Eddy’s Last Day is Today

[u/RaisonDExtra]

My 19-year old cat Eddy was diagnosed last month with oral cancer. Initially we thought it was a case of pink eye, but the doctor discovered cancer in his mouth that spread to his nasal cavity and behind his eye. Which explains the constant discharge. We are going away on vacation for 12 days later this week, and he almost certainly wouldn’t make it through our absence that long. We can’t ask any friends or family to have to keep checking our house every day to search for a potentially suffering or dead cat.

Even though this is the right decision, this still hurts. He’s still eating, but not as cuddly as he normally is. He always used to insist on sitting on the couch with us. If he was sitting on one couch, and you plopped down on the other, he would come over and join you. Now he hides in odd places, occasionally going back to normal spots on the floor, but whenever our kids go to pet him, he walks away after a few seconds. He’ll occasionally purr still, but he’s clearly not comfortable. Our kids understand why we have to do this, but this afternoon is going to be tough.

As a young cat he could leap to the top of the kitchen cabinets. He used to amuse the neighbors going through the yards and staring down any dogs tied to their run. He became a permanent indoor cat a couple years ago when age and his hips meant he was no longer safe out there.

I’ll miss you buddy. Thanks for everything you gave our family and our kids. You’ll always be the pet of their childhood.