My cat, Shadow:
I just learned today that my friend and companion, His Majesty Shadowcat, has cancer. It's in its early stages, and while he is obviously not feeling well, he's not suffering great discomfort. The vet has some herbal treatments which she says have had some success in allieviating the symptoms of this type of cancer, which hopefully will extend Shadow's lifespan for a little while, but no matter how long it is, when his time comes it will be too soon.
The frustrating thing is that, according to what I can find on the web, there might be treatments available that would give him even longer, but those treatments (and the tests leading up to them) cost thousands of dollars that I just do not have. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't begrudge him the money if I had it (in fact I am working to come up with a couple of thousand to cover the treatments I can afford), but the more agressive treatments are just out of reach. I know that Midgard is by nature unfair, but sometimes it seems more unfair than others, and I'm a little tired of always getting the short end of the stick.
My best hope is that the vet's herbal treatments will slow down the course of the disease and keep him comfortable long enough to reach his 15th birthday. That's in just a few months, and would give me time to prepare for his passing. He's the only family I have left, and the only person(and no one will ever convince me that just because he has four feet and fur he's not a person) I have ever loved unconditionally, and who has loved me in turn.
I know that at almost 15, Shadow is very old for his breed; Cornish Rex's normal lifespan is around 10. I also know that he has had a long, happy life, and given the joy he has brought to the world, can expect a long, happy afterlife in Freya's Hall. And I know it's selfish of me to worry about my loneliness when he's the one who's sick, but it's only been a few months since my best friend died, and I'm not ready for another loss yet, especially when, once again, I will be the one to make the decision to pull the plug.