Sooty

Our wonderful brave little old lady "Sooty" who is our "millienium" baby! She's been diagnosed with a tumor in her jawbone since was discovered in August during a routine tooth being extracted. We hoped it wasn't the start of a growth but time took it's toll and the reality hit within 8wks of it starting to get bigger. We discussed what would happen and how it wasn't operable. She's done tremendously well since then.

She is struggling on and although wasn't even expected to make it to Christmas, here we are!! I'm told as long as she is still eating she is comfortable.

Our little Sooty, the little kitten we rescued and brought home nearly 15yrs ago after being abandoned is going to break our hearts one of these days soon. I still remember the day we brought her home and she climbed up the chimney, hence the "Sooty" title and black coat.

Last year was awful, just as we thought we had turned a corner after my father-in-law had been ill and in hospital for 4mths and was recovering from heart failure and massive pneumonia that almost took his life. Our close friend died suddenly in his sleep of a massive heart attack, aged 46. Then I lost my dear Uncle and the same weekend my beloved Aunt who I loved dearly (she was is my Mums older sister) took a massive stroke and we broke our hearts while we watched her get weaker and weaker until we lost her. Then just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, some time after her funeral my Mum was recalled from a routine breast screening. Within days at what we thought was a routine appointment, 4 biopsies, ultrasound and screening later we were called into a room to be told my poor wee Mummy had breast cancer. Words cannot describe the shock but Mum took the news better than us and we were thankful it had been caught early. They moved fast and my Mummy had a mascectomy. Waiting on the pathologist results was awful, the tumor was larger than first thought but fine as thankfully as it was all removed but needed some radiotherapy due to the margin area of wound. She had some time to rest and heal from the surgery before starting her radiotherapy. Thankfully that all ended before Christmas and my Mum is healing well.

At my last visit to the vets the other day with Sooty, I said to the vet who has been so supportive, surely after everything that's happened I can cope with losing our poor Sooty?? Shouldn't it make it easier to cope with the grief of a pet after so much bereavement? The answer is no....:she's part of the family and that's what the vet said. Losing a pet is completely different. In this case we feel so helpless because we can't help her, surgery isn't an option. When our other beautiful Russian Blue cat Earl got a cancerous tumor on his side it was operable and he recovered well twice even when it grew back and is doing great but we can't help Sooty.

She's doing ok for now but I know there will come a day when a decision will have to be made. Our vet Christine said I will know when the time comes.

Will we??