laurasc718472

Maylissa, Thank you for such kind words. They are very healing. Loss of a loved one is one of the most difficult things we have to endure in life. I'm sorry to hear about your dear Sabin. You are very lucky to still have his sister. My best wishes for her health for a long time. It has only been a few days since Pismo has been gone. The pain and guilt are so strong right now. I look at his picture and still want to hold him, but I know that I can't. I miss him deeply. When I first found out about his cancer, I searched and searched on the web looking for any information I could find. I found hope in a website about a cat that had the exact same thing as Pismo. Her cat lived through chemo and had total remission........she lasted six years after. I was thinking that, Wow, Pismo has the exact same thing-- the exact same story. This is good news....he's got six more years..... But what I didn't consider are the statistics that I also read. For every one cat that does make it through chemo, there is another one that doesn't. It's just not fair that Pismos was one of them that didn't. He had a good life... He was estimated to be between 4-6 months when I got him....Someone had abondoned the little guy to fend for himself. How dare they. When he was found dumped at an elementary school, he was emaciated and dirty. The vet that rescued him noticed what a great personality he had, and neutered him and cleaned him all up. It was a call to the right person at the right time that got me my little Pismo. What fond memories........The few pictures I have I will cherish. Thanks again. I know that it's just a matter of time before all the tears will be replaced with smiles from all the wonderful times. I'm just hoping that that time comes very soon. I miss my little Piggy.....

My dear Pismo had to be put down last night. It's been a whole 24 hours. It started about a month and a half ago. He had diarrhea and an upper respiratory infection. The veternarian gave him two different meds, one for each problem. The URI went away, but the diarrhea didn't. After the 10-day course, his diarrhea was not gone. I called and another MD prescribed a stronger drug. On the third day after taking this medication, Pismo became anorexic -- he wasn't eating or drinking anything. So at 10:00 on Saturday, we took a trip to the vet. The doctor felt a mass in his belly -- took xrays and ultrasounds..... The vet then told me he had a 4-inch diameter tumor in his colon. He said that the tumor needed to come out, but if he opened him up and saw that the cancer (90% chance of being cancer) was spread into much more of his body, he wouldn't wake him up just to be put back down. So I thought I was taking him in for a medication reaction AND.... .He gave me 10 minutes to say my goodbyes. I was in shock. I still am... Well, Pismo came out of the surgery -- "Like a champ" the doctor said. After two days he was able to come home. He seemed like he was almost back to his normal self -- eating, scratching on his post, going nite-nite under the covers with me. EVERYTHING SEEMED SO GOOD!!! Chemo was scheduled on his 10th day of recovery, and the doctor said that he could be helped.... Two days before chemo, he started not to eat or drink again.... Had his first chemo treatment was on Tuesday -- Just 5 days ago. He didn't respond well to it at all. He was out of it for 2-3 days. The next day he started to bloat....All this time I was giving him subcutaneous fluids and also mixing his food with water and administering it through a syringe. Anything for my boy. He started to get a fever. The look in his eyes. I've never seen him look at me like that. I knew he was in pain. I took him in Saturday evening, just last night. The veternarian said that he was in a lot of pain and that most cats respond well to chemo and return to an almost normal life right away, but chemo wasn't helping.....WHY NOT PISMO.... I tried everything I could, but no hope. Medical science nor any amount of money could not save my poor boy. It sure hurts. I would want someone with me until the last minute, so I knew that he would too. The tears are flooding down my face right now. I can hardly get the picture of his little head slowly going down to the cushion on the chair. Those are my last memories of my dear cat. 13 years of unconditional love!!!!!!! It doesn't seem fair that others live so long and my boy's life was cut so short and painful by this cancer. I am grateful that I did have a couple days of my Pismo after the surgery. We spent valuable time together. I never thought his last days were going to be spent under the bed cowering and in so much pain. I never thought my last days with him were going to be spent together underneath the bed either. That's where he felt safe. I brushed him and talked to him. He loved me. I know it. He used to lay next to me in bed, look into my eyes and paw at my face. That was his expression of love. He would sit on the floor next to me while I took a bath. He waited patiently to be fed. He always came out to visit when people were over, and always seem to have to supervise the repairmen that showed up. Now my beloved Pismo is not here anymore. I CAN'T TAKE IT...I'M IN SO MUCH PAIN...............HOW DOES ONE GET OVER SUCH A LOSS??? I know that I will never get over it. I just moved to a new state and have no friends or family out here........It was just us and now it's just me.... How does life go on??? Pismo, I love you. I am in our room...Every time I look at that bed, it hurts to know that he's not underneath it any more. I guess I can look at it that he's not in any pain any more. "A far more dangerous form of selfishness is to prolong a pet's suffering simply to postpone one's own." After reading this, I couldn't hang on any more.......... I didn't want to be selfish to an animal that was so selfless.... I'm sorry for any pain that I caused. I love you!!!!