at a cost which will give pain to my friends

[freckles_and_doubt]

I am desolated to report a tragic outcome to the Macavity saga. Our feeding-and-petting regime re-domesticated him with ridiculous speed, and for the last couple of weeks he slept happily on the sofa during the day and responded enthusiastically to attention with a gratifying lack of startle or slashing, and a growing tendency to head-butt the petter adorably in the ankle. Yesterday we stuck him into a box and took him off to see the Splendid Vet, an indignity to which he submitted with the utmost restraint and stoicism, thereby showing up our own feline tribe as a bunch of temperamental whingers.

One look from the vet, unfortunately, revealed that the black around his nose wasn't scabbing from the giant piratical slash across half his face; it was advanced squamous cell carcinoma, i.e. the same thing Golux has. The slash had also infected his eye and mouth. We didn't even go as far as FIV and FeLV testing; the vet's recommendation was to euthanase on the basis of the cancer alone, it being advanced enough that it would start affecting his quality of life almost immediately. Carlo and Karen having just gone through the nose cancer thing with one of their own cats, they have a very real understanding of the implications and agreed that it wouldn't be fair on them or the cat to try a necessarily temporary adoption. The same problem applies to allowing him to continue living with us: his presence in our house is becoming problematical, it's messing with the dynamic of the feline tribe, and honestly I can't bear to go through the whole lose-a-cat-to-cancer thing with one I've adopted basically for that purpose. It's going to be horrible enough with Golux. So, very sadly, we asked the vet to euthanase him yesterday evening.

I am trying very hard not to let this feel as though we betrayed him. He had a much better last month of existence with us looking after him than he would have had living a fugitive existence on the roof, and I think he was, in a rugged and slightly thuggish way, happy. Putting him down is saving him the very unpleasant experience of an aggressive cancer. We had a plan for him, we did all we could, and the dice fell against him. RIP Macavity. I hope he's happily stifling Pekes in a criminal feline paradise somewhere.

Subject line quote from "The Final Problem", Sherlock's suicide note written shortly before plunging over the Richenbach Falls with Moriarty. It seemed appropriate. For a given and rather convoluted value of "appropriate".

Comments

[pinkthulhu.livejournal.com]

Really sorry to hear. Condolences. I think you certainly did all you could for him.

onoz

[first-fallen.livejournal.com]

I am unsurprised at vet's recommendation :(. I suspected teh cancer when I met him on Sunday, cats heal too fast for scabs to stick around that long.

You gave him a proper home (brief though it was) and a good ending.

Just after we moved in here we adopted Goblin, a found cat via someone Vera knew. She turned out to be FeLV+. We tried keeping her separate from our other two (one of whom was FIV+) but she was desperately unhappy whenever we left the room and would yowl for hours (hence the name). We couldn't in good conscience try to rehome her so we had her euthanized even though she was healthy at the time. Pink blobs, hard decisions :(

Re: onoz

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I think I was in denial about the black spots - somewhere I was subliminally aware that they could be cancer, but I was focusing on the slash scar as hard as I could. I'd totally forgotten about Goblin, of course you know exactly how hard this decision is, and how in the end it's the only thing you can do.

This comment icon brought to you courtesy of Hobbit, who is asleep on my desk against my chest with his chin on my arm, grumping when I move the mouse.

[tngr-spacecadet.livejournal.com]

I am very sorry to hear that, but now I am wondering if maybe he was abandoned (eg on the common) by his owners because of the cancer... nothing would surprise me.

Macavity certainly had a very happy time at your house, o patron saint of wandering kitties.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

that's actually horribly likely, now that I think about it. People can be completely awful, and the nose cancer thing is particularly difficult. I think he'd been living as a stray for a long time, though, he was extremely wild at first, so it's also possible the cancer developed because he was outside so much. Poor thing.

[dicedcaret.livejournal.com]

That is sad news. I was worried about the black marks but didn't expect the outcome to be so sudden. It's frustrating how many stray cats there are about. We also befriended one which Graham then had to put down.

If Carlo and Karen are still looking to adopt, then I can recommend TEARS. They are always bursting with cats looking for homes. http://tears.org.za.www59.cpt3.host-h.net/adoptions/cats/

[tngr-spacecadet.livejournal.com]

I was at the SPCA last Friday, they had ginger kittens.

(And 2 super-friendly black and white almost-adults that I would have adopted if I wasn't extremely allergic!!)

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I think strays have the deck stacked against them, poor things. In a lot of cases all you can do is ease their passing. I suppose, though, given how well Hobbit and Ounce have worked out, we're batting a good average.

[jeanniewal.livejournal.com]

That is so sad, but yes, you did give him a wonderful last month and that means a lot.

[virtualkathy.livejournal.com]

So sorry to hear sad Macavity news--but I agree, you guys done good by him for his last days. Hugs to you.