Socks the Cat is Ill...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/story?id=6476110&page=1

This is sad, but 17 is a good run for a cat.

He was the only White House resident in recent memory worth his salary...

I hate to hear that the former First Cat is ill. I have only had two cats who had cancer and it wasn't a pretty sight either. I had a vet friend who treated the first one with surgery, and later with human-like kitty-chemo (at no charge to me, but retail price was about 10k, at that time). She came home acting as if she was a healthy kitten, but like the vet had warned me it could, the cancer came back in a few months and it grew outrageously fast. You could actually see it because it was on her breast/chest wall area. It went from a gum ball size on Thursday night to a tennis ball size by Monday morning, it was AWFUL. I had to have her euthanized as there were no other treatment options and to have let her continue on at the rate, it would have suffocated her eventually. I hope that the kind that Socks has isn't as invasive and fast spreading as Mrs. Kitty's was and that he doesn't suffer any.

Like Socks, Mrs. Kitty led a full life as she was a pampered show cat for a time and then later lived the life of a princess with a cat loving Persian Kitty breeder. The breeder had given her to me as a gift after I had boarded the little tiger for a time after her owner had become ill. Later that same year, the breeder gave me Mrs. Kitty's niece, "Tiger Lily", who I promptly renamed, "Jumper". She later died of the same damned thing, which is the main reason that I no longer have any pure bred cats. Every one I have ever had always seems to get whatever illnesses/diseases that the breed is susceptible to and continually get ill or die on me.:bawl

Oh god, that is so freaking sad. I hope all my critters have smooth sailing until the end with no suffering.

Aww. Best wishes to Socks.

8'-{ I guess even famous cats still only have 9 lives. Here's hoping Socks sticks around a little while longer.

I hate losing pets; it is the only downside to owning pets.
At age 55 and have had animals almost all my life, it is always with you... sooner or later..

I lost 3 cats over the space of 1 1/2 years. One threw a blood clot @ 10:30 pm one night: I thought the poor animal was yowling at an interloper and when I looked out he was lying on the terrace, appearing like he was just watching the night. I am glad I went to the door: I had cut a hole in it for a future cat door and he tried to come in but collapsed. The damn clot had lodged in the arteries to his hind legs. I never drove so fast to the local emergency clinic which was a good 4 miles. I was lucky: all the lights were with me and I didn't run into any cops. The clinic said they could save him, BUT the chances are he would throw another one and since the cat was in and out I didnt' want to chance him dropping away from the house, suffering wihtout any aid, and dying alone so I made the decision. I took the next day off from work as I didnt' go to bed til 2 am.
The next cat died of cancer. Was the size of a bloody grapefruit and was impeding his ability to breath: Cancer is a bastard.
Last one was Trinket who died of complications from old age. She just couldn't keep any weight on her old bones.. Shortest lines for one of the best cats I ever had. I did not go in to work that day either.
I currently have a 4 year old colour point lynx (all the above animals were rescues) and a mutt whom I got from a flea market: fleas and all. Mutt is 11.

That is the cutest picture!

Poor Socks. I hope his final days are happy ones.

I didn't realize Socks was still alive or he was only 17 years old. I thought Chelsie had him a little longer.

Buddy the black lab died a few years ago when he was hit by a car.

That's too bad. I hope Sockies doesn't suffer.