Phoebe Has Lymphoma

We got some sad news today from the vet. After doing some tests, the vet confirmed that Phoebe most likely has lymphoma and that is what has been causing her health issues over the past few months. As you can guess, we are distraught over this and are trying to make Phoebe as comfortable as possible. She still has the leaky diarrhea so we're giving her meds for that and we're also giving her predisone to help ease some of the symptoms of the lymphoma. Unfortunately, it's just a matter of time. She has a large tumor in her intestine and we honestly don't know how much longer she'll be with us. From what I gather, lymphoma is not a very forgiving cancer.

Phoebe is the first cat Bear and I got together so she holds a special place in our hearts. We went to an animal shelter about six months into our relationship because Bear wanted a cat that wasn't "my" cat but "our" cat. After searching through so many kitties, I came across Phoebe at a shelter about an hour away from us. She was six months old at the time. Nobody had adopted her because of a scar on her eye from an old ulcer which was a shame as she was the sweetest kitten I had ever met. It took three days to finally bring her home. The shelter folks were a bit leery about someone from so far away adopting one of their cats but we showed up everyday for three days to prove that we wanted this cat and we're willing to do whatever was necessary to bring her home. She has been a blessing ever since.

Phoebe is one of the most happy and affectionate cats I've ever met. She is the kind of cat that dogs are jealous of because her love knows no bounds. Everyone from the UPS man to the pizza delivery guy is greeted by her as she rubs in between their legs asking for pets. She literally loves everyone and everything. I remember when we were living in an apartment and the super came to fix the stove. Phoebe would not leave his side and kept on demanding attention from him. The poor guy was finally forced to stop what he was doing and pet her.

Phoebe has also been the "go to" cat whenever my depression acts up or we've had a bad day. Like most cats, she has a good intuition in knowing when we are down or need some "pets" of our own. She would be the first cat to be with us and would plop down on her back. All it takes is a few rubs of the precious Phoebe belly and all worries or sads slowly disappear. Once she was done with her work, she would simple curl up around us all content, purring away.

Phoebe is definitely a special cat. I just hope that she holds on as long as she can but I know that her quality of life is the most important. I just never thought I would have to make this decision so soon in her life as she is only eleven years old.