I just heard back from the vet... Steve's tumor
had not yet adhered to surrounding tissue, they
got it out along with a portion of small
intestine, and my little bastard is ALIVE.  He's
even trying to walk already.  I'm so relieved I
don't even have words to describe it.  I would
dance for joy with his brother, but Clive is
asleep in spherical form, which is to say that
he's tucked all four legs and his head under his
body and appears for all the world to be a furry loaf.

The docs took biopsies of the surrounding tissue,
and we won't have the results back for a few days,
but visually at least the indications are good
that they caught it early enough and got the whole
mass.  He'll be recovering at the vet's office for
the rest of the week, eating high-fat chow and
enjoying the benefits of modern pharmaceuticals,
which is to say, stoned out of his feline mind.

I am crying like a baby, I'm so happy.  :)

Thank you again, all of you, for your well wishes,
hopes, and prayers, and for helping keep me sane
the last couple of days.  Obviously, I'll still be
a bit stressy until the biopsy results come back,
but the vets are optimistic and so I am
optimistic.  They say I can go visit him this
evening.  I absolutely can't wait.

*hugs everyone with abandon, then rushes off to
look under chairs and couches until she finds
Steve's favorite toy to bring along tonight*

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!