Gussie the miracle cat

Back in March, we got the diagnosis that our cat, Gus, had an inoperable tumor. Prognosis was 6-9 months. We started him on chemo and he did relatively well, until about 5 weeks later. He got an infection, spent the night in hospital after careful consideration, brought him home...to die. The vet said it would be a matter of days. Well, that was May 17th. It is now July 2nd and Gus seems to get better every day.

There is a still a huge, gapeing tumor on his tail. That will never heal and complications from that are what will kill Gus. I know that and every time I look at him, that is obvious. His behavior, however, tells me something different.

Gus is a survivor, he has made it through many illnesses that I never thought he would live through. This seems to be no different. Back in May (shortly after I brought him home to die), I thought it was the end. I called and made an appt to have him put to sleep. After a few hours, it became clear that he was not ready. He started to be more active (he had been laying all the way at the back of our closet). I spent some time laying on the floor with him. He snuggled right up to me and purred away.

I cancelled that appoint and he has never looked back! He runs and plays, eats and sleeps just like normal. He comes in and workouts with me, gets up on the counter when I am brushing my teeth. It makes no sense...and I don't care. I will take every day I get with that sweet creature until there are no more days to have.

Maybe we will actually get 6-9 months. I want him to live through the summer so he can enjoy the open windows, the sunny spots and the chirping birds. He deserves one last summer....here's hoping we get it.