Hazel Kitty

Hazel is my precious kitty we've had since first moving to Corn 9 1/2 years ago. The July of 1999, Russ had come to get me and led me to our neighbors' yard for a surprise. There were eight kittens; two calico, two orange, two white and two gray. Russ and I picked out two little kittens that summer. I picked a calico female and named her Hazel after Russ told me I could never name our little girl Hazel. Russ picked an orange male that he named Tux . Last year, Tux became diabetic and was put to sleep in December. And now, right at a year later, we find out that Hazel has feline sarcoma!

About a month ago, we found a lump on her back below her shoulder blades. It changed sizes very quickly, and I took her into visit our vetrinarian. Our vet was not very optimistic for her. He has had two other patients with similar tumors; each of whom opted for surgery that was very difficult for the pet because of the large incision to get all "the fingers" of the tumor. Both of these pets still died within a month of the surgery. Our options, were to be referred to a specialist for kitty radiation (again, very hard for the pet), or go to OSU in Stillwater for surgery that did not guarantee any positive results. It was not hard to choose to take neither of those routes, and enjoy the remaining quality time we have with her. Hazel is absolutely fine right now. From here on out, everything depends on how quickly the tumor grows. My vet says I will know when the time comes to put her down. At this time, that seems so distant that I can hardly imagine walking that path with her. Yet with that said, I am always aware of the tumor's presence.