It's now nearly three years since my beloved Smokie passed away.
He was 15 years old and I'd had him since he was a kitten, he was a gentle loving cat who trusted me totally. He had never had an illness in his life. We were never apart, only when I went on holiday he had to go into kennels, but the love I got from him on my return was wonderful.
One morning I woke up and let him in for his breakfast, when I noticed something on his tummy. It was a lump and it had somehow come from the inside of him and looked very sore. Took him to the vet, my regular vet was off that day, and she said it was a harmful lump, maybe a cyst and he was booked into the hospital the next day. Took my boy into the hospital and was told to call back later, which I did, and was told that he might have breast cancer. I was in total shock at this point, couldn't believe what I was hearing, didn't think a male cat could get that. She explained that the lump had been removed and sent off for testing. We had to wait for a week for the results.
We did get the results and it was cancer. My beautiful boy had cancer. He went back to the vet a couple of weeks later and she said he would need another operation to take the rest of the cancer out. My poor boy had to go through yet another op and with him being 15 weren't sure if he was strong enough to cope.
Anyway after his op the cancer was gone, and he had to have chckups every other week. Six months down the line we discovered he had more lumps, it had come back, and also spread to his lungs.
There was nothing else we could do for him but to have him put to sleep. I knew that morning before we went to the vet's that he wasn't going to come home, as he had gone really thin and wasn't himself, I think he knew his time was up.
I will never forget the look on his face when I left him at the vets that day. I couldn't stay with him, it upset me to much to see him like that.
Rest in peace my beautiful boy. 1990-2005.
