Jennyarn

There’s nothing like a cat to bring out the effusive, doting kitten talk in me,
especially when that cat is Oliver. One glimpse of my dashing boy and the
Olllie-coddle parades into a preponderance of pleasantries:

“C’est Lovey! There’s my lovey handsome darling boy. Are you my precious
baby Oliver? You are! You’re my lovey little leopard.” Yes, I make up songs
for him too! This beautiful rascal loves attention.

It’s not my fault he’s so wonderful. And yet, it’s not all catnip and kitty treats.
I have been full of dread. The growth on Oliver’s leg is cancerous. It is a fibrous
sarcoma. The vet thinks 90% of it was removed as he took a sample to send off
to a lab. I had to ask whether he’d have performed this removal differently if he
knew then that it was cancerous. He would not have. He could not have, without
risk to the surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments. It’s not a sort of tumor
that comes out in one piece.

I had to take Oliver 35 miles away to a specialist in veterinary radiology. A look
at their website assured me the oncologists there are top notch, with the most
advanced equipment like a linear accelerator, with an in-house lab, with a team
able to tackle the most difficult cases. If money and distance are no object then
this is the place you’d want to go. Sigh. Chemotherapy is simply not effective in
this case. Radiation could have some benefit but not enough to warrant its use,
which would be extensive.

The oncologist’s recommendation is for Oliver’s leg to be amputated. She understands how difficult that is to face. Yet she also says that cats do amazingly well with only three legs. There is no guarantee the cancer will not spread elsewhere though the current x-rays show no signs of this. The oncologist believes Oliver, 7 years old, is in very good health otherwise. She thinks his quality of life will still be good.

I love my boy. So cats are resilient. So amputation of his left front leg could save his life. So I will take care of him no matter what. I know these things. It’s just hard. How will Oliver understand what’s happened?