This is Raja: Raja came to us about 12 years ago. We weren't his first kitty parents. His prior owner had to give him up after a failed relationship fell apart. He... did not have a good life before we got him. His previous owner's girlfriend didn't like Raja, and treated him poorly. It took a long time for him to come around to trusting us, but over time he came to be the cuddliest little guy in our trio of kitties. For whatever reason, he decided I was his special friend, and loved hanging out with me. We had to be careful with guests around him. Because of that previous life, his fight or flight instinct was cranked all the way up to 'fight' with the knob broken off. He would attack any strangers in our house, assuming they were here to hurt us or him, thus defending his new territory. Last July, he got an infection in his mouth. A canine tooth had broken, and the rot set in and infected the other teeth. At least, that's what we thought had happened. The vet took out the damaged teeth (and part of his jaw), but found something else, and sent it in for a biopsy. Raja had cancer in his mouth, and that caused the decayed tooth. We took him to an oncologist, who told us what to expect, and then gave us worse news. He had a very rare form of cancer that didn't respond to treatment. They couldn't cut it out without removing his entire lower jaw. Dogs would usually survive such a surgery all right, but cats tended to get really depressed, and he wouldn't be able to feed himself anymore. That's no way to live, so we decided against the surgery. Radiation therapy didn't work on the kind of cancer he had, nor did chemotherapy. All we could do was make him comfortable and as happy as we could. They told us he'd probably only last another two months. Today, EIGHT MONTHS after his diagnosis, we finally had to make the decision. At 4:30 today, the vet brought him in and tended to him while we petted him and apologized. He was still coherent, but the cancer had done its work. Sometime in the last two weeks, his weakened jaw had fractured. The swelling from the cancer got worse, he wasn't able to eat, and was in constant pain. The damage to his jaw couldn't be repaired, so we did the humane thing and said our goodbyes. I'm going to miss you, buddy. I already do...
I'm so sorry to hear that. That's an absolutely awful situation to be in, but you made the right decision. You guys gave him a great life and he'll always be in your memories.
I feel for you Tk'ya'pyk. Our last cat Arnie had a huge undiagnosed (for a long while) cancerous mass in his stomach. It was heartbreaking when he finally went. Since then we have rescued two cats from the local council animal shelter. Recently a small kitten and a 6 year old (now 9) that had had a hard beginning to his life. They both now get smothered with love and have a good home and give us untold pleasure.