Loss of Pet

In loving memory of our beautiful Cleo on September 9, 2021 when she was healthy. We miss you and love you very much. Queen of our household from February 15, 2014 - May 18, 2023. Our house feels so empty without you.

I'm sorry for the delays in posts the past few weeks. Our beloved Cleo has been fighting a battle with cancer. She wasn't cleaning herself so I was trying to keep her brushed at least every other day and washing her face daily where her eye and nose were running. It appeared to be recurring upper respiratory infection. However, when the third recurrence failed to respond to a smaller dosage of  ongoing meds, I became suspicious that something else was the cause of her illness. When a mass was pulled out of her nose on Friday, May 5th (2023), my concerns were confirmed.

Mass that was growing in Cleo's nose

Then a knot came up on her forehead on Tuesday, May 9th (2023). That was a bad day for Cleo where she laid around all day and wasn't interested in her "special" meals we would feed her. It was too soon to call back about the results. But they were supposed to have those by the end of this particular week.

Knot about the size of a golf ball came up on Cleo's forehead at about 8:30 Tuesday morning, May 09, 2023, and it is pushing her right eye towards her ear.

Cleo had another bad day on Monday, May 15th (2023). When I called the vet's office to tell them about the new symptom, the results still were not in, and Dr. Carpenter wasn't going to be back in the office until Wednesday the 17th. You can't see the knot in the picture above, but if you look closely, you can see how it's pushing her right eye away from her nose. 

Fortunately, Tuesday (16th) and Wednesday (17th) were great days for Cleo. She had more energy and was eating her "special" meals and treats those 2 days. I thought we were on the road to recovery.

However, when I opened her bedroom door Thursday morning (18th), she let out a faint meow, and the treats I set out for her the night before were still in the floor. I thought she was just tired from all the activity from the 2 days prior. I went to work, thinking she would come out in about an hour like she would on her "sleeping in" days.

Eyes nearly swollen shut, face twisted, you can see blood forming in her left eye now

The time got away from me, so when I checked on her at about 9:20 a.m. or so, she was still in bed, very lethargic, face swollen. She came out of her bed when I cleaned her nose, but she was very slow walking into the living room. She refused to let me near her eyes. I'm sure the pain was unbearable as the difference in her appearance had changed very drastically in only 4 days.

I waited until 11:30 to see how she would react to the food we were feeding her the 2 days before that she was able to gobble down. She went at it like she was gobbling it down, but she wasn't able to get much down, after all, when I checked her bowl. So, I tried to compose myself to be able to call the vet's office again to tell them about the new symptoms of swollen face and lethargy.

Finally, at about noon, I was able to call the vet's office. The receptionist told me they had just gotten in the results and Dr. Carpenter would be on the phone to talk with me shortly. When she came to the phone, she had bad news.

Our poor baby had a type of soft tissue cancer that spreads rapidly. So, the vet and I agreed that she must be put to sleep as soon as possible. She had an opening at 2:40 that day, so we had her up there a little after 2:00 and spent some quality time with her before she was injected. No more suffering; only rest. I had called the local pet crematorium at about 12:30 and requested a pickup at the vet's office. They were there early and waited patiently until we were finished with our goodbyes and the vet got some fur and pawprints for us on a card. 

Our baby being carried to the pet hearse

I don't think Cleo had another good day in her by looking at her and by her actions on her last day. And I did not want her to suffer like this any longer than necessary. It hurt deeply - still does - always will. But we made a decision to end her suffering, which was hurting me more than ending it did. I will pay decent homage to her on her own page on this website. 

While paying homage, my other main goal will be to help others recognize the symptoms we saw in our beautiful baby girl before they were even noticeable. This did spread rapidly from the time she started showing symptoms of upper respiratory infection in November, 2022 until May 18, 2023. However, when I look back, she had some telling signs that I will share on her page - Cleo's Corner. Her passing may help others recognize these signs. Perhaps it isn't as fast acting as it seems if you know these symptoms earlier on. Right now, I will grieve and remember our sweet angel. This along with writing her story a little bit at a time is part of my healing process. And I hope it will help others as they read about Cleo's journey from silliness to her brave fight at the end.

God bless you,

Patricia