Springtime with Betty

Takayuki wrote:
Dan M wrote:
It's so good to see her at her old activities! Purrs that the
beautiful Betty will be with for a good while yet.

She's been undertaking all of her activities with a greater intensity
than ever before. She's more vocal than before, more cuddly, and even
a little more mischievous. She doesn't seem to want to waste a single
minute of every day.

Betty these days works hard at eating. It's amazing to me that she
can still eat at all with that jaw. She tries so hard, but it's still
difficult, so she flings food around a lot in a feeding frenzy.
Earlier this week, she ran off with one of my chicken wings, and
licked the tomato sauce off my spaghetti when I wasn't looking.

Another new thing she does is paw at my nose while looking at me
upside down, when she's on my chest. Often, it's a bloody paw, but
the gesture is still awfully cute.

Awwww! Persia taps me on the nose with her paw, which tells me she loves
me. Betty is just saying "I love you" (or) "wake up and feed me!"; I'm
betting it's the "I love you" one

Jill

((((((((((((TAK)))))))))))))

She IS the sweetest cat. And very brave, as are you (I know you disagree).
All I can say is I am thinking of you both deeply.


Karen

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...
Marina wrote:

She looks so sweet. {{{Tak and Betty}}} Still purring for you both.

It might be a good thing that shot was from that angle. Looking at
her jaw these days is almost enough to give me a heart attack. All my
clothes have blood on them. Betty sometimes sprays me with blood when
she shakes her head. It's out of a horror movie.

Her regular TED looked at it on Tuesday, but all that they could do
was clean and irrigate the area, prescribe antibiotics, and give me a
brochure on a local pet cemetery.

I remember how while I was waiting at the TED office, I kept hearing,
"Is that Betty? Is Betty here? Betty!" I thought they had another
pet in the back named Betty that they were playing with, but they told
me they were just excited to see Betty. They told me that she was the
sweetest cat.

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...
I know I haven't been posting much. It's hard talking about Betty
these days. But she's made it to spring! I took a picture of her a
few days ago when she started using her warm weather squirrel lookout
spot again, which has gone dusty and unused all season. I never
thought I'd see her there again:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayu...ettySpring.jpg

Betty's fur has filled out here, because she was taken off
chemotherapy last month.


I know it means a lot to you that she gets to see spring a little longer.
Many purrs from us to you both.
Christine

Big hugs for you and Betty Tak. I'm glad she's comfortable and enjoying the
squirrels.

Susan M
Otis and Chester

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...
I know I haven't been posting much. It's hard talking about Betty
these days. But she's made it to spring! I took a picture of her a
few days ago when she started using her warm weather squirrel lookout
spot again, which has gone dusty and unused all season. I never
thought I'd see her there again:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayu...ettySpring.jpg

Betty's fur has filled out here, because she was taken off
chemotherapy last month.

Takayuki wrote:


Here's a picture of Betty's chin:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/BettysChin.jpg

Don't worry! It's safe to look at. This picture is from August 2005,
right after Betty's biopsy. It shows her shaved chin and two stiches
from her operation. You can see that her jaw was already pulling a
little to the left. Things look a lot different there now.


Hugs Tak. I'm so sorry that you and Betty are going through this, but
glad that you have each other. I hope that this doesn't scare you off
of cat ownership. There are a lot of deserving cats who could use a
good staff like yourself. When you are ready, Betty will show you the
way and probably send you a new owner or two.

Pam S. crying for both of you

On 2006-04-14, Takayuki penned:
I know I haven't been posting much. It's hard talking about Betty
these days. But she's made it to spring! I took a picture of her a
few days ago when she started using her warm weather squirrel
lookout spot again, which has gone dusty and unused all season. I
never thought I'd see her there again:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayu...ettySpring.jpg

Betty's fur has filled out here, because she was taken off
chemotherapy last month.

Thank you for sharing that picture. I'm sure the sun must feel great
on her fur.

Many purrs for you and Betty.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...
mlbriggs wrote:

Purring for Betty's comfort. MLB

Thank you. Comfort is a hard issue. Looking at Betty, I can't
possibly see how she could be comfortable. Her oncologist felt that
it would be cruel to keep her alive - and that was last month. But
Betty isn't giving me any sign that she's uncomfortable. It's
puzzling, but I'm glad.


My heart goes out to you, Tak. I, too, have had to make this decision for a
dog who had a cancer that affected his face. He was taken to a university
vet hospital in Cambridge and had chemo. It didn't work for long.
I loved him, and didn't want to let him go. His name was Count.
His face started to ulcerate and bleed and I finally got it into my head
that nothing more could be done.
I took him for the most wonderful walk of his life in the woods and let him
run free and threaten the local wildlife. Then we drove to the vet and said
goodbye. I feel tearful telling you, but that's how I dealt with it.

Tweed

"Tanada" wrote in message
ink.net...
Takayuki wrote:


Here's a picture of Betty's chin:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/BettysChin.jpg

Don't worry! It's safe to look at. This picture is from August 2005,
right after Betty's biopsy. It shows her shaved chin and two stiches
from her operation. You can see that her jaw was already pulling a
little to the left. Things look a lot different there now.


Hugs Tak. I'm so sorry that you and Betty are going through this, but
glad that you have each other. I hope that this doesn't scare you off
of cat ownership. There are a lot of deserving cats who could use a
good staff like yourself. When you are ready, Betty will show you the
way and probably send you a new owner or two.

Pam S. crying for both of you

You know, the other day, I was thinking, about Betty, about Pearl and how
it's some kind of weird mixed blessing/curse to have a sick dependant. I
think about how for some reason in the great scheme of things, *this is what
we were supposed to do* at this time in our life. I guess because we can. If
Pearl had stayed with my brother, no way would he have been able to afford
treating her various illnesses, it is serioulsy crimping me. But also, I
don't know that he would have had the...the whatever it takes to do it.
Betty, Pearl, Lily...kitties that need help ending up with the people who
can help them, even if just for a while...there must be a reason. It just
doesn't seem possible it is entirely random.

Tak,

I'm so glad that Betty is enjoying welcoming spring. It sounds like
she is still very involved in this life, and since she seems
to like her food, like being close, and isn't suffering then I'm
sure she is happy. Purrs of comfort for Betty and purrs of
encouragement for you. It is a difficult situation, but she is
a very special cat entrusted to you and you are doing a wonderful
job of caring for her.

Debbie


Takayuki wrote:

Dan M wrote:
It's so good to see her at her old activities! Purrs that the beautiful
Betty will be with for a good while yet.

She's been undertaking all of her activities with a greater intensity
than ever before. She's more vocal than before, more cuddly, and even
a little more mischievous. She doesn't seem to want to waste a single
minute of every day.

Betty these days works hard at eating. It's amazing to me that she
can still eat at all with that jaw. She tries so hard, but it's still
difficult, so she flings food around a lot in a feeding frenzy.
Earlier this week, she ran off with one of my chicken wings, and
licked the tomato sauce off my spaghetti when I wasn't looking.

Another new thing she does is paw at my nose while looking at me
upside down, when she's on my chest. Often, it's a bloody paw, but
the gesture is still awfully cute.

On 2006-04-14, Takayuki penned:

Thank you. Comfort is a hard issue. Looking at Betty, I can't
possibly see how she could be comfortable. Her oncologist felt that
it would be cruel to keep her alive - and that was last month. But
Betty isn't giving me any sign that she's uncomfortable. It's
puzzling, but I'm glad.

I've been thinking a lot about life and how to go about living it
lately. Maybe Betty is just perfectly enlightened -- she accepts the
things she cannot change, so she doesn't rail against them and because
of that has plenty of opportunity to enjoy those things she can enjoy.

We could all learn a lot from Betty.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca