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- Aug 20, 2006
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I registered as MajesticFloof here a few days go...seems I haven't signed in here since about 2011 and missed the fun. Not sure if anyone remembers as I talked about Charlie all the time. I think had I been here it would have helped me alot.
He was adopted in 1999 at 4 months old, a ball of pure white fluff and pink beans. He was an outdoor kitty until the ripe old age of 8. We moved house and had many more wonderful years with him.
Unfortunately his light fur and pink parts he may have had too much fun in the sun in his outdoor days. He had a freckle removed from the nose, and a biopsy on both ear tips, but, they were negative! A couple of years ago he had a mini stroke, I was seeing it happen on my bed. Thankfully it was a short recovery, the movement in his front leg went back to normal, and he returned to his almost normal self Then a lump appeared at one ear biopsy site. It was confirmed cancer. We had his ear tip removed. He spent ages in a bucket, being hand fed every meal. He was on meds for blood pressure and we changed diet for the kidneys. The site healed well. And just as the stitches came out, and the healing was almost complete, and we were free of the bucket, another lump appeared right along the scar line. The vet said we could remove the entire ear...do a test on it...but if the caner had spread further it would be very invasive and hard to find if it was anywhere else in his body. They'd have investigate from top to bottom as it could have been anywhere, and possibly cut him open, and this was at the age of 17. We didn't want more surgeries, more risk of being under. We decided to manage any discomfort, keep loving and feeding him.
Unfortunately he was also losing weight even with increased feeding. He was lethargic. He had feline dementia. He would stop and forget what he was doing and bump into walls. They said maybe another 6 months he'd be at his worst, skin and bones. We had no choice now but to keep the bucket on him 24/7. The lump was was getting bigger, it started turning black and other parts raw. It got to a point where even shaking his head would cause a bleed from the cancer, and we thought the bucket would protect his ear from bumps without it, but with it on was just as horrific. We were constantly keeping the site clean, it couldn't be bandaged. We were so desperate. A Friday, coming home to give him cuddles, shook his head again..I didn't even see it touch the plastic this time and it just opened up again. We'd to spend the weekend thinking about what to do. Monday he was barely moving and we knew it was time. So, I said goodbye (How do you actually do that?) and they took him. They said he was pretty much asleep, not moving, he didn't fuss or notice the needle. I suppose it's better than yowling in pain and being frightened. I don't think I could have been in the room. He passed 28/08/2016 at 17.5 years of age.
I've been around cats my entire life, never been without. We've also lost many. But we spent 12 months without any fuzzy family members because it was so awful compared to past experiences. Of all our cats, I decided to have him cremated. It hurt to leave his sis behind at the last house....and many at my childhood home, I didn't want to leave him behind.
We did adopt Violet last September on mum's birthday....I would like to think Charlie would have just ignored her crazyness and acted like the regal old man he was if they had met. I shouldn't feel guilty but I still sometimes do.
R.i.p my handsome boy.
He was adopted in 1999 at 4 months old, a ball of pure white fluff and pink beans. He was an outdoor kitty until the ripe old age of 8. We moved house and had many more wonderful years with him.
Unfortunately his light fur and pink parts he may have had too much fun in the sun in his outdoor days. He had a freckle removed from the nose, and a biopsy on both ear tips, but, they were negative! A couple of years ago he had a mini stroke, I was seeing it happen on my bed. Thankfully it was a short recovery, the movement in his front leg went back to normal, and he returned to his almost normal self Then a lump appeared at one ear biopsy site. It was confirmed cancer. We had his ear tip removed. He spent ages in a bucket, being hand fed every meal. He was on meds for blood pressure and we changed diet for the kidneys. The site healed well. And just as the stitches came out, and the healing was almost complete, and we were free of the bucket, another lump appeared right along the scar line. The vet said we could remove the entire ear...do a test on it...but if the caner had spread further it would be very invasive and hard to find if it was anywhere else in his body. They'd have investigate from top to bottom as it could have been anywhere, and possibly cut him open, and this was at the age of 17. We didn't want more surgeries, more risk of being under. We decided to manage any discomfort, keep loving and feeding him.
Unfortunately he was also losing weight even with increased feeding. He was lethargic. He had feline dementia. He would stop and forget what he was doing and bump into walls. They said maybe another 6 months he'd be at his worst, skin and bones. We had no choice now but to keep the bucket on him 24/7. The lump was was getting bigger, it started turning black and other parts raw. It got to a point where even shaking his head would cause a bleed from the cancer, and we thought the bucket would protect his ear from bumps without it, but with it on was just as horrific. We were constantly keeping the site clean, it couldn't be bandaged. We were so desperate. A Friday, coming home to give him cuddles, shook his head again..I didn't even see it touch the plastic this time and it just opened up again. We'd to spend the weekend thinking about what to do. Monday he was barely moving and we knew it was time. So, I said goodbye (How do you actually do that?) and they took him. They said he was pretty much asleep, not moving, he didn't fuss or notice the needle. I suppose it's better than yowling in pain and being frightened. I don't think I could have been in the room. He passed 28/08/2016 at 17.5 years of age.
I've been around cats my entire life, never been without. We've also lost many. But we spent 12 months without any fuzzy family members because it was so awful compared to past experiences. Of all our cats, I decided to have him cremated. It hurt to leave his sis behind at the last house....and many at my childhood home, I didn't want to leave him behind.
We did adopt Violet last September on mum's birthday....I would like to think Charlie would have just ignored her crazyness and acted like the regal old man he was if they had met. I shouldn't feel guilty but I still sometimes do.
R.i.p my handsome boy.
