[Stoofa]

Somebody make me feel better, please. I just found out today that my kittycat Oliver has bone cancer and a huge tumour in his right knee. I've felt sick to my stomach every since and I've been snivelling non-stop. It can't be cured, and amputating his leg would probably just traumatise him at his age. So I just have to give him painkillers until he becomes too sick to be comfortable and then I'll have to have him euthanised. It could be as soon as a month, as late as a year.

He's 15 and is the sweetest most loveable, gentle, trusting cat. His littermate, my other cat, is the same. I keep thinking about how sad his brother will be when Oliver isn't around anymore.

My friends wouldn't understand so I haven't bothered telling any of them. I may not, I don't really feel like explaining to them why I'm so attached to my pets.

[Melanie68]

I'm so sorry.

I'm pretty damn attached to my pets too. Make him as comfortable as possible and love him lots.

And don't be afraid to get a second opinion about options for treatment and making him feel better.

I'll think of something more insightful later but I'm never good off the cuff.

((((Stoofa))))

[Stoofa]

Thanks Melanie.

I thought I posted this in Chit Chat. Crap.

[Melanie68]

Aw, don't worry. You were upset.

They'll move it pretty soon.

[fov]

Moved.

And I'm sorry about your cat. Non-pet-people really don't understand how awful it can be to see a pet suffer or die. The feelings are totally valid, though. Don't feel like you have to hide them from your friends.

When my last hamster died (at the very young age of two months), I cried and cried. (Well, I cry when any hamster dies, but this was especially sad because she was a baby and it was very unexpected.) It will be hard to let Oliver go, but at least you'll have some time to say goodbye... and you can make sure he doesn't suffer too much.

(Deciding not to amputate is a good move, btw. My friend's dog had a similar situation and his leg was amputated... he was absolutely miserable for the last few months of his life. The owner said afterwards that he wished he'd just let the cancer run its course, rather than put the dog through that.)

[Jelena]

IĀ“m so sorry to hear about your cat Stoofa. I feel your pain./Lena

[jacog]

Geeze, what kind of friends are these? My wife and I have 8 cats and a dog. Four was my original brood, she brought two over with her from the US when she moved here, we adopted one stray, and rescued a kitten from attempted murder by some psychotic children.

My wife's oldest is over 10 years of age now, and shortly after arriving here she (the cat) nearly died from Hepatic Lipidosis, which really brings home the fact that she is an elderly cat and won't be around forever. She did make a full recovery though, which was a relief.

There are loads of pet people (isn't "companion animal" more PC?) who understand this sort of thing.

Your cat's condition is more serious, and the only advice I have is to spend a good amount of time online researching the condition and things you could do to make it easier for him.

In addition to whatever the vet prescribed, you could possibly also look to see what supplements you can add to his diet. Bonemeal & cartilage, calcium? I have read mentions of things like flaxseed oil and cottage cheese (?), melotonin, graviola etc etc... best is to go research this online for yourself, get lots of opinions and formulate your own treatment accordingly.

Anyhoo, good luck!

[NcroManiac]

I feel for you, and so does my cat apparently. He has injured his right leg.
I think it's broken glass......
I'm taking him to the vet later today.

I lost two parrots to cancer btw, loosing a pet is as hard has loosing a loved one in my experience, but at least you have the cold comfort knowing that they do not suffer anymore.

[RLacey]

Sorry to hear about your cat, Stoofa. To look at it in a positive way - if that's possible - at least Oliver has enjoyed a pretty long life. After all, 15 is no spring chicken for a cat.

Having said that, losing a pet is always devastating .

[Phantom]

Originally Posted by fov

When my last hamster died (at the very young age of two months), I cried and cried. (Well, I cry when any hamster dies, but this was especially sad because she was a baby and it was very unexpected.)

I have a sad story about our hamsters as well.

We once bought a couple, and put them together in one huge (and I mean HUGE) pen with lots of toys and rooms to build nests in and stuff. They were happy together. The female was very active and dominant (and the smallest one of the two), while the male had a very laid-back attitude, and slept most of the time.

They had a nest, everything went well, we gave them away to friends and to specialized shops. So we decided for a second nest, but it took a while. Eventually our hamster got pregnant again, but this time not everything went so well. A couple of hamsters were born without any problems, but two hamsters were lacking limbs. One hamster was lacking two limbs, and 'disappeared' after one day (probably eaten by the mother... ugh). The other was very well alive and active, and survived. We decided to keep the handicapped hamster (lacking one back limb) and give away the other, normal, healthy hamsters like we did with the previous nest.

Unfortunately, once our little handicapped hamster was big enough to feed itself and to take care of itself, the mother started attacking it, in an attempt to get it to go its own way. They really couldn't get along, and the mother was surely going to kill the little one if we didn't do anything (the fights were quite vionently). So we bought a second pen for the small handicapped hamster (still not fully grown up) and placed him in it.

He stayed in there for a month or so, but one morning, he was laying dead in his nest. No signs of disease, no tumors, nothing noticable. Just dead. A couple of months later, the male hamster died as well, again without any signs of disease. The mother stayed alive and well for another whole year, I recall.

We never took any hamsters after that. None of our hamsters made 2 years, though the mother, and our first one (which had nothing to do with this story) came close. it's just too sad to see them go all the time.


To Stoofa: I'm sorry to hear that. Non-cat owners don't understand how attached you can get to a cat, since they only see them as shy, independent creatures.

[Jelena]

Originally Posted by Phantom

Non-cat owners don't understand how attached you can get to a cat, since they only see them as shy, independent creatures.

Hey, thatĀ“s a sweeping statement! That doesnĀ“t apply to every non-cat owner you know.





Sorry Stoofa to yell in your thread, but that must be replied to

[Phantom]

Originally Posted by LenaJ

Hey, thatĀ“s a sweeping statement! That doesnĀ“t apply to every non-cat owner you know.

Okay okay, sorry for generalizing

[Tanukitsune]

Originally Posted by Stoofa

Somebody make me feel better, please. I just found out today that my kittycat Oliver has bone cancer and a huge tumour in his right knee. I've felt sick to my stomach every since and I've been snivelling non-stop. It can't be cured, and amputating his leg would probably just traumatise him at his age. So I just have to give him painkillers until he becomes too sick to be comfortable and then I'll have to have him euthanised. It could be as soon as a month, as late as a year.

He's 15 and is the sweetest most loveable, gentle, trusting cat. His littermate, my other cat, is the same. I keep thinking about how sad his brother will be when Oliver isn't around anymore.

My friends wouldn't understand so I haven't bothered telling any of them. I may not, I don't really feel like explaining to them why I'm so attached to my pets.

I know how you feel, my cat was but to sleep for similar reasons, she was 17 and had breast cancer...

I couldn't even bear to see cat pics for a few months, but time heals all wounds...

[fov]

Originally Posted by Phantom

He stayed in there for a month or so, but one morning, he was laying dead in his nest. No signs of disease, no tumors, nothing noticable. Just dead. A couple of months later, the male hamster died as well, again without any signs of disease. The mother stayed alive and well for another whole year, I recall.

What an awful story.

Hamsters seem to do better in separate cages. I had to separate two of mine that suddenly started fighting. That's probably not related to why the little guy (or the dad) died -- just a series of bad coincidences.

[Stoofa]

Thanks so much for the support you guys. You're wonderful.

Originally Posted by fov

When my last hamster died (at the very young age of two months), I cried and cried. (Well, I cry when any hamster dies, but this was especially sad because she was a baby and it was very unexpected.) It will be hard to let Oliver go, but at least you'll have some time to say goodbye... and you can make sure he doesn't suffer too much.

Hamsters are so sweet! I would cry too.

Originally Posted by jacog

Geeze, what kind of friends are these?
Your cat's condition is more serious, and the only advice I have is to spend a good amount of time online researching the condition and things you could do to make it easier for him.

In addition to whatever the vet prescribed, you could possibly also look to see what supplements you can add to his diet. Bonemeal & cartilage, calcium? I have read mentions of things like flaxseed oil and cottage cheese (?), melotonin, graviola etc etc... best is to go research this online for yourself, get lots of opinions and formulate your own treatment accordingly.

Anyhoo, good luck!

Most of my friends are just not pet people. Some of them have cats but they don't really treat their cats like pets. The cat just kind of does its own thing independant of its humans and they let it go outside all day long.

I'll check into supplements, thanks! I'm trying to make sure that I don't go into denial with thoughts that maybe the tumour is benign, or maybe Oliver will magically get better. He won't, it's almost definitely osteosarcoma. I don't want to convince myself he's fine only to be sucker punched when he gets really really sick.

I'm glad your kitty is feeling better .

Originally Posted by NcroManiac

I feel for you, and so does my cat apparently. He has injured his right leg.
I think it's broken glass......
I'm taking him to the vet later today.

I lost two parrots to cancer btw, loosing a pet is as hard has loosing a loved one in my experience, but at least you have the cold comfort knowing that they do not suffer anymore.

Yikes! I hope your cat is okay.

I think losing a cat might be a little different from losing a loved one in that most good pet owners have a very strong sense of responsibility when it comes to their pets. It's your job to keep them healthy and happy, so when they get sick it can be devestating in a different way

Originally Posted by Phantom

He stayed in there for a month or so, but one morning, he was laying dead in his nest. No signs of disease, no tumors, nothing noticable. Just dead. A couple of months later, the male hamster died as well, again without any signs of disease. The mother stayed alive and well for another whole year, I recall.

That's so sad! I had two society finches once. I got them when they were babies and they were the sweetest little birds. They both died within months of each other after I had only had them for a year. There was no sign that they were ill. One of them fell dead off his perch in the middle of singing his song. The breeder (who was a friend and gave the finches to me) said that the whole brood had died that way. Strange.

Originally Posted by Tanukitsune

I know how you feel, my cat was but to sleep for similar reasons, she was 17 and had breast cancer...

I couldn't even bear to see cat pics for a few months, but time heals all wounds...

I'm sorry to hear that Tanukisune. That's a shame. Poor kitty

Right now Oliver is happily sitting on my bed with his eyes closed. He's full of cat food, tea, and mozzarella (the vet said I'm allowed to spoil him with people food now) and digging his paws into one my old sweaters.

[jjacob]

I'm so sorry I can't stand it when pets die (and I've lost a few), and I wish I had something to cheer you up with

[saucyminx]

Poor sweetheart. Ben (aka SJH) and I are mad on cats, so we know what it feels to lose a pet. Take care, Stoofa. Like Mel said, make sure your sweetie is as comfortable as possible and give him lots of love.

[SoccerDude28]

I'm sorry Stoofa. That is really terrible As a cat person, I totally understand your pain. My girlfriend's aunt had her cat euthenized lately because she was diagnosed with cancer, and she stopped eating anything at all. She was just miserable and lying there in pain. Sometimes, you just have to do it. Have courage and try to make his last days on earth the best possible.

[fov]

Originally Posted by Stoofa

One of them fell dead off his perch in the middle of singing his song. The breeder (who was a friend and gave the finches to me) said that the whole brood had died that way. Strange.

Yikes! That is strange. A friend of mine had a hamster that died running in his ball. He was having a great time and then just keeled over. She never knew why, but it was very startling. He was only a few months but had been the runt of the litter, so he probably had something wrong with him.

Right now Oliver is happily sitting on my bed with his eyes closed. He's full of cat food, tea, and mozzarella (the vet said I'm allowed to spoil him with people food now) and digging his paws into one my old sweaters.

He's going to be one happy cat for the rest of his life.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

(((((Stoofa)))))

I was once the enamoured owner best friend of a very beautiful Seal Point Siamese cat. But he died of liver failure (characteristic of his breed) at the age of five, and I was destroyed. So I know how it is to have a very sick pet and to lose that pet eventually.

Don't underestimate Oliver's knowledge that he means the world to you, because you mean the world to him. Spoil him mad with love and treats, for if he is destined to leave this world soon, he must depart knowing that you and he had the most marvelous time together. He is a gift to you, and you to him. That is what must be cherished most and be cause for laughter and insane amounts of lovin'!