While I was busy enjoying my weekend at the fall festival, our vocal visitor from Friday was not enjoying his weekend one bit. Downy had to spend the whole weekend at the special all-night clinic. Downy was the angry kitty who kept yelling at mother and her helpers to take the hard plastic tube out from his boy parts. The tube had been put in because Downy couldn't get his yellow marking water out.

Mother had sent him to the overnight clinic to be sure that even when the plastic tube came out that Downy would be able to start passing the water. No such luck. Downy had to have his parts cleaned and flushed all weekend long, “He has so many crystals that his urine looks like sand” mother read aloud from the papers that came back with Downy. “Looks like he's going to have to have surgery”, she concluded. It was no surprise to anyone that when Downy came back he was angrier than when he had left.

Sweet Sally quickly got busy setting up for the procedure in the no-awake-dogs-allowed room. She was especially particular because a special doctor was traveling down to work on Downy; Dr. Quinn, surgery woman. Dr. Quinn visits us about once or twice a month to do the special procedures that my parents can't do. She works quickly, leaks very little of the red syrup and uses a beeping burning machine that makes the clinic smell like smoky barbecue. Her patients wake up from their special naps well rested and barely sore at all.

Dr. Quinn arrived right on schedule and Downy was given white liquid in the tube in his leg to help him fall asleep. We were all happy to see the angry cat finally resting quietly. I'm glad he was asleep too because if he had any idea what they were doing to him he really would have lost it. Dr. Quinn and her assistant, Lenny, took all of the fur off of Downy's back end and had his tail strung up in he air! Cats are always so worried about how they look, I just know that Downy would have cried from embarrassment if he'd been awake. Luckily, he slept quietly through the whole procedure. Later, I overheard Dr. Quinn explaining things to Downy's mom, “Basically we do a surgery that turns the boys anatomy into more like a girls. He'll have a larger whole for the urine to come out, and he won't get blocked again.”. I couldn't believe my ears! I had Bea clean them twice to be sure I'd heard her right. Turned him into a girl?

I was relieved that Downy seemed less angry when he woke up than at any other time I'd met him. His sex change operation was already helping! Maybe it was because the plastic tube was out, or because he could finally get his yellow water out without help, or maybe he was just so tired of everything he'd been through. Downy also wore a big white room on his head to keep him from licking at his parts. I hoped that the white room would stay on his head until he went home. I did not want to be around when he found out which of his parts were missing!