My Name is Leo

An adored cat deals gracefully with a jaw tumor while his owner quietly falls apart.

My Photo
Name:
Location: Philadelphia area, Northeast, United States

Saturday, August 12, 2006

In the "Worth a Thousand Words" Category (CAUTION: gross photos)

Here are some photos of the mess that Leo's eating creates. Mostly on him.

The slimey, bloody mucus-drool gets much worse when he's eating. It drips on his paws, mixing in with the food that falls out of his mouth. He rubs his paws on his face during eating...and when he's done, he grinds the mess in even further as he uses his legs to "clean" his face.

(I had a little slideshow, but it doesn't seem to work here on blogger - drat! Now you'll just have to deal with the photos individually)











Hopefully this shows how Leo has to stop constantly during eating and rub his face with his paws. (I believe it's because food gets onto the tumor in his mouth and that is irritating to him.)

The last photo also shows (kinda) how I have to constantly push his food into a mound while he eats. Otherwise, he can't get any into his mouth far enough for him to swallow.

I've taken to putting his front legs into mildly soapy water as soon as he finishes eating (before he can "clean" himself.) Theoretically, he will then be wiping less slime on his face.

Needless to say, he loves (she says, dripping with sarcasm) this process. Usually it ends up with one of us growling at the other.

I was hoping to do it only once a week or so, but lately it's been every other day. Otherwise, food and slime get ground into his leg fur and form stinky little rotting food lumps that are very hard to remove.


The evil plastic instrument of my cat torture, with it's post-washing dirty water inside.



Post-cleaning (mine and his) -- Leo's wet, but definitely less slimey. He always seems to forgive me...eventually.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I want to thank you so much for this site and the photos - graphic as they may be. My cat has an oral tumor and began drooling - mucousey drool. Seeing your photos and reading about how you got through the ordeal made me feel less alone and more comfortable about my experience with my cat, Gorgeous. Thank you.

9/17/2008 3:38 PM  
Blogger Cyn said...

Thanks so much for the comment. It means a lot. Part of the reason I started the site was because I couldn't find photos of other cats with similar problems when Leo was diagnosed. Obviously from this post, I showed the worst of it (these photos are shocking after not having looked at any of the "sick Leo" pictures in the nearly 2 years since he passed away) but it was all done in the hopes of being useful to others.

So anything this site did to help you out...well, it's hard to express, but I am glad to have been of help to you in this incredibly difficult time you and Gorgeous are going through. Best of luck to you both, and my thoughts are with you.

9/17/2008 4:38 PM  
Blogger vee said...

My poor fur baby has started bleeding from his mouth too. He's 16. Hearts breaking. So glad I found this blog and tribute to your courage. I love my little man with all my heart.

2/09/2016 8:21 PM  
Anonymous Cyn said...

Vee,

I'm so sorry to hear your kitty is going through the same thing as Leo did. It is indeed heart-breaking.

Hang in there...all you can do is continue to love him and make things as comfortable as possible. Don't forget to take care of yourself too.

Best wishes to you both.

2/16/2016 11:17 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Just had my 8 month old cat spayed and they found a mass under her tounge I hope its not cancer but not sure what less it can be.

1/10/2017 1:57 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

My cat Wesley has had cancer for a few years. He has gotten so skinny you can feel every bone in his body. The reason i havent put him down is because he still eats alot and drinks like normal so obviously has a good will to live. Tonight he started bleeding from his mouth. Its fresh blood like in your picture. Right now he is in the bathroom. Its been over an hour and bleeding hasnt stopped he is drinking a ton of water because of it. :/ ill be amazed if he lives theough the night

10/09/2018 1:11 AM  
Blogger krecikownia said...

Hi, I know it's an old comment, but I've been searching for some information about bleeding oral tumors in cats. I didn't find much information. Here is what I needed... I had my 19 yo belovedkitty Pysio put down because, about 4 months after diagnosis, he started bleeding more than usual, and when it had stopped, it started again in a few minutes, and then again.. It was in the evening and I was afraid that he woyld bleed to death so we rushed to the local vet. It was terrible... These pictures - thats exactly what Pysio looked luke and I was washing.him the same way and putting his food into one olace like you did. By the end I had started blending it into kind of soups, adding lots of water, as he would only drink...

4/30/2020 2:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home