Six months ago Uncle Onslow was diagnosed in the early stages of stomach cancer. He was not showing signs of it yet, the cancer was diagnosed through blood work. We decided to make this year his best yet. His favorite activity is gardening. We let him out of the cattery so he can work with us while we are in the garden. Of course, his idea of working doesn't include weeding. Or watering. Or planting. Or harvesting. Actually, he doesn't do any work at all. He just lays in the shade and supervises us. Onslow is the patriac of our herd of cats. Two days ago he had his first bad day from the cancer. He didn't come in to eat. I found him laying on the straw next to the cat mint. He didn't wake up right away and he was cold to the touch. Eventually, he did raise his head. When I stood him up he would just lay back down. I was certain he would not make it through the day. But by evening he perked back up again. He seems OK now but it was a long day waiting to see whether he would pull out of it. The cats have been together for years. It was interesting to watch the other cats. Throughout the day each of the cats went over to Onslow and groomed his face. For the past two days Padme has slept next to Onslow, wherever he is resting. It was touching to see how each of the cats took time to take care of him.
My neighbor and I take care of a lot of cats. I always joke that the cats stand on the side of the highway with a sign that says 'kitty HMO and kitty soup kitchen this way,' with an arrow pointing to our houses. Somehow they know that if they end up on either doorstep they will be taken care of. So we will keep watching Onslow. When he can't handle being outside anymore, we will have the indoor HMO ready for him in our spare bedroom.
