Clyde's Case Study  

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Other Diseases/Conditions: None Story: Clyde the Cat was the neighbors cat. When Clyde's mom decided to move 10 blocks away, he was against the idea and kept coming back to his old house. One night he showed up on our doorstep and never left. That was the beginning of a wonderful 8 years together. This past May, Clyde became even pickier than normal about his food, started losing weight and drooling. We took him to vet expecting a diagnosis of dental disease. What we got was cancer. Our doctor discovered a mass under his tongue and along the side of his mouth. Amazingly, the first biopsy came back benign. We were told he had a cyst and he was treated with antibiotics and a depo-shot. The next month he was back to his old self and we were so relieved. But then, the drooling came back and he began exhibiting discomfort in his mouth. A second vet appointment confirmed the "cyst" had returned, bigger than before. The pathology lab still had his sample so we had them run it twice and this time it did come back malignant. We chose to debulk the tumor surgically and it was then that we learned the type of cancer he had was lymphoma. Our vet referred us to an oncologist who recommended weekly chemotherapy but because of his advanced age and and fear of doctor visits we chose not to go ahead with it. The oncologist told us that without chemo he would only last 3 weeks. That was in late June. We decided to treat him with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and monthly depo shots via home vet visits, and most importantly lots of love. We fed him whatever he wanted and spent as much time with him as we could. That 3 weeks turned into 5 months, most of which were good days for Clyde. After the second surgery, we never took him back to vet's office. After 6 difficult but also wonderful months, Clyde let us know he was ready and we made the call to the home vet. We spent the morning together and even carried him outside to feel the sun on his fur, breathe the air, and look up at the cloudless blue sky. Then we put him to rest. We read a lot of these case studies when he was first diagnosed and they terrified us. We never wanted to increase his suffering with invasive treatments nor did we want prolong it by letting him go on too long. We are so grateful for the time we had with Clyde and we know that ultimately it was our love that kept him going. Outcome: Euthanized 11/9/08. - By Beryl Clyde's Mom -

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