What a beauty! Lady at the ripe old age of 14.
Lady has been a member of our family since she was a very young cat; that was way back in the spring of 1994. Friends often refer to her as “the phantom cat” due to the fact that they never get to see her, except in photos. Some of them have known us for more than 10 years and never set eyes on her. One friend who suffers from severe cat allergies visited our house for three years before discovering we have a cat. She has always been that way, extremely nervous. We think she was mistreated when she was a kitten, and that she probably comes from mixed birth with some feral cat in there somewhere.
When it comes to us, family, she is very affectionate. She practically lives in our bed, only coming out for the necessities of life. However, she simply adores the time of day when we go into the bedroom and spend some time with her. She lies on the bed purring and “talking” to us in muted tones. Everything Lady does in kind of low key, almost “undercover” – she would have made an exceptional spy cat!
When it comes to us, family, she is very affectionate. She practically lives in our bed, only coming out for the necessities of life. However, she simply adores the time of day when we go into the bedroom and spend some time with her. She lies on the bed purring and “talking” to us in muted tones. Everything Lady does in kind of low key, almost “undercover” – she would have made an exceptional spy cat!
Lady wakes up under Thomas' watchful eye.
Lady is not well. She has already had two rounds of surgery for cancerous tumours; the most recent being last June. After that one we did a biopsy and discovered that she has the worst kind of malignant tumour possible. The whole process of surgery is extra stressful for Lady. Bearing in mind that she likes to spend her entire life in our bed, imagine how she feels about being put into a cat box and taken to the vet. She hates it and demonstrates her displeasure with real “belly howls” all the way down to Beirut in the car, all the way to the vet’s from the car park, all the time we are waiting in the waiting room – you get the picture.
Now the dilemma. Should we have Lady’s now huge tumour operated again? There is no way she is going to get better. The next tumour will most likely grow even more quickly than this one, and that has reached tennis ball size in eight months. The stress of what she has to go through is like torture for her. On the other hand, operating may give her a few more months in the family bed. She doesn’t seem to be suffering at all and is still eating and doing all the normal things a cat does – as normal as Lady will ever be, that is! It will mean we can put off having to say goodbye to her now. Sacha will be able to see her again when she visits at Easter.
Hum, not an easy one and at the time of writing the jury is still out. Somehow I think that a verdict of “operate” will probably be pronounced as none of us have the heart to take any other decision.
Imagine, here we are in Lebanon where a pizza delivery guy was recently just shot and killed as he delivered a couple of medium marguerites and a bottle of Coke near to a demonstration. Most Lebanese would tell us, “Get your priorities right” they’re not renowned for being a very animal friendly race. I have university educated friends, professional people, who consider getting their kids a kitten to play with in their summer house and then just abandoning it when they leave back to Beirut in September is “normal.” I know a science teacher no less, who thinks that keeping a duckling in a tiny cage and letting the kids bring it to school where it cries pitifully all day long is “fine.”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of animal ethics displayed even by the educated elite of our society. In the present situation with our current preoccupations what to do with a 14 year old cat would, understandably, come at the bottom of most people’s list of priorities.
Now the dilemma. Should we have Lady’s now huge tumour operated again? There is no way she is going to get better. The next tumour will most likely grow even more quickly than this one, and that has reached tennis ball size in eight months. The stress of what she has to go through is like torture for her. On the other hand, operating may give her a few more months in the family bed. She doesn’t seem to be suffering at all and is still eating and doing all the normal things a cat does – as normal as Lady will ever be, that is! It will mean we can put off having to say goodbye to her now. Sacha will be able to see her again when she visits at Easter.
Hum, not an easy one and at the time of writing the jury is still out. Somehow I think that a verdict of “operate” will probably be pronounced as none of us have the heart to take any other decision.
Imagine, here we are in Lebanon where a pizza delivery guy was recently just shot and killed as he delivered a couple of medium marguerites and a bottle of Coke near to a demonstration. Most Lebanese would tell us, “Get your priorities right” they’re not renowned for being a very animal friendly race. I have university educated friends, professional people, who consider getting their kids a kitten to play with in their summer house and then just abandoning it when they leave back to Beirut in September is “normal.” I know a science teacher no less, who thinks that keeping a duckling in a tiny cage and letting the kids bring it to school where it cries pitifully all day long is “fine.”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of animal ethics displayed even by the educated elite of our society. In the present situation with our current preoccupations what to do with a 14 year old cat would, understandably, come at the bottom of most people’s list of priorities.
4 comments:
In case you're wondering why I removed the comment, it was a virus. This is the 3rd time this has happened. Soon after you post a new blog a comment comes. When you click on it, it seems like an anti-virus programme and it advises you to run it as it tells you that you have 25 viruses. In fact, it then tries to invade your computer!
Your description and pictures of "lady" were identical to my little Mickey. I would suggest not allowing the cat to be subjected and just let her go to her rightful place. I know it's hard but we have to imagine as you have, the suffering she's endured and will in the future. It's so hard, and no one knows more than you or someone like me who has done this before many times.
I hope you are doing well in Beirut. My extended family is in Jouneih, we are Lebanese Christians (Maronite Cath), although I claim no religious affiliation today here in the US.
I wish you peace in whatever you decide to do with Lady. It's not easy but this is life.
Dear vgeorge66,
Thank you for your comment. I tried to find your blog to answer you, but you have chosen not to share your information in public. We thought this over as a family. My son (see previous entry) said he thought one of the most important criteria for deciding whether or not an animal should be put down was if they were suffering. As Lady is not suffering in the slightest, he said we really did not have grounds for putting her to sleep. Well, we couldn't find a flaw in that argument, so she had surgery on Monday. It went well and she is recovering at home.
Sara
Post a Comment