While we are now the proud parents of two healthy and energetic boys, getting them here required enduring three consecutive miscarriages and enlisting modern medicine/science. The second miscarriage was the worst for my wife complication wise and in the fall of 2018 still reeling from it she was told about some kittens that needed a home near her parents in SE Minnesota. One of them was orange male fluff ball and she had always had a thing for orange cats since she got her first one when she was 5.

While I had some reservations about him getting settled with our other rescued kitty I didn't put up much of a fight and he came home in October, she named him Odin.


Odin would have been the worst barn cat as he grew to be 14 pounds with long orange fur who loved laying around in front of the vent or burrowing under the covers of the bed regardless of whether you were there or not. He also loved stealing hair bands and rubber bands and leaving them all over the house or in his food dish.



In the fall of 2021, with one boy here and #2 well on the way, Odin had a sore on his back that we thought may have been a puncture or scratch that got infected. When it didn't respond to treatment, further testing revealed it to be a tumor and in the end was a result of feline melanoma. It's exceedingly rare in cats and always terminal.

While we tried some treatment initially, it was really buying time and moved into loving on him and providing comfort care in early 2022.

Yesterday we made the difficult but necessary decision and said good bye to Odin. We are sad especially since we were reminded of where we were as couple when Odin came into our lives.

We will miss him as a true spirit animal for us and I know he is now someplace with many vents to lounge in front or beds to burrow into with plenty of food and endless supply of hair and rubber bands to play with.

While I kept the title PC, fuck cancer in all its forms and thanks to the forum for letting me have a place to vent.

Very sorry. He is a beautiful boy. He was there for you guys when you needed him the most. I like his name. It is so hard to lose them.

A fine cat! Sorry for your loss.

Sorry for your loss.

I've lost a cat to cancer and it sucked.

Exactly what orc said. He was there when you needed him, and for that you have to be thankful. To paraphrase, I try to keep reminding my son: “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”
Not that you shouldn’t be sad over your loss. But what a gift to have had, however briefly.
RIP
My condolences to you and your wife.