Colour Theory & A Biscuit Update

I mentioned a while ago that I started a Colour Theory course.  

Last night was the 3rd session and I'm enjoying it (apart from the idle, vague chit chat about colour for the first hour).  My favorite part of the class is when we discuss and learn colour terms and then view a slide show to illustrate the application of the terms in famous old paintings and also contemporary works of art.

We also have homework each week!  The first week we had to do a colour wheel with all the colours having the same VALUE.

"Value" is the lightness or darkness of a colour:

We had to follow the triangle format, by taping lines on the canvas and then painting the 6 colours of equal value - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet.  Mine was pretty accurate except my yellow was too light.

We used acrylic paints in the primary colours - Red, Blue, and Yellow - and mixed them to produce the secondary colours.  Then you use white or black paint to lighten or darken the colours.

Biscuit helped with my project by sitting on the chair next to me and meowing when he liked the colours:

The left side of his neck was shaved at the vet (for blood work) so he looks a little scruffy.

Unfortunately Biscuit is not feeling well at all.

His ultrasound showed that the lymph nodes in his abdomen are moderately swollen.  

The ultrasound vet and our vet think he either has inflammatory bowel disease (IBD -which can cause the lymph system to react) or intestinal lymphoma (cancer).  It is impossible to know which it is without exploratory surgery (via biopsy).  An endoscope could be used for biopsy but it might be inconclusive too.

So we decided to put him on steroids, in addition to the thyroid drug he's been on.

The steroid, prednisolone, is supposed to suppress the immune system and improve the IBD, if that's what he has.  He's been on the steroid 6 days and still no change in the diarrhea.  He hasn't had nausea, but today for the first time he has vomited about 20 times.  

Luckily I am home today, so I am on standby with paper towels and carpet cleaner and have called the vet and await a reply.  He threw up all over the seat of our new linen sofa (which I am regretting I didn't Scotch Guard).  Poor little guy.

He seemed quite okay this week and seemed to be coming back to himself, including some lovely naps during the day (previously he was restless and meowing non-stop):

I guess we will know in the next couple of weeks what's happening.

My heart goes out to our friend Renae who had to put down her 17 year old cat, Schmoo, today.

I hope we will have Biscuit for a long, long time (he is only 11) but I am not hopeful after today.  And it is very hard to get him to take his pills.  I hope the vet calls back soon. 

In the meantime, I am glued to CNN watching the events in Boston.  It must be surreal and a bit scary to be living there right now.