tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35816202024-02-20T13:15:57.866-05:00Biz the CatChronicle of my and my 14-year-old cat's struggle with Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-38852012267374910822010-08-28T11:52:00.000-04:002010-08-28T11:52:19.959-04:00Welcome to Biz the cat's blog. It is my prayer that you can find information here that will help you in your difficult walk with your cat who has illness, especially squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
While it may be the most difficult thing you've faced, I encourage you to check out the links in the right-hand column and also to know that, even though it doesn't feel like it just now, one day you Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-83822614933077415512008-12-12T08:43:00.003-05:002010-12-16T18:16:23.633-05:00December 1, 2008
RINGOES, N.J. -- A medical marvel in more ways than one, Tashi the kitten was born with a congenital spinal chord condition that paralyzed his hind legs. But Tashi, unaware of his handicap, is still making every effort to walk.
Rescued from a feral cat colony in Ohio, nearly 6-month-old Tashi recently arrived at Tabby's Place, a cage-free cat sanctuary in Ringoes.
"Everyone Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-1120602255647647882005-07-05T18:19:00.000-04:002005-07-05T18:35:12.110-04:00As you read through my blog about Biz, my cat who had SCC (Squamous Cell Carcinoma), you'll also find out that Biz's companion, Zach, succumbed to some kind of blood cancer in Nov, 2004.But I want you to also know that life does go on and you can heal from the loss of your beloved!While I cherish the memories of Biz and Zach and still mourn their loss even today, I've been blessed with two new Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-1101125671031613052004-11-22T07:11:00.000-05:002004-11-22T21:18:17.296-05:00Zach (who was at one time Biz's companion) crossed over the "rainbow bridge" to kitty "heaven" yesterday afternoon (Sunday, 11/21/04). Zach had some kind of blood cancer, but we're not sure what it was, and was only diagnosed last Thursday (11/18/04).
We did not have to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep because he died on his own timing. For that, I'm very thankful. Once he Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-1100948553756542742004-11-20T05:50:00.000-05:002004-11-20T06:02:33.756-05:00I'm in sorrow again as my other cat, Zach, has been diagnosed with either lymphoma or multiple myeloma. It doesn't matter which, because he is fading very quickly.
Zach is a black domestic long-hair, about 11.5 years old. I noticed this summer that he was losing a little weight and I took him to the Vet in July where they did complete blood work (a normal check for all senior cats), and a Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-1095191298595733092004-09-14T15:47:00.000-04:002004-09-14T15:48:18.596-04:00Well, it has been two years since I lost my beloved Biz.
It has not been easy at times, as I remember her and especially her last days on Earth. But, I'm so thankful she is out of any pain or suffering. There's too much of that in the world today, both in the animal AND the human kingdoms.
I would like to encourage those of you still grieving the loss of your beloveds -- or who are currently Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-1063656054211466002003-09-15T16:00:00.000-04:002003-09-15T16:06:42.883-04:00Today is the one year anniversary of the loss of my beloved Biz.
I admit I've struggled over the past month - especially with horrible visions of her last minutes as the Vet came to my house to put her to sleep.
Biz was extremely afraid of strangers up to the very end and struggled to get away from the Vet as she tried to squirt some stuff in Biz's mouth to start to calm her down so that she Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-1061382969851089262003-08-20T08:36:00.000-04:002003-08-20T08:37:39.706-04:00Just an update: Lately, I've been haunting myself with thoughts like, "Just this time last year Biz was really starting to decline," and "Oh, the one year anniversary of Biz's death is approaching on Sept. 15. How will I handle it?"
I suppose all of this is normal, since I still think every year on June 21 and March 23 about my Dad's Birthday and day of death, respectively, so it's natural Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-2000423102003-03-25T09:12:00.000-05:002003-03-25T09:16:59.000-05:00I did go dig some daffodils out of the front yard and planted them by Biz's grave (see March 10 entry):
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-904567932003-03-10T10:48:00.000-05:002003-03-25T09:14:28.000-05:00Just an update: Zach (my 10 year old black DLH) and Zadie (my new ~1.5 year old DSH tortie) have started playing with each other. Zadie will make a flying leap worthy of a professional wrestler on to Zach's back and they'll start tussling. After prolonged seconds of staring and tail swishing/wagging, one will launch into the other and they'll holler and yelp and then start running through the Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-901300842003-01-01T09:52:00.000-05:002003-01-01T09:52:25.850-05:00Our new "kitty buddy," Zadie, and our older cat, Zach, are really getting along pretty well. They both have relatively laid-back personalities and after a few days of Zach growling and hissing at Zadie, they pretty much have settled down into small spats here and there. Zach doesn't even hiss or growl anymore.
Zadie is rather playful, and Zach, being 9 years old, seems to curiously watch ZadieJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-900507892002-12-13T19:13:00.000-05:002002-12-13T19:13:05.790-05:00We were blessed today to come home with a "kitty buddy" for Zach. Her name is "Zadie," which is a diminutive form of Sarah, who of course was Abraham's wife. Sarah means "princess," and Zadie definitely fits the bill!
To see a picture of our lovely Zadie, and her coat of many colors, please click here. She is about 1.5 years old and weighs ~ 8.5 pounds. We got her at the Knox County Animal Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-3900311292002-12-09T12:25:00.000-05:002002-12-10T19:13:21.000-05:00Just a quick update...our "left behind" cat, Zach, seems to really be craving companionship. It's been almost three months since we lost Biz, and we're thinking seriously about finding a new cat. I don't think I could get another grey tabby, so we're looking for a young female tortishell/calico. Our local shelter and Petfinder.org have pictures of cats (and dogs) ready for adoption, but it'sJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-855285542002-10-05T12:00:00.000-04:002002-10-05T12:00:57.000-04:00I made my grave marker! We had some stainless steel sheet in our garage and I used it and a Dremel tool to etch info about Biz on it.
I'm pleased with the results, although I'm no artist! Click on the images to see them larger:
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-855135922002-10-01T20:28:00.000-04:002002-10-01T20:28:40.000-04:00It's now been two weeks plus since I had to have Biz put to sleep. I still miss her; I miss the way she leaned her head into my hand as I stroked her; I miss her practice of "flopping" on the ground for a good petting by essentially doing a partial sumersault; I miss her purr that had to be coaxed; I miss her bright green eyes; I miss her tiger-stripes and her floppy belly.
While I have brief Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-3854940912002-09-26T08:28:00.000-04:002002-10-22T22:00:28.000-04:00I still stand amazed at the quickness of my healing. I kept thinking I would sink back into a hole over losing Biz, but I just continue to remain thrilled that she was a part of my life and actually glad that she did not suffer long. I even have a pang of guilt from time to time that I am not still overtly grieving, because part of me says if Biz really meant anything to me I should still be inJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854856282002-09-24T09:05:00.000-04:002002-09-24T13:46:54.000-04:00I have turned the corner. I am surprised it happened this quickly.
Sunday afternoon, I suddenly realized that when I think of Biz, the good memories come forth much more quickly than last week, and the deep sorrow and pain I experienced has been replaced by simple sadness. My heart still hurts some, but it does not get stabbed like it did last week. I'm thankful for that.
As an only child ofJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854782262002-09-22T08:16:00.000-04:002002-09-22T08:17:58.000-04:00It was one week ago this morning that I noticed Biz really struggling to breathe and made the decision to put her to sleep. This whole week has been a mixture of pain, sorrow, grief, anger, wistfulness and denial. Just when I think I'm starting to heal, something reminds me of Biz and I get teary-eyed again. But, I'm pretty sure all what I'm feeling is completely normal.
I found some help atJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854722182002-09-20T09:50:00.000-04:002002-09-24T13:51:11.000-04:00I went and visited Biz's grave yesterday afternoon for the first time since I buried her. As I approached the spot in our backyard about 100 yards behind the house at the edge of the treeline, I noticed a tree to the left of Biz's grave was being gently blown by the wind. I'm not sure what kind of tree it is, but it has fairly long fronds on it, and the breeze was moving the fronds in a patternJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-3854695952002-09-19T17:24:00.000-04:002002-09-20T13:45:38.000-04:00I've been very touched by some folks who share my pain; they've lost cats within the last week themselves to SCC.
They've each emailed me with their stories, so eerily parallel to Biz's that it brings comfort in a way to me (someone else knows exactly how I feel), but also multiplies my pain since I know exactly how they feel.
I've hemmed and hawed a bit over the last few days about being so Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854652982002-09-18T17:21:00.000-04:002002-09-18T17:21:38.360-04:00Another day has passed since Biz left this Earth. What's bothering me now is this denial phase I'm in. I just cannot bring myself to believe at times that she is gone. I keep expecting to see her coming around the corner in her usual, casual way, rear claws clicking on the hardwood floor.
While I know in my head that she is gone, my heart keeps expecting to see her again.
And then there are Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-3854591122002-09-17T08:57:00.000-04:002002-09-18T17:09:46.000-04:00I just learned about an interesting twist in my Biz saga.
Here in the Knoxville, TN area, we had a train derailment on Sunday that caused the evacuation of thousands of people due to a sulfuric acid leak and subsequent cloud/irritating vapors. Some of those thousands of people had to leave their pets behind.
On Monday, some of those folks were allowed to go get their pets, and they brought Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854569972002-09-16T17:30:00.000-04:002002-09-16T17:30:08.970-04:00I really, really thought that yesterday would be my last posting about Biz.
And then I realized that her story continues, because she was such a part of me, and I'm continuing on. And that others who are going through this experience don't suddenly stop thinking about their beloved pets just because they're gone, because I sure haven't!
So, I thought I should continue this chronicle to share Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854524912002-09-15T11:06:00.000-04:002002-09-15T12:19:54.000-04:00Tribute to Biz:
Biz, my beloved. You are not in pain anymore, you are not suffering. You gave me love and only asked for food and petting in return.
You were with me through some very difficult times and it was very difficult to let you go.
But the Visiting Vet said I did the right thing. Her pupils were dialated, indicating that she was in pain. The cancer had spread to her lungs and Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3581620.post-854522832002-09-15T08:48:00.000-04:002002-09-15T09:12:03.000-04:00Biz is really struggling to breathe this morning. I did get to feed her some of the Hill's A/D with a piroxicam treat smushed up in it, but I feel like she's tired of struggling and it may be close to the time for her to die.
I called the Visiting Vet a few minutes ago (~0830 Eastern) to see if there was anything I could do for Biz, and she quizzed me on her respiration frequency. It's Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14981691732218144956noreply@blogger.com0