Puffy has lost his puff and Chirpy has lost his chirp.

Puffy (real name is Casey) is our 8 year old long haired cat. Puffy has earned his name due to his long fluffy hair, but also his Santa Clause like belly. Puffy s a vey clean cat and kept himself well groomed for years, but in the last couple of years his flexibility has been reduced due to his "puffiness" and he has a hard time reaching his back and sides. His coat was looking less and less puffy and more and more matted, so we decided he needed to be clipped. We had had a few mats clipped off him at the vets last year and he was a good boy, so when my sister volunteered to help me clip him (she raises and shows persians) I took her up on the offer. Well he wasn't a good boy... I have the scratch scars to prove it. He got away and hid underneath the tub where we couldn't get him out. So we abandoned that plan and yesterday he was taken to the vet to be clipped. Well once again he was a good boy. Apparently all 20 pounds of him was as relaxed as could be and he rolled around enjoying the experience. No need to sedate him at all. He now is a very stream lined puffy cat , bald everywhere except his legs head and tail. He feels like a new man! And his haircut has had a sliming effect too, he looks much less rotund.

Chirpy losing his chirp isn't as nice a story. Chessy, usually called Chirpy due to his cute little chirpy meow has been having health issues for a while now. He has horrible breath forever and started to have trouble eating like his teeth hurt. He also had red inflamed and bleeding gums. We took him to a local vet and he was tested (again- he was tested before we brought him home 2 1/2 years ago as well) for feline leukemia as well as an immune virus (similar to AIDS in humans) and was negative for both. He was prescribed antibiotics and steroids for infection. We shoved these pills/drops down his throat for a few weeks and he seemed to be getting better. He got the full doses of both and he plumped back up, started eating well and got quite saucy and full of himself. Well a week or 2 later these started to wear off a bit and this week he was back to having trouble eating. To make matters worse he also lost his chirp. When ever he meows this pathetic little squeek comes out. We decided to take him to a different vet (a little farther from home, but one I have know for years who practices traditional vet medicine/surgery as well as homeopathy/acupuncture etc) The appointment was yesterday, and it doesn't sound like good news. He is running further blood tests, but with an infection like this one (getting worse quickly, coming back so fast after steroids and antibiotics) there is probably an underlying cause. Probably a type of cancer. Chirpy is on a homeopathic remedy now to try to build up his immune system, but the vet is doubtful this will have long term effects. He thinks we should start looking at care as being palliative and for pain relief. My poor Chirpy.