Bailey was put to sleep on February 5, 2021, he was roughly 15 years old
Bailey (or Brownie as he was called) is a handsome, older boy who had been living primarily on the back porch of my neighbors house for roughly two years (2015 to 2017). He had probably been abandoned in our neighborhood. My neighbors would bring him inside their home on cold nights, and take him to the vet for yearly checkups - so he had a pretty good life for an outdoor kitty. And he would periodically visit my front porch for some affection and moist food.
But as he got older he began moving very slowly in the brutal Texas heat. It was clear that he was suffering from arthritis. With hungry coyotes and fast cars in the area, I worried about him. So when my neighbors moved out of the area in August 2017, I knew I had to do take this boy in and try to make him my fourth cat (I had Josie, Riley, and Cali at the time). So I officially took him in on August 5, 2017. At first he didn't like my kitties too much, and Cali sure didn't care for him. So at first I kept Bailey separated in my office, with access to the outdoor cat enclosure which he loved. He soon became very affectionate towards me, and even a little playful. After a few months, I let him have access to the full house - and to my cats. He never cuddled with the other kitties, and at first he would growl to set boundaries. The sweet boy never wanted confrontation, so there were never any fights. As he got older he learned to tolerate them, and he would even let them lay pretty close to him - which I loved. He was especially forgiving towards sweet Josie, and he occasionally let her sleep right next to him.
In January 2021, I noticed that Bailey would shake his head while eating food, even moist food. I figured he needed a dental cleaning and possible extractions (his lower two canines had always been missing). After the dental work, my vet said that the upper two canines were badly cracked so she removed them during the cleaning. Unfortunately she discovered a mass inside his tongue that would prove to be a squamous cell cancerous tumor, and he also had mouth ulcers on the top of the tongue. Sadly, both conditions can be very painful. And, unfortunately, the cancerous tumor in his tongue was inoperable. X-rays taken during the dental work revealed a large mass on his lungs which the vet thought was probably lung cancer that had spread from the squamous cell tumor in his tongue. And, as expected, the X-rays revealed "serious" arthritis and bone spurs along his spine. For the next few weeks I gave him a lot of TLC, pureed food, and meds to control the oral pain the best I could. But it eventually became too painful for him to eat. And his breathing became heavier during his last days - almost certainly due to the mass on his lungs. On his final night, he was lethargic and his breathing was very heavy - I knew it was time let this sweet boy go. He had lived in my house for three and a half years. And for a couple of years before that I helped my neighbors care for him while he was their indoor/outdoor cat. I sure miss him.
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My Cats' Home Page
The Catrun
The Large Cat Enclosure
Catwalks Inside My House
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