Buster's Story
by Jeannie
Buster was vibrant 12 year old cat that loved life. Buster was my soulmate - we did everything together. I got up he was there, went to the bathroom he was there, got home from work -he was standing at the door, had a bath - he stood on the side of the tub and most notably when I slept he laid on my pillow kneading my shoulders and purring. He suddenly became very sucky, was trying to steal food from me, started losing weight and was demonstrating some pain behaviours. There were no real clinical findings. We went to the vet and ran blood work that was clear. Shortly after he began having diarrhea so we started him on Prednisone and Flagyl (antibiotic). We were told it was either irritable bowel or lymphoma but given that they were treated the same way we would start there. After two weeks there was no change and the diarrhea was worse. It was now bloody and mucusy. Buster was losing more weight and if I was sitting or laying down he was on me. I knew he was in trouble. We went back to the vet who examined him and found 2 masses in his abdomen and the diagnosis of lymphoma was confirmed. At that time we decided to do what we could to keep him comfortable. That meant giving him subcutaneous fluid at home, medication to stop vomitting, pain medication, prednisone and antibiotics. For Buster eating was a chore. So we boiled chicken and tried to give it to him but given that he was a diva he would only eat it if I ate a piece of it first. This was about the time when Buster started hiding in the basement. Our once extremely social cat who slept on my pillow every night was now nowhere to be found. He found comfort on the cold floor of the basement and when I went to see him he loved being held and rocked. We both knew the end was coming. In these final days, he did everything he loved 1 last time. He slept with me 1 more time. He sat on the tub while I had a bath 1 last time - he was so weak that he fell in the tub LOL. The day finally came where he looked at me and said he had enough. By this time his bowel was completely obstructed. The medications could not help anymore. He stopped eating and was in too much pain. The next day we went to the vet and he was put to sleep. The vet examined before he was put down and found he had at least 5 masses in his abdomen. From diagnosis to death he lasted only 2 weeks and he went from 2 massess to 5 - that is how aggressive his disease was. He's at the rainbow bridge now - back to good health and chasing butterflies like he used to. UPDATE: Buster is now joined at the rainbow bridge by his brother Bandit who died on June 27, 2013. (He is the black cat in the pictures) They spent their whole lives together. Bandit had Chronic Renal Failure which was only diagnosed 1 month ago.
***If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. ***
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Buster
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