Hang In There, Big Guy

I was talking to my friend Will Briarwood last night. He gave me an update about his cat, who has cancer.

“Well, the good news is that the big guy is still acting like his old self. His appetite is good, and he doesn’t seem to be in pain.”

And…

“The bad news is that he has a couple more bumps on his side, and they are ugly and red – I don’t know if they broke through his skin, or if he licked the fur off them – I’m hoping that they’re something other than more cancer, but I’m not optimistic. He goes to the vet Thursday morning.”

You said that he also has cancer in his lungs – is he breathing ok?

“Well, he breathes fast sometimes, but he’s not panting or gasping. He does seem to lie down more than he used to – I mean, he used to sit around, now he seems to lie around.”

How are you and Mary doing with all this?

“Some days we’re ok, some days we’re not. I was really worried about the big guy last week, but today, I don’t feel quite so bad, I don’t know if I’m denial or if I’m accepting the inevitable. I mean, the vet gave us a four-month supply of prednisone, and then I bought a big bag of cat food, which should last us a couple months. But Mary is worried that he’s not going to last till her vacation at the end of the month.”

Her vacation? Not yours and hers?

“She’s going to see a friend of hers in Arizona. I’ll stay home and catsit. Just like I did when she want to San Francisco on business last month.”

The cats do ok when she is gone?

“Pretty much. I try to take at least one day off work when she’s out of town, so the cats don’t feel like we’re both gone.”

Good luck at the vet tomorrow, and good luck to you and Mary with all this.

“Thanks. Hey, we have to talk about the fall tv shows some time, and I need to tell you about Sinead, and Anoushka, and Christine Kane…”

Will do. Talk to you later, Will.