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The past couple of weeks, Dixie Sue had really been getting smelly. We thought it was because of her getting old and no longer being fully able to care for her personal hygiene.

However, after giving her a bath last week she immediately started smelling again. Really really badly. I picked her up to look at her. She meowed, and the fumes from her breath nearly knocked me over. I looked at her more closely and saw a small amount of thick stuff oozing out of the corner of her mouth.

So I took her to the vet today. He examined her and found that she has a tumor on the right side of her mouth along her gum line, about the size of a marble with an infection around it. He said that was what's causing the smell and ooze.

He said the tumor may or may not be malignant; the only way to find out would be to perform a surgical removal of it and then do a biopsy. The surgery would involve general anesthesia which could be risky for a cat her age (somewhere around 20 yrs. old). Furthermore, we'd be facing a bill of over $1100.00.

So I asked the question that had been hovering in the back of our minds and that was euthanasia. We really couldn't justify putting a cat her age through all that surgery and recovery time, even if we could afford it.

The euthanasia is $260.00, in itself a huge and unexpected expenditure. Fortunately we don't have to decide that right now. It seems that overall she is okay and comfortable. She's been eating and drinking water as usual. She just ... stinks. But we may have to deal with "The End" at some point, likely sooner than later.

The vet sent her home with some liquid antibiotics to take twice daily for two weeks. If the infection clears up, she may be okay for a while longer. We'll just have to see how it goes. But the tumor won't go away by itself. Whether or not it becomes a bigger problem will depend on whether or not it's malignant.

Here are some photos of her at the vet. She wasn't really freaking out (until the thermometer was inserted!) -- just pacing around and finding places to hide.

Please say some kitty prayers for Dixie Sue. She's really become a sweet and affectionate cat, and that was a long time coming from when we adopted her seven years ago.

Thanks...

My Arthur will be gone a year on Nov 13.  It's awful.

My feeling is:  if you have that much love/compassion for a pet...... sholdn't another one benefit from that?

  I KNOW how hard 'the end' can be.... so many of us have been there.

  We are entrusted with their care foe THEIR lifetime.  It's easier to say when it's not you.

  In our thoughts.

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Dixie Sue is responding to the antibiotics and is doing better. There is still the issue with the tumor that lingers. Arlee and I decided as long as she is comfortable and can eat, we'll hold off. If she takes a turn for the worse then we'll have a sad decision to make.

Thanks for all the love, concern and support.

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We're going to have to say good-bye to Dixie Sue, probably this weekend. She's not doing well at all. Her oral infection has returned. The cyst on her gumline has gotten bigger and her mouth is full of pus. She doesn't seem to be in any pain but is barely eating. I think the time has come to give her a quiet and painless transition across the Rainbow Bridge -- especially since the vet said it could be possible for the dogs to get sick from her infection.

*sigh*

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Dixie Sue is getting stronger and more animated day by day, and has been eating more.

One big signpost: This evening she was wandering around the box she had been sleeping in, peeking closely at it and sniffing. I thought maybe she wanted to get in, so I gently dropped her down in. In just a couple of minutes she started to loudly meow - "Let me out!" Lately, she would just settle down into the box, curl up and sleep all day without protest.

We're so happy...

Well, that really is a "Christmas miracle"!  God willing she will continue to improve and maintain that level of health for as long as possible.

Sometimes things have to get a lot worse before they get better, and that seems to be what happened with Dixie Sue.