I come back after a little over 5 weeks and it's Spring. Hopefully my visa will be processed and ready next week, then I can get back to New York.
In the meantime, I will air out my house and try to reclaim it from the crawling vines that have managed to cover the west side. They've grown over one window entirely. A preemptive strike against the back yard would likely be wise, as well. We'll see how much housework I can get done between jobs while I am here.
The cat is not dead -- for better or worse.