first post!

this is my first post. let's catch you up with a little about mason.

mason will be three years-old-in october. in december 2006, mason developed an eye irritation that we thought was caused by his constant playing around in the christmas tree. when it didn't clear up, we took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with an ulcer on his eye. he had surgery to correct this in early february 2007 and now has a cloudy mark on his eye (though he can see perfectly fine). in may 2007, we took a trip and had him kenneled. this caused another eye infection and his diagnosis of feline rhinotracheitis virus (feline herpes). since june, mason has had another surgery to repair a small ulcer in his other eye as well as cosmetic surgery to keep his eyelids from rolling inward and aggrivating the condition.

mason is currently on famvir, a human herpes medicine that does not have a generic and costs around $31 for 5 pills (he takes 1/4 twice daily), and l-lysine, an amino acid supplement to help stop the reproduction of the virus. so far, he's still having flare-ups. we try to keep everything for him as calm and relaxed as possible to lesson the chance of another ulcer.

other than that, mason is very friendly, and loves to climb in your lap if you're typing or trying to read a book. he also likes to pet your hair if you're petting him. and he is very vocal. if you don't answer immediately, he meows in what sounds like "ma-son". this doesn't help us figure out what he wants and is honestly kind of creepy. he is also a scaredy cat, which can be annoying when we're trying to keep him calm. here is a short list of things mason is afraid of:

* strangers
* when the DVD player opens
* the dishwasher
* the toaster
* toast
* athletic shoes
* ryan adams
* the yoga mat (in all fairness, it's because i've rigged it to fall on him if he tries to jump on the bedroom window at night)
* litter box covers
* being alone
* being with people
* the dark
* beetles
* hairspray
* pans
* cat food with chicken in it

so, that's pretty much what we'll be covering here.