He was an Angel, but his middle name was Devil!: She played with her cat and it was a wonder to watch the white hand and the white paw frolic in the shade of the night.--Paul Verlaine

Path to the Rainbow Bridge

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since Toby passed away. We were on our cross-country RV trip from May 10-June 16, 2011. The day after we came home, we noticed that Toby was having breathing problems.

We too him to the vet. After tests and scans, it was determined that Toby had a hernia which was pressing his lungs. We approved surgery which would correct it.

Upon the start of surgery to repair the “hernia”, it was discovered that Toby had a malignant tumor and it was inoperable. We received the call just after midnight on Saturday, June 18, 2011.

Toby was the second of “Jezibel’s babies”, as we called them, to pass away. He was 11 years old. His brother, Grady, left us in February 2010 at 9 years old.

My friend, Kim, adopted one of Toby and Grady’s brothers, “Pinto”, when he was 8 weeks old. Through the years, we have seen Pinto regularly. I usually take care of Pinto and Kim’s other four cats when she and her daughter, Haven, travel.

Pinto in his box top. This is one of his favorite places to lie.

I love Pinto. He was one of ours and for those who know me, I try to stay in touch with how “our” cats are doing. It was easy with Pinto because Kim and I became good friends as well.

A couple of weeks ago, Kim noticed that Pinto was not drinking water. She took him to the vet. Upon examination, the vet found a tumor under Pinto’s tongue.

The next day, the vet did a biopsy on the tumor. The report said that it was malignant.

Pinto on the scales at the oncologist at VSH, Sorrento Valley

Kim took Pinto to an oncologist for a second opinion and to see what the options were. There were no feasible options:

Chemo would not help; radiation would cause such horrible side effects. He would need it twice a day for a week. It would cause terrible sores in his mouth for about a month and he would have to have a feeding tube inserted; surgery would be very complicated and would drastically lower Pinto’s quality of life. A feeding tube would have to be inserted. None would extend his life by more than a month or two.

The tumor was very aggressive. It would grow and eventually make it impossible for Pinto to eat or drink. He would slowly starve.

Kim made Pinto as comfortable as she could. He had always slept with her, so she put up a gate at the bedroom door. The other cats stayed out and Pinto had Kim all to himself.

He was having trouble eating because of the tumor under his tongue. He liked his kibble, but could only smell it and couldn’t chew it. He did manage to eat the rich pate A/D canned prescription food, but he wasn’t getting enough. Kim mixed it with water and managed to feed him with a syringe. For the past couple of days she gave him kitten weaning formula. That helped with his hunger.

Pinto also was on pain medication and that helped him rest. Kim gave it to him twice a day.

Kim and her baby, Pinto 6-13-12

Kim took very good care of Pinto and she didn’t want him to suffer any longer. She scheduled a vet who does home euthanasia, to come to her house today and help Pinto along on a peaceful journey.

Pinto is now with his brothers, Grady and Toby. The three of them are again running and playing like they did long ago with they were kittens together. Their legs are strong and they are pain free.