sapphire
08-06-2006, 10:42 PM
My poor Amber was my best friend for the past 8 1/2 years. She licked my face when my parents died, and cuddled close when I cried.
She was an old cat, but she shouldn't have died. She had a cancer in her jaw. She was the most beautiful, petite, tuxedo cat, with a delicate face, delicate paws, and the most wonderful purr in the world.
For 2 months I tried to save her. I fed her with a dropper, and gave her supplements. I went to the store 3, 4, 5 times a day trying to find a food she wanted to eat.
And I still lost her. She probably wouldn't have lived too much longer anyway, without the cancer. But at least my memories right now wouldn't be of her poor, swollen face and tongue hanging out.
Why did my cat suffer like this? Apparently, the only identifiable proximate cause of feline oral cancers is exposure to 'household tobacco smoke'. I have never smoked a day in my life. Unfortunately, I got Amber when she was 8 years old, from my ex-step-daughter. She and her husband and her boyfriends all smoked, inside.
Please, even if you refuse to quit smoking, don't make your poor animals suffer. YOU have the choice, and if you get sick from smoking, its your own damn fault. YOUR PETS HAVE NO CHOICE. Take it outside.
Trust me, you don't want to go thru what Amber and I went through for the past 2 months. For the sake of those who can't escape your noxious fumes.
She was an old cat, but she shouldn't have died. She had a cancer in her jaw. She was the most beautiful, petite, tuxedo cat, with a delicate face, delicate paws, and the most wonderful purr in the world.
For 2 months I tried to save her. I fed her with a dropper, and gave her supplements. I went to the store 3, 4, 5 times a day trying to find a food she wanted to eat.
And I still lost her. She probably wouldn't have lived too much longer anyway, without the cancer. But at least my memories right now wouldn't be of her poor, swollen face and tongue hanging out.
Why did my cat suffer like this? Apparently, the only identifiable proximate cause of feline oral cancers is exposure to 'household tobacco smoke'. I have never smoked a day in my life. Unfortunately, I got Amber when she was 8 years old, from my ex-step-daughter. She and her husband and her boyfriends all smoked, inside.
Please, even if you refuse to quit smoking, don't make your poor animals suffer. YOU have the choice, and if you get sick from smoking, its your own damn fault. YOUR PETS HAVE NO CHOICE. Take it outside.
Trust me, you don't want to go thru what Amber and I went through for the past 2 months. For the sake of those who can't escape your noxious fumes.