I have started this blog about my sweet kitty Winslow as I have just received the sad news that he has pancreatic cancer which has spread to a couple of his lymph nodes. This blog will be about our journey through this as I find writing a wonderful outlet for emotions. And, I am having a very difficult time with this.
To start, I would like to introduce my furry boy, Winslow. He just turned 15 on June 10. Wow! Winslow is a well travelled kitty. I am originally from Florida which is where I met Winslow. I was in my last year of university, age 22. I was wanting a cuddly boy kitten. I saw an ad in the newspaper and immediately phoned to enquire about the kitten. When I saw Winslow, it was love at first sight. Then, when he fell asleep while I was holding him, it was a no brainer. "Kitty" is leaving with me! Now, I assumed that since he fell asleep on me that he would be a cuddly, laid back kitty. Boy, was I wrong! Winslow was a playful kitty. The kind of kitty that hides around corners and jumps on you and the kind of kitty that when you sleep at night he attacks your toes.
Winslow is a well travelled kitty.
I won't detail the last 15 years, but will give an overview as to how well adjusted my Winslow is. In 15 years he has welcomed a female kitty into the household (a month before a big move), moved 4000 miles cross country/continent (my husband is from Canada), lived with 2 dogs and 2 birds once arriving to Canada, moved to Vancouver and welcomed yet another dog (Dante), was the first to welcome 2 baby girls into the world, moved away from Vancouver, had to say goodbye to Dante as he passed away from cancer, had to say goodbye to Egypt due to liver/kidney failure, and has gone through home renovations!
As for the pancreatic cancer, he was losing weight so we took him in for tests. At first, they thought it was his thyroid. I wish it was his thyroid. After x-rays and ultrasounds, it was obvious that he had cancer. The only thing keeping me grounded right now is our vet. I love how she was honest, but her voice was gentle and caring. You can tell fellow animal lovers because when they tell you bad news you can hear their voice crack. We had a long talk and I was assured that she would be there for me when it is time to make "that dreaded decision."
What we know now is that he does have cancer and it is dividing, though the pathologist said it was not dividing rapidly. Winslow is eating well, playing, and hanging out with the family. If it wasn't for the vet checking his tummy so thoroughly, we would have never known.
Surgery is not an option. There was talk of chemo, but was told that chemo usually does not work with this type of cancer. I was torn because he is 15 and the thought of making him really sick with chemo and then it not working was heartbreaking. The vet agreed. Again, I am so appreciative that she was honest. I would rather have him spend the rest of his days with me happy rather than trying chemo and making him even more ill. I have had past experiences with cancer getting worse (Dante), so I wanted to avoid making things worse.
For now, we are just watching how he is doing. If things change, we will then go from there.
This belongs to Winslow... "This" refers to the blog. It is dedicated to my sweet boy.
