Bottom of the 9th
Unlike his usual self, BamBam has been pleasant to everyone lately. Chris committed to him before she committed to me. I was however at the humane society when she picked him out. I thought our relationship was serious enough at the time to steer her towards a cat that would match my off-white carpet.
We got a postcard in the mail from the vet reminding us of his annual check-up. Because Chris is always one to make sure he always has his shots, she made an appointment for this past Friday.
A little known fact about vaccines is that some can cause cancer. We know this NOW because BamBam has a lump on the back of his neck in the exact spot where this indoor cat was given his rabies shot years ago. The vet knew what it was immediately. And after a blood test, was able to confirm that his Fibrosarcoma had metastasized into his bone marrow. The vet estimates that he has a month to live, perhaps a few more if he is given oral steroids; which we will assuredly do.
Chris took it hard. Even though I help bring him into the family, he has always been her pet. She called shortly after the diagnosis and urged me to come home early and take the girls out of the house when they got home from school. The girls were planning on going to grandma’s county fair this weekend anyway, so I took them up to see farm animals, ride the ferris wheel, and eat hot dogs and ice cream.
We came home Saturday and that evening, after Claire had gone to bed, I gently mentioned to the Marissa and Katie that BamBam was sick and wasn’t going to get better. When they realized BamBam wasn’t going to make it to his next birthday, they took it hard too. I felt pretty bad because there was nothing daddy could do to take the hurt away from a pair of grieving seven-year-olds.
Early this morning, Katie came into our bedroom and asked where the camera was. Her little body climbed to the top of the hutch to retrieve it. She took picture after picture of BamBam until the batteries died. She wanted a way to remember him.
Non-competitive Game Marissa and Peter Jennings
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One thought on “Bottom of the 9th”
I feel for you and your family. We euthanized our cat (11 years) about 4 years ago and it was very hard on us. This was of course after weeks of trying to get her to eat and giving her daily I.V. fluids. She was at the point where renal failure caught up to her and it was time.
One of our cats now (16 years) had to have a tumor removed from her leg where vaccinations where given. They had to take some of the muscle with it to make sure it didn’t ‘turn’ cancerous. This is not the one, by the way, that had her patella tendons shortened that I told you about at ‘game night’.
That’s a good idea to take lots of pictures. We cremated Moggie and have her in a little tin to remind us of the good and even a little bit of the bad times.