My name is Moo, and I'm a cat

Chapter Five: Till Death and Beyond

The doctor said, "After I had opened her up, I could see that it was not what I suspected, and her lower abdomen was intact, but your cat had a huge tumor of fatty growth in her chest. I cut this out and sent a sample away for testing. There is liquid flowing into her lungs from somewhere, causing shortness of breath. To your cat, it feels like she is drowning. We have never seen this before, so we don't know what to do at this stage. All I can tell you is, your cat is in critical condition and needs to be in ICU until further notice." I heard the vet say that my behavior when mom and dad got back still indicated that I had been abused. She let mom and dad know that the test results would show if the growth were cancerous or not.

Mommy and daddy were devastated. It was very difficult for mommy to be at home without me there. She told me how sad she was that I wasn't around and that the house was empty without me and asked me to be strong and come back to us. Daddy missed walking me to my food and having company in the mornings while getting ready for work. Daddy told mommy that he had been exercising in the morning and that I, at first, looked at him strangely, and sometimes sat with him, and once I walked underneath him, and he tried not to fall on top of me. Mommy thought this quite humorous, but instead of laughing, gave a weak smile.

Mommy and daddy came and visited me every day. Eventually, the vet got so tired of them; she allowed me to go home early. I was so excited to see them; I was standing up and almost ready to jump out of the cage. The vet said, "This cat has got too much energy for someone who has just gone through a massive operation. I think your cat can recover at home while we wait for the test results to come back."

Mommy put me in the car and left to take the cat carrier back. I couldn't help myself, so I went to the loo on the back seat. When mommy got back into the car, I jumped on her lap and was almost out the door, when she caught me in mid flight and closed the door. This was unusual behavior for me because I like rides in cars, but I didn't like where I was and just wanted to go home.

It was Tuesday evening, and I was so happy to be home. I was not allowed to walk around but had to be kept in one room of the house. Mom and dad put up a box so I could only stay in the bedrooms and go to the look in the bathroom. I didn't eat but drank all the milk mommy gave me. Mommy thought this strange because I never drank milk before. Little by little, I ate meat. Mom started feeding me meat twice a day. She gave me as much as I wanted. She prayed for me a lot, and so did her friends. They asked God to heal me, and mom was sure that God would. I could see that mom was sad, but she tried to be happy for my sake. She would put her phone on scriptures, and we would sit in the sun on the balcony together in the mornings, listening to a man speak out the word of God, and she would put me on the table in the afternoon with a pillow to catch some sun

When I first got home, I just wanted to hide away, but Mommy put a big puffy Down Feather pillow for me and covered it with her gown. I loved her gown. She put my blanket there too. I slept there in the dark, next to daddy's side of the bed. The first night, mommy slept next to me and then daddy the rest of the week. It seemed as though I was getting better because I was breathing easier. I was still weak and couldn't walk more than a few steps at a time.

Saturday came, and I was still fine. I felt stronger, but it became difficult to breathe again. Mommy was crying a lot. She and daddy had a quiet conversation in the kitchen. Afterward, Daddy went to the office and closed the door. Mommy picked me up. We sat on the balcony together. I sat on her lap and concentrated on my breathing. Mommy was telling me stuff and crying a lot. She was praying over me and telling me all sorts of things, reminding me of things we did in the past. I could hear that mommy loved me very much. I remember how it was a year ago when we sat like this shortly after we moved to the farm. We often sat like this through the winter months.

My breathing got worse through the night. Mom and dad phoned around and tried to get me to a 24-hour vet, but they charged more than what mom and dad had in the bank. Mom folded a duvet double and lay on the floor in the office with me all night and prayed for me. Sometimes she fell asleep, and sometimes she woke up and continued to pray for me. There were times when my breathing better than most. Mommy could see I was scared because my eyes were big and black and I didn't close them. She kept saying, "Close your eyes and go to sleep." I couldn't sleep. Something strange was happening in my chest.

During the night, mommy moved me to next to her bed. She made a nice bed for me. I didn't want to stay and moved away, but then couldn't breathe again, so she closed the bedroom door, and I stayed put. We both sleep for a few hours. When mommy got up, I got up too, but I was very weak. I would lie there and pant for a long time. Mommy and daddy were very scared, and mommy cried almost all the time. We sat on the balcony in the sun for a bit, and she sang to me. After a while, we went back to the doctor. She was only open for two hours on a Sunday. Mom cried all the way. As soon as we entered the offices, the vet knew something was wrong.

She and mommy spoke. The doctor didn't have good news. She said that I had late stages of cancer and that it didn't look good for me. She said that my Lymph gland was leaking liquid into my lungs. She said that she drained my lungs and expected them only to fill in three weeks again, but she could hear that my lungs were already filling fast and that I was busy drawing. Mommy was saying to me, "Moo, there is no other way. The doctors cannot help you any further. You are dying. We have to put you to sleep." I didn't know what that meant, but all I knew was, I was going to fight. I wanted to be better, and I wanted to go home. Mommy was saying, "I will see you in heaven. Wait for me there. In a few minutes, all will be ok." She was crying a lot. I had never seen her cry like that before.

The rest was horrible! I lay on my soft pillow on top of mommy's gown, instead on the cold hard table. It was very difficult for me to breathe now. I was panting and trying to get air into my lungs. The doctor put a needle in my arm, and the vein collapsed, and all the liquid didn't go into my body. I fought off the feeling. I wanted to get up and run out of the room. I don't know how, but I managed to stand up and was about to jump off the table when mommy stopped me. The vet walked out the room and came back in. Mommy was crying more and more and kept saying, "Moo, I'm so sorry. This is the only way you can be better." She kept telling me, "After this, you won't suffer anymore, but I will miss you more than you know. Moo, this is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do, but there is no other way." Why would she miss me? Where was she going? I was very scared.

The doctor stuck a needle into my side, and I felt liquid pour into my body. It made me feel weaker. Mommy put her arm under my head. I was crying and still struggling to breathe. My tongue wouldn't stay in my mouth. It fell out to the side. The doctor cut some of my fur off on my other arm and stuck another needle into my arm. It hurt, but I had no strength to pull my arm away this time. It was still difficult to breathe, but I was feeling sleepy and weaker. I saw something enter the room. It was a white light. It looked like a big human, all dressed in white. It had big wings like a bird. Mommy saw it too. She said, "Go with the angel. It will keep you safe. I will see you on the other side." I felt mommy shake uncontrollably, and I felt her tears on my face. I breathed my last and left with the angel. I was no longer in pain. I could breathe again.