smokey the elder
12-19-2005, 08:47 AM
Smokey the Elder lost her battle with cancer. She died in my lap.
I got Smokey from a shelter 4 months after my previous cat escaped from a cat sitter's house and was never seen again. She was extremely thin, had had major parasite infections, and numerous litters of kittens. She sat in my lap and purred.
We never knew how old she was. When I took her to the vet in 1996 for what turned out to be a severe urinary tract infection, he said she was over ten years old, possible much older than that. She recovered from this, but was plagued by many health problems. In 1997 she lost over 60% of her body weight but tested negative for everything. We nursed her back to health with baby food and Hill's AD.
Thanksgiving 1998 she started limping. I knew she was old; maybe she had arthritis. I should be so lucky. :( She had an X-ray; the vet suspected cancer. After going to an oncologist, and mulling over the risk with her advanced age and anesthesia, I decided to have her leg amputated.
The day I brought her in for the surgery, I met two people who had amputee pets! They assured me that she should adapt very easily,,,and she did! The day she came home she hopped up to the second floor and ensconced herself on the waterbed (this was in the winter!)
Then I got the diagnosis: a jaw-breaker of a name called "hemangiosarcoma" which is extremely aggressive, and rare in cats. Grr; Smokey said we're not giving up. She had a couple of chemo sessions where she cooperated beautifully. But when she went to the third they saw something suspicious on the ultrasound. We decided to stop the chemo, since it would be hard on such an old cat.
But, she survived nine months after that point, and only went downhill a week before she died. A few days before, she stopped purring, which was a bad sign. I took her to the vet, and she was loaded with tumors. I took her home to spend a last weekend, and she took away the decision for me.
Smokey was a very special cat. With all her problems, she was always sweet, would find a lap to lie in, and had a world championship purr. Her memory is honored in my choice of handle and in naming a kitten Smokey the Younger.
RIP, Smokey! Go find my Dad. He's got your favorite shoestring, that you played with up until the end, and that vanished after you went to the RB.
I got Smokey from a shelter 4 months after my previous cat escaped from a cat sitter's house and was never seen again. She was extremely thin, had had major parasite infections, and numerous litters of kittens. She sat in my lap and purred.
We never knew how old she was. When I took her to the vet in 1996 for what turned out to be a severe urinary tract infection, he said she was over ten years old, possible much older than that. She recovered from this, but was plagued by many health problems. In 1997 she lost over 60% of her body weight but tested negative for everything. We nursed her back to health with baby food and Hill's AD.
Thanksgiving 1998 she started limping. I knew she was old; maybe she had arthritis. I should be so lucky. :( She had an X-ray; the vet suspected cancer. After going to an oncologist, and mulling over the risk with her advanced age and anesthesia, I decided to have her leg amputated.
The day I brought her in for the surgery, I met two people who had amputee pets! They assured me that she should adapt very easily,,,and she did! The day she came home she hopped up to the second floor and ensconced herself on the waterbed (this was in the winter!)
Then I got the diagnosis: a jaw-breaker of a name called "hemangiosarcoma" which is extremely aggressive, and rare in cats. Grr; Smokey said we're not giving up. She had a couple of chemo sessions where she cooperated beautifully. But when she went to the third they saw something suspicious on the ultrasound. We decided to stop the chemo, since it would be hard on such an old cat.
But, she survived nine months after that point, and only went downhill a week before she died. A few days before, she stopped purring, which was a bad sign. I took her to the vet, and she was loaded with tumors. I took her home to spend a last weekend, and she took away the decision for me.
Smokey was a very special cat. With all her problems, she was always sweet, would find a lap to lie in, and had a world championship purr. Her memory is honored in my choice of handle and in naming a kitten Smokey the Younger.
RIP, Smokey! Go find my Dad. He's got your favorite shoestring, that you played with up until the end, and that vanished after you went to the RB.