Good news: no cancer for Buttons. Bad news: he’s old, his colon is starting to malfunction. Things back up & turn rock hard (& apparently look like tumors on X-rays) due to some nerve problem or other. This requires a change in diet, which is a problem since his diet is special & keeps him from other problems (crystals in his urine).
After a system flush and several days of stool softener and wet food, he is very clearly feeling far better; he’s a happier cat and almost aggressively affectionate. But he’s still in quarantine… not because he’s infectious, but because I need to make sure he eats his food and not the other cats (and they eat their own and not his) and that he poops as he should. This separation is offensive to *all* of the cats. Not, I think, because they have a burning desire to share each others company; they’re just outraged at being blocked from going wherever they want.
Going to move the Men In Black raygun to ebay.