In Loving Memory of Freya, our beautiful kitty

I had to put Freya to sleep this morning. She went quickly and peacefully, and it was definitely the right time as she had been bleeding from the mouth since last night. Unfortunately, hubby is out of town and wasn't able to be there, although I know he wanted to be.

She was diagnosed with mouth cancer in early January, and was given days to weeks to live. We are so lucky to have had her for an extra four months.

But as with Saga, I don't want to dwell on her illness. Instead, we want to remember the happy times with our beautiful girl.

Although Freya became a part of our family in 2005, this is the earliest digital image I have of her, from 2008. If you left a drawer open, she'd be in it. 

She loved laying on papers. Or books. Or laptops. Or clean laundry.

She "helped" me quite a lot when I was finishing up my dissertation. She was the instigator of more than a few naps.

DId I mention how much she loved to be in things?

And lay on papers? Even a single piece of paper would do.

Stealing the dog bed was another favorite.

As was sleeping upside-down.

She only weighed about 10 pounds, but she had enormous paws. Snowshoe-type paws. Which is clearly very important if you live in south/central Texas. 

She was (almost) always very dignified.

And DEFINITELY always very, very cute.

You will be missed, sweet girl. We love you.

Elias and Freya update (good news and bad)

As part of a fabulous start to 2013 (NOT), Freya and Elias were both diagnosed with cancer. Freya has cancer of the mouth and was not given long to live, and Elias has...

... nothing. The vet's original diagnosis of a nerve sheath tumor was dis-proven when they biopsied the lump they removed, which turned out to be nothing more than a lipoma (fatty tissue deposit). It was completely benign! All he has to show for his ordeal is a lovely scar - he's completely back to his usual bouncy, talkative self, "helping" with the barn chores and "guarding" the house.

 

Elias is ashamed of his new scar. OK, not really, but this is what he did when I went to take a picture of it!

We are so, so relieved. Elias is such a personable dog, and such a huge part of our lives. It's good to know that we'll have him with us for a little longer.

Freya's cancer, unfortunately, is very real. It's in her jawbone, and you can see her cheek poofing out a little more each day. She doesn't like to have that side of her face touched, and she has trouble eating. However, she still comes and gets me to let me know that her bowl is empty, and she's still eating, even though she has lost a lot of weight.

 

Her Highness Freya the Furbisaur, poofy cheek and all. 

She's never been a hugely affectionate cat - she likes to cuddle on her terms, thank you very much. But since Christmas she makes sure to cram herself between hubby and I at every possible opportunity (sitting on the couch, snoogling in bed, etc), and she stares at one of us until we pet her. For now, she seems to be doing OK, but one of these days she'll take a turn for the worse.

Until then, we're making every minute count.

The big "C", times two. :(

This year has not gotten off to the best start, pet-wise. Last week, we took Freya into the vet because she seemed to be bleeding from the mouth. I thought that she had perhaps lost a tooth (she is a bit older, after all), but it turned out that she has cancer of the mouth. This type of cancer is very bad for kitties – it’s in the bone, and the only thing they can do is remove part of the jaw (um, no thanks) and even then the median survival time is only 7-8 months. We opted to treat her with antibiotics and steroids, but those are just stop-gaps to keep her comfortable for the time she has left – likely days or weeks.

She’s stopped eating her regular kitty food but is still happily devouring treats. She has never been one to eat wet food, tuna, shrimp, cheese, chicken... or any other delicious people food, so it's a bit of a challenge to tempt her appetite. Hubby and I have agreed that when she stops eating, or when her breathing becomes labored (the cancer is apparently affecting her left nostril) we will call it. We don’t want her to be uncomfortable or scared. For now, she’s happy getting lots of love and snuggles, and we’re playing the waiting game.

To make matters worse, this week we found a lump on Elias’ right ankle.  I’d noticed it before but it seemed to have gone away – I figured he’d knocked himself while playing. However, by Sunday it was noticeably worse. We took him in to have it biopsied, and while we are waiting for the results to confirm, the vet is almost positive that it’s a nerve sheath tumor. Unfortunately, these have a high rate of local recurrence. If it recurs, a second surgery (or limb amputation) is the recommended option; radiation is recommended if it recurs a third time. Elias did not do well coming out of surgery, and we definitely won’t do radiation.  Median survival time for this type of cancer seems to be 6 months-2 years.  We’re definitely hoping it’s more toward 2 years, as Elias is a huge part of our family.  

And of course there's the Cone of Shame to deal with too. Poor pitiful doggie.

I sure hope y'all's years are starting off better in the critter department than ours is.