Libre RIP
Today we said a final goodbye to Libre.
He's been ill for some time, initially with what was suspected to be a thyroid problem and then diagnosed to be alimentary lymphoma. While I was away last week a barium meal and x-ray showed that although the lymphoma appeared to be under control he also had terminal cancer of the colon which was resulting in quite rapid weight-loss and some increasing discomfort as a result of a failing digestive system.
That said, Lisa had done a sterling job of keeping him going while I was away, and Libre was clearly really pleased to have me home on Friday morning. Certainly since Lisa and I brought Lucha and Libre to Japan, he's developed into being "my cat". We shared the same sofa in the living room, he'd come and sit on me on the chaise longue (generally while I was trying to work on the laptop, so we had interesting debates about whether the warm laptop was for cats to sit on or humans to work on), and he liked to sit on my chest when we let the cats into the bedroom.
Libre was like a dog in some respects - being much more sociable than many cats are, preferring to be in the company of people, always following Lisa and I around the house and laying down in the room we were in. He also developed the habit of "catching" a small grey felt mouse for us at bedtime, fetching it from wherever we had left it, and bringing it to the bedroom for us while "telling" us that he'd caught something.
I'll miss him a great deal, but having the vet help him on his way to a better place was certainly the right thing to do. He'd declined from being a strapping cat of between four and five kilos down to just 2.3 kg today and was clearly not much more than fluff, bones and purr. Based on our conversation with the vet, taking the option of euthanasia seems to be unusual here in Japan, but both Lisa and I think that it was the best option. Libre had struggled with food for some time and was clearly not getting any better (nor going to) and therefore letting him go before he suffered any more pain was clearly the best option.
While he will be missed (greatly) he's had a very good life and is now in a better place... may he rest in peace.
Libre as we will remember him
He's been ill for some time, initially with what was suspected to be a thyroid problem and then diagnosed to be alimentary lymphoma. While I was away last week a barium meal and x-ray showed that although the lymphoma appeared to be under control he also had terminal cancer of the colon which was resulting in quite rapid weight-loss and some increasing discomfort as a result of a failing digestive system.
That said, Lisa had done a sterling job of keeping him going while I was away, and Libre was clearly really pleased to have me home on Friday morning. Certainly since Lisa and I brought Lucha and Libre to Japan, he's developed into being "my cat". We shared the same sofa in the living room, he'd come and sit on me on the chaise longue (generally while I was trying to work on the laptop, so we had interesting debates about whether the warm laptop was for cats to sit on or humans to work on), and he liked to sit on my chest when we let the cats into the bedroom.
Libre was like a dog in some respects - being much more sociable than many cats are, preferring to be in the company of people, always following Lisa and I around the house and laying down in the room we were in. He also developed the habit of "catching" a small grey felt mouse for us at bedtime, fetching it from wherever we had left it, and bringing it to the bedroom for us while "telling" us that he'd caught something.
I'll miss him a great deal, but having the vet help him on his way to a better place was certainly the right thing to do. He'd declined from being a strapping cat of between four and five kilos down to just 2.3 kg today and was clearly not much more than fluff, bones and purr. Based on our conversation with the vet, taking the option of euthanasia seems to be unusual here in Japan, but both Lisa and I think that it was the best option. Libre had struggled with food for some time and was clearly not getting any better (nor going to) and therefore letting him go before he suffered any more pain was clearly the best option.
While he will be missed (greatly) he's had a very good life and is now in a better place... may he rest in peace.
Libre as we will remember him