

Here's a link to the San Diego Zoo's Panda Cam.

And here's a link to the news about the cub.

Tribbs and HIS box

I love how his back paw is sticking out the side.

Hamilton's Treatment Date set

We're gearing up -- both mentally and financially -- for Hamilton's radioactive iodine shot to treat his hyperthyroid condition. It's happening on Sept. 10 at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, part of the MSPCA. I wish we didn't have to hospitalize him for 10 days or more, but I feel really good about the decision to give him the treatment. Although he's gained weight and is looking like a "regular cat" again on the daily meds, he hates taking them. He runs away as soon as he sees the dropper, and I can tell he doesn't feel totally good on the meds. He's more subdued then he used to be and he sleeps more.

We'll be happy to have our playful kitty back and healthy again when it's all over!

Fiona and the box

Our new issue is out!

We've sent our our August issue and updated all new monthly articles on the Web site. If you'd like to see who won the August reader photo spotlight contest, or read the feature story, Daisy's new column or our first "Cats vs. Dogs" essay, visit www.ourplacetopaws.com.

In the meantime, we've had some good news about Cali, one of the cats we've been discussing here on the blog. You might recall that about six months ago an x-ray revealed something on one of her lungs that the vets couldn't identify. Only a very invasive procedure would determine if it was cancer or benign. After getting three opinions, we chose to do regular follow-up x-rays to determine whether the spot would change over time.

Yesterday Cali had her fourth follow-up, and there's been virtually no change. We're feeling more and more confident that this isn't cancer and she'll be just fine. Yay!

More on Hamilton

Well, we're in the last stretches of preparing for Hamilton's radio iodine treatment for hyperthyroid. We have some choices to make. One company will administer the shot and keep Hamilton for three days until their permit allows them to release him back to us (at that point his radiation levels should be acceptable to go home). In that case, however, we have to take very special precautions for two weeks after he's home, such as flushing all litter down the toilet and handling it with plastic gloves, and limiting our "face time" with the cat. We'd also have to keep litter boxes out of various rooms and keep Hamilton out of the kitchen (where he currently spends much of his time).

Angell Memorial in Boston does a more full-service program, which includes keeping Hamilton for up to 10 days and doing more extensive testing at the beginning to determine how much medication he should be given. Although it's more expensive, we're leaning toward the Angell Memorial program. We'd hate for Hamilton to have to be boarded for 10 days to two weeks, but it seems like the safest situation for everyone, especially since we have four other cats currently in the house!

Stay tuned, our new e-newsletter should be coming out by the end of the week! To subscribe, email faye@ourplacetopaws.com.

New issue coming soon!

We're wrapping up our next free e-newsletter issue. If you haven't signed up, please do by sending an email to faye@ourplacetopaws.com. The new issue features links to various sites where you can take action on animal issues, the announcement of our August Reader Photo Winner, our first Cats vs. Dogs essay submission, letters from readers, a new column by Daisy the Cat and a new Kids Corner project, and more!

I just had to post these pictures of red pandas. I've seen red pandas at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, and they are some of the cutest creatures I've ever seen, a sort of cross between a giant panda and a fox.