For some moments in life there are no words...
It's not quite to that point yet, but it's getting there.
For all of the amazing things we get out of our relationships with our pets, the simple and sad fact is that they generally do not out live us. They look to us for comfort, support, regular feedings, security, and a whole host of other things (as we look to them for many of the same, except perhaps, regular feedings with any luck).
Stir-Fry is about thirteen years old, near-about as I can figure. Many house cats live much longer lives, some, tragically short ones. What was supposed to be a routine checkup and dental/ blood work evaluation prior to him going under anaesthesia for a cleaning and probable tooth extraction has, essentially turned into my notice that he won't be in my life much longer. The vet believes that it is not a tooth abscess, but rather a malignant tumor that extends from jaw to tongue and down to his throat. Clearly it causes him pain and disturbs him, although it has not made a dent in his eating habits or caused him to undergo any obvious personality change at this point. He is now on antibiotics and pain killers, which will cause a most likely noticeable improvement if it is an abscess before next week. Next week he is scheduled for a biopsy along with the previously planned cleaning and extraction, although if the antibiotics do not cause demonstrable improvement in the next few days I am thinking about canceling-- the procedure will not be painful, or at least not more so than what he probably felt before the drugs, but I hesitate to put him through it unnecessarily. The vet has said that she is 90% certain of the presence of a tumor, and the only real treatment option in the likely case she is correct is unacceptable to me-- I would not want it for myself and it seems cruel to buy him possibly only an extra few months of life by removing his lower jaw (or maybe only half) in the hopes that they would catch all of the tumor. Without the surgery, his time is measured in weeks, and if the goal is to make his days as good as possible, it doesn't feel right to put him through all the testing. If it is an abscess, the antibiotics and pain killers will reduce the infection and his discomfort enough that waiting a little longer is a reasonable prospect-- if it is a tumor, the bad teeth will be gone, but his life expectancy will not really be changed and despite pain medication, he will be very unhappy for several days.
So, I have a decision to make before Wednesday next week, but it looks like the big one is coming up. When there are more bad days then good, it is time to let them go
For all of the amazing things we get out of our relationships with our pets, the simple and sad fact is that they generally do not out live us. They look to us for comfort, support, regular feedings, security, and a whole host of other things (as we look to them for many of the same, except perhaps, regular feedings with any luck).
Stir-Fry is about thirteen years old, near-about as I can figure. Many house cats live much longer lives, some, tragically short ones. What was supposed to be a routine checkup and dental/ blood work evaluation prior to him going under anaesthesia for a cleaning and probable tooth extraction has, essentially turned into my notice that he won't be in my life much longer. The vet believes that it is not a tooth abscess, but rather a malignant tumor that extends from jaw to tongue and down to his throat. Clearly it causes him pain and disturbs him, although it has not made a dent in his eating habits or caused him to undergo any obvious personality change at this point. He is now on antibiotics and pain killers, which will cause a most likely noticeable improvement if it is an abscess before next week. Next week he is scheduled for a biopsy along with the previously planned cleaning and extraction, although if the antibiotics do not cause demonstrable improvement in the next few days I am thinking about canceling-- the procedure will not be painful, or at least not more so than what he probably felt before the drugs, but I hesitate to put him through it unnecessarily. The vet has said that she is 90% certain of the presence of a tumor, and the only real treatment option in the likely case she is correct is unacceptable to me-- I would not want it for myself and it seems cruel to buy him possibly only an extra few months of life by removing his lower jaw (or maybe only half) in the hopes that they would catch all of the tumor. Without the surgery, his time is measured in weeks, and if the goal is to make his days as good as possible, it doesn't feel right to put him through all the testing. If it is an abscess, the antibiotics and pain killers will reduce the infection and his discomfort enough that waiting a little longer is a reasonable prospect-- if it is a tumor, the bad teeth will be gone, but his life expectancy will not really be changed and despite pain medication, he will be very unhappy for several days.
So, I have a decision to make before Wednesday next week, but it looks like the big one is coming up. When there are more bad days then good, it is time to let them go