Gizmo

Gizmo was a British shorthair. Black Smoke colouring.
He was born on 14.05.09 and died last month - didn't make it to his first birthday.
He developed FIP Feline Infectious Peritenitous, went downhill rapidly and we were with him at the end again.
He had a good time with us; left his legacy with plucked carpets and furniture, teased Belle to distraction in the early days. We all appreciated him.
Here he is...

Smokey - Part 6

Our little old tom cat passed away at about 16:20 on Thursday 22nd January 2009. Sue held him while he drifted off to wherever he is now.
We brought him home and put him in the garden.
I was right, it was a sad night.
Words can't express my sadness.
I loved him.
Goodbye Smokey...

Smokey - Part 5

Well, the time has come. The cancer has got him.
He has become really listless, not wanting to eat, drink, move or even purr much.
We have an appointment at the vets for 6 o-clock tonight. His last visit.
It's going to be a very sad evening...

Smokey - Part 4

Well, the vet says he has probably 4 to 6 weeks left.

It will be the best pampered days he's ever had.

We will let him tell us when he's had enough.

Here's a good photo of hiom relaxing on the conservatory windowsill...

Smokey - Part 3

Poor little fella.

Just found out the chest X-Ray showed up positive for cancerous cells. So they didn't carry on with the MRI scan or operation.

Sue is picking him up at 17:00 from Dewsbury and bringing him home where there will be much sheding of tears by all concerned.

So these are going to be his last few days. Hopefully the vet will give us some idea of how long he is likely to last. It might be up to us to decide on what 'quality of life' he's getting, or when he gives up the ghost ("Grey Ghost" is one of the little nick-names Sue gave him).

When the time comes for us to say goodbye and have him put to sleep, it's likely we will ask one of our local vets to do the deed. Awkward, but then such things never are easy.

This will be a new experience for me too, beeing able to say goodbye. His predecessor, Napoleon, was killed in a 'hit and run' outside our house - vut down in the prime of his life (10 years old). All we could do was hold his lifeless little body for a while.

Here's a good photo of Smokey in the kitchen...

Smokey - Part 2

Went to Calder Vets main surgery at Dewsbury and saw one of their top surgeons.

Smokey has a malignant cancer in his salivary gland which may have already spread into his adjacent lymph gland.

He is going in again on Wednesday morning for an X-ray of his chest to see if the disease has spread . If that's clear, a MRI scan is then coing to be done of the currently affected area to see how far it has spread.

If these tests are encouraging, they will book him in for an operation.The survival time for this sort of condition post op is 12 to 18 months. Might not seem much to us, but in "cat years" its about 5-7 years.

So far his mood is up and down. He is eating just enough. Sometimes he comes downstairs and asks for food, mostly he lies by the radiator in the middle badroom. He's been out and is still able to jump up onto the windowsil. He has also played with a piece of string. But he is spending more and more time on his own.

The fact that he had to have his teeth removed late last year due to a recurring mouth problem he had when we first got him in 1999 from the cats rescue people. Apparently they had not even had him to the vets before trying to rehome him. His previous owner had neglected him obviously as he was in quite a state.

But he's had a pretty good life with us, once he got over most of his fear (he's always been wary of Sue for some reason, even though she's given him all her love).

So, Sue is taking him in on Wednesday morning and we should hear throughout the day what's going on...

Here's a photo of Smokey. It's not particularly endearing, so there will be more to follow.