Sick Cat

Now, it’s our cat.

Curzon developed a kind of cough a few days ago, and on Sunday night I thought he wasn’t eating as much as usual. The next night I felt him, and he was definitely thinner than normal.

Tuesday morning I took him to the vet, who was concerned. An x-ray showed probable lung cancer. We were given several options, including the final one, but Curzon is still acting basically normal. So, we looked for more options.

Today I took him to a specialised vet clinic that could do more advanced x-rays, and the much clearer results showed the nodules in his lungs that are consistent with cancer—but it’s possible it’s from another cause. They did an ultrasound and found that the cancer, if that’s what it is, hasn’t affected any other organs.

It’s possible that this is merely an inflammatory respiratory disease, or even lung worm, but the vet is about 90% certain it’s cancer. So, we’re giving Curzon an anti-biotic to clear up any secondary infection and an anti-inflammatory to deal with inflammation. If it’s cancer, it’ll make it manageable for a bit longer. If it’s disease, this will help.

Cancer would mean we’d have him for a few weeks to months. Respiratory disease can be dealt with. Apparently, lung cancer in cats has no known cause and can take only weeks or at most a few months to become serious, almost always without symptoms. But, the specialised clinic recently had a case very similar to this that looked like cancer, but which turned out to be respiratory disease. I never thought I’d see the day I’d wish my cat had a disease, and I’ll gladly grasp at any straw that comes my way.

Curzon is our cat, but Nigel gave him to me as a fortieth birthday present, so he’s always been my special boy. He cuddles up with me every night and I have trouble sleeping on the rare nights he stays out all night. I can’t imagine more than one night without him meowing at me, demanding scratches under his collar before he curls up against my side and goes to sleep. I’m hoping that it’ll be years before those empty nights arrive. We lost Saibh only three months ago; I’m simply not ready to lose another.

Update 18 August: Curzon is eating and drinking water pretty normally, he's grooming and his breathing seems better. He also hasn't "coughed" in a couple days. This morning, he allowed me to give him his medicine without fighting me too much, almost as if he understood that it was helping him. In around ten days we'll take him in for another check and we'll know if this is all clearing things or merely making him feel better. We’re still hoping for the best.