50 Days is Over 7 Weeks

Not a very profound statement. When you think of 7 weeks leading up to Christmas or a vacation, it might be an eternity. When it's studying for the Bar Exam, it may be the blink of an eye.

Yesterday, I was told my cat, Johnny has 12 - 16 weeks to live. That doesn't seem like very much at all does it? It makes my 7 weeks feel like the blink of an eye. He has a squamous cell carcinoma on the left side of his lower jaw. Even if it remains localized, the tumor will eventually grow large enough and put him in so much pain he will stop eating. The cancer wil not kill him outright. It will just prevent him from eating and drinking enough to stay alive.  I just went through this with my older cat, Henry last month. Henry fought this disease in a way I didn't think an animal could. He was still trying to eat up to the end. He never gave in.

Johnny is a lover, not a fighter. Henry was known for attacking Rotweillers. John-John is known for liking his bum spanked and liking women with long hair. Henry was 5 years when I brought home a kitten the week that JFK Jr.'s plane went missing. John-John became Henry's shadow. Neally, the now lone female, was not pleased, not one bit. Poor Neally.  She was pissed. And let everyone know it. But the boys were now inseparable. And I knew when Henry died, that Johnny would take it particularly hard. On the last day, I told Johnny that he needed to come say good-bye, and he completely understood. He got up, walked into the living room, hopped up on the sofa next to Henry and head-butted him three times.

I thought there would be years before I had to face losing Johnny. Then last week, sitting on the sofa patting Johnny, I felt a lump. "What are the odds?" I thought. How do two cats not of the same litter years apart in age develop the same disease months apart in the same household? I felt like I have been somehow killing them. That I must have exposed them to something unknowingly. But, 32 percent of all cats over the the age of 10 will die from cancer, and 10 percent will die from this type of cancer. 32%!!! (Dogs are worse -- 50% of dogs over 10 develop cancer.) Johnny was one of a litter of four, and is the second to develop cancer.

If there is something doctors can do for him without making his remaing days a misery, then we'll try it. I'll try wheatgrass juice and rednop tea. Johnny and I can be on the juice together. Don't worry -- Johnny isn't going vegetarian. He'll still get as much food as I can get into him. I will do everything I can possibly do for him.

Daily Breakdown: Tuesday

JuicesConsumed: Kale/Orange/Cantaloupe/Carrot/Banana/Celery/Pineapple; Kale/Orange/Cantaloupe/Carrot/Banana/Asparugus/Pineapple; Lemon Zinger Tea

Weight Loss:  .5 lb (Juice Feast Total: 8 lbs)

Bodily Functions:  Normal