compassion is invincible.

brady demands snuggletime.

this is a photo of my beautiful mackerel tabby, tobey. he will turn twelve in march.

he has been sick since september. first we thought it was a simple cold, and when he didn’t get better, we took him to the vet. we tried antibiotics with no response. we tried nasal drops and using a warm steam humidifier to help break up the congestion. we tried a different antibiotic. still nothing. the vet mentioned that with cats of tobey’s age, he could have nasal polyps. yesterday he had surgery to remove the nasal polyps.

…except there were no polyps present. the vet took an x-ray, and there is a large tumor in tobey’s right nasal passage. the vet feels like it is quite possible that it is malignant.

so now? we’re going to take tobey to a specialist, who will be able to use a scope to visualize the mass and take a biopsy (my vet did not have those tools available), and then we can determine if in fact it is cancer, and if so, what stage it is and what treatment options are available. through all of it, tobey’s happiness, comfort, and quality of life will be our #1 priority.

i’ve mentioned this to a few family members and friends, and already i’ve had people telling me i shouldn’t do anything, that he is “just a cat” and that it will be a waste of money to put him through testing, chemo, etc. and that we should “just let him die.”

he is not “just a cat”— i have had tobey since he was a kitten and he is my best friend. he has been by my side through thick and thin, and he is always there for me, loving me unconditionally, no matter what. he sleeps by my side every night, and if i’m home, he’s at my side during the day. he is my baby, my love, my sweetheart.

(via theanimalblog)