Chip, Sweetest Cat I've Ever Known

Chip is a complete sweetheart. He loves people, he loves other cats. He especially loves his litter mate brother Chad. It's hard to get a picture of just him. He's usually with another. He loves to play with rawhide string, and watch the birds. He really loves to eat, LOL. I noticed about a year ago that "the boys" were getting quite fat, but many of the others kept getting thinner...  yeah -- "the boys" were eating most of the overnight kibble put down for the entire group. Just to be sure, we took them to the vet for blood work. They're on scheduled meals here, with free feed only over night (Precious is teetering on the edge of whatever was not wrong with her litter mate Boots). Blood tests for them showed normal -- no hypo-thyroid, no nothing. So we isolated "the boys" overnight in the first bedroom. They began to lose a bit of weight, very slowly. 

CC's babies - Oct 26, 2009

This litter has been with my rescue since late October, 2009. They came in at about 3, maybe 4 weeks old with their calico mother CC (for calico cat). I named the babies Chip (for a broken vertebrae near the end of his tail), Chad, Charlie, Chan, and Cherry. They are discussed a bit more in my Animal Rescue post on this blog. Chad & Chip were adopted early Feb. 2010. They were returned by the adopter late October, 2010. They are now 11 years old. 

Chip started excessive drooling a couple weeks ago. I thought he'd slipped getting up to or down from his feeding station (cat food on the floor quickly becomes dog food, so the cats are fed counter top height and higher). I tried for vet appointments for Chip, for Tasha (not eating well), and follow up for Taylor's hyperthyroid condition (need a new Rx and blood level check). These days of physical distancing only allowed 1 appointment right then. I chose Taylor. A later one for Tasha. Chip will be fine, never mind -- he seems to be healing? the chin lump is a little smaller? Well, no. After Taylor (she's fine, new Rx acquired) but before Tasha, Chip seemed to be drooling even more, now with some blood! Having some trouble drinking water; digging in the water bowl (making an awful mess), like he did when he was younger. (Great, Tinker's  going berserk in the laundry room Venetian blinds -- pardon the interruption, LOL) 

So, anyway we got Chip in to the vet this past Wednesday, Sep 9. Physical distancing and all that; a technician meets you at your car, takes the animal indoors and you wait for a phone call from the doc with status. We didn't even get a phone call before tech was returning with cell phone photos of the inside of Chip's mouth. As she explained what I was seeing, the vet called. Chip has oral cancer, an aggressive cancer in cats, commonly affecting them about 11-12 years old. There is no viable treatment. It is terminal as it rapidly progresses and the animal can no longer eat or drink. The animal is is a fair amount of 'discomfort' as the condition progresses. Palliative care only. Not the "something new" I wanted to learn that day. 

Still on the phone: How long does he have? A couple months? silence... A few weeks then? Not really --- could only be a few days, maybe a week. It depends on how he does. Soooo not what I wanted to hear! We got pain meds to last through this past weekend and prednisolone (steroid) tablets to last through the 22nd. We had to order more buprinex from a compounding pharmacy to last through the 22nd. It was delivered Saturday.

Brad took Tues evening

All we can do for him is love him. Give him pureed foods, all he wants of whatever he wants and is able to eat (he doesn't need to diet now). Human tuna, salmon, pureed meat baby foods. New water source is hallway bathroom sink. Leave him in peace when he doesn't want to be bothered. Leave them alone when they're together. Help him with clean up and hygiene. There is a lot of drool. You know he's not comfortable. You can see it in his actions. He still purred every time I spoke to him or got near him -- until Tuesday night. I had to reach out to pet him before his incredible purr started. He doesn't feel good. He expects me to 'fix it' because I always have (I imagine, in his mind anyway). We faced crystals in his urinary tract a few years back, but that worked out ok. We gave him the fluids, gave him the antibiotic, and keep a close eye on his litter box output; give him some ham every once in a while to be sure he's drinking enough. I can't fix this though. 

He is scheduled for Peaceful Passage this afternoon. He will be buried in the pet cemetery, near Lady, Boots, Two Toes, and a turtle. 

The Boys - Wed night

But, am I doing it for him or for me? I am exhausted. Dosing 2 of them twice a day. Also an appetite stimulant for Tasha daily. Special pureed foods of tasty stuff that cats like. My mini-blender is getting more use than it has in many months. Microwave the food to "warm mouse" temp to make it even more tempting. Be sure Precious is getting enough. Frequent tissue wipes for Chip's mouth; clean him while he's eating so not too much drool gets into the food. Keep Chad and Princess from eating whatever special food is down for Chip (he takes a break then returns to the dish after I've scraped the food back together). Wait, is there a little less drool today? Is he a little brighter? Chad was 'sweeting' Chip on the counter the other night. They were both purring in the chair yesterday. Isn't that good?

He does not feel good. You can see it in his eyes. The below photo was taken this morning. He's been fed, cleaned, and medicated. He's on top of a carrier that we keep out so they don't fear it. He does not look happy, comfortable, or content. Chip is far too sweet to be forced to suffer. I will miss him greatly. I will remember his sweetness, his "love everybody" outlook. He is the sweetest cat I have ever known. I am concerned for Chad when Chip is gone. 

RIP Chip - Sep 17, 2020 (release day)