I know you were all enjoying the happy stories of Smokey & Tiger. Bad news today.
Sweet little Smokey’s biopsy showed an aggressive form of mammary cancer. There were biopsies from more than one gland (one near the top & one at the bottom), so it has already spread. This form of cancer does not respond to chemo or radiation. It is diffuse, so more surgery is pointless & would only cause her pain.
All we can do is love her, keep her as comfortable as possible, watch her closely — the vet said it is likely to spread to her lungs next, so once her respirations get labored, or too fast, or if she develops stridor, we will call our other vet from “Lap of Love”. He does in-home euthanasia. Very gently & peacefully.
We discovered Lap of Love when Jessicat could no longer go on. We didn’t want her to suffer. Jess’s vet costs in her entire life amounted to baby shots, a few FVRCP boosters, spay, one set of blood work, and antibiotics for one kitty cold. I updated her FVRCP’s at home. Not bad for 20 years with a wonderful cat. And she HATED to go to the vet -That’s why I was giving her FVRCP’s at home. So, we splurged on that last vet bill. She crossed The Bridge with me hugging her. This past October, Polly’s liver cancer became terminal. We called Lap of Love again. She crossed at home with MrCatSlave hugging her. We never want a cat’s last experience to be a trip to the vet.
Smokey & Tiger are both lovely cats. Only 10 years old & new to their “forever” home. I know Maureen was their forever home, but as life worked out, that was impossible. Tiger & Smokey are so bonded. The vet told me ~ 2 months. (I think it may be sooner -She’s skin & bones!) Tiger will take it hard! So will we! And most of PWB Peeps.
It will be especially hard on Tiger — They are totally bonded. He will need time to grieve.
Why did Smokey get these tumors? Because she wasn’t spayed at a young age. Essentially, poverty will take her life, as it did Maureen’s. The world can be so unfair!
But, she’s loving life for now. Exploring, loving, playing & eating good. We will spoil her and love her up for however much time she has remaining.