There’s no easy way to say it. We lost Milo yesterday.
It all started with a routine exam back in July 2017. Milo was experiencing discomfort in his rear leg. We reassured him that it was probably a minor sprain caused by the reckless way he ran around. Just to be safe, we took him to Dr. Chris Kelly at Companion Animal Hospital. It would take more trips to a specialist and an ultrasound test, but our guess about the sprain was completely wrong. The tests revealed that Milo had a very aggressive cancer, a soft tissue sarcoma.
The cancerous growth in his rear leg was causing him a lot of pain, and the doctors thought that removing the leg might slow or even stop the spread of his cancer. Xrays and ultrasound didn’t show the cancer had spread, so we had some reason to be hopeful. But Xray images can miss small growths, so we had to avoid being too optimistic. Doctor Mike Metz at Companion jumped into action and on July 17th successfully removed Milo’s left rear leg. We all crossed our paws and hoped for the best.
We thought that after Milo recuperated, we could consider radiation therapy or Adriamycin chemotherapy. It could take 15-20 radiation treatments and 4 chemotherapy treatments to have a chance a chance of beating back any cancer the doctor couldn’t see in surgery. Otto tried chemotherapy, so we knew these treatments usually just buy you a little bit of time, and often they buy too little time.
After a short recovery period, Milo was back to his old self – confidently running around the house. He even ventured outside with us every day. Even with just 3 legs, he was faster than Ernie. Grudgingly, if I look at Ernie sternly enough, even he would acknowledge that he was slower than a three-legged cat. And Ernie is no slouch.
By early September, less than 2 months after his surgery, we noticed Milo was slowing down. He lost some weight, and day after day he was becoming more and more frail. We encouraged him as best we could, but we could see we weren’t having our usual success. When Milo stopped eating and drinking water, we feared the worst. We had gone through the same terrible experience with Shania the cat.
We rushed him to Dr. Jennifer Kelly at Companion Animal Hospital, and her team tried everything, but no matter what they tried, he wouldn’t eat. That was odd for Milo, because he never missed a call for biscuits. On Monday September 25th, we took him back to see Dr. Jennifer Kelly, this time for an X-ray and more tests. That’s when we got the really bad news. The X-ray showed that the cancer had spread throughout his frail body and was on the verge of blocking his ability to breathe. Everyone loved Milo, and it was difficult to say a final goodbye. I didn’t want our friend to suffer, so as the lead dog, it fell to me to make the difficult decision to let him rest in peace.
Milo burst on the scene in 2015. We quickly realized that Milo was no ordinary cat. On his first day, he was brimming with confidence and walked around the house like a gunfighter ready to take on all challengers, even if the biggest challenge he faced was our pack of terriers. He could easily transition from a quiet nap to swatting Ernie after taking his bed. He added a lot of energy to our home. He had such a swagger!
Milo didn’t talk much about his past, but he confided to Ernie that early on he lived in a troubled home with 150 cats. It’s tough to get your fair share of biscuits in that kind of chaos, so I guess you have to be a gunfighter to survive. There are a lot of stories about letting a cat hide in a room all alone when coming to a new home. Milo wanted no part of that. He was running around with us on his first day. He was our gentle giant, at least among the cats, not counting me or Ernie.
Milo probably wanted to give a big purr out to Dr. Chris Kelly. He treated Milo for a variety of health issues including several urinary blockages and a couple of bouts with toxoplasmosis. Milo repaid him by digging his claws into his pants whenever he had the chance.
In our house, we’ve seen cancer first hand. Like Otto, Milo made the most of each and every day. He loved showing off his cat-like quickness. Is it odd for me to refer to his speed in that manner? After all, he was a cat. It was exhausting for me watching Ernie and Milo running around throughout the day. Milo even managed to roust Cagney the cat to play from time to time, something Ernie and I never manage to do.
With Milo gone, we are left to wonder what might have been. He was only 3 years old, and we regret not having more adventures with him.
No matter how much we re-tell our favorite Milo stories, the house will never be the same without him.
Rest in peace, Milo the cat.
Leave a Reply