Who is Marley going to eat with now?

We've had a sad day, today.  Back in late November our cat, Lance, was diagnosed with a tracheal tumor.  While it was inoperable, we hoped to be able to give him "some time" before the inevitable - and we did that.  In fact, we thought we would be only able to 'buy' him a few weeks but Lance was able to live for four months longer than we (or the doctors) thought!  We took him in for periodic check-ups, and maintained him on Piroxicam (an NSAID) to reduce swelling and discomfort.  As it turned out, Piroxicam has some anti-neoplastic properties which were beneficial to our Lance.  He enjoyed laying in the sun, sometimes chasing across the yard after butterflies, and at one point gained a little weight!

This morning Dean brought Lance into the house, saying he thought he was losing weight.  He had been 'wheezing' more lately, and his appetite was dwindling over the past week or so.  After a quick call to the Vet we took him in for another check-up.  Lance had lost 2 lbs since January, and yes, he was working much harder to breathe.  He was letting us know that it was time for us to make the hardest decision pet owner's face.

We've both been in this position before.  It's never easy.  It's part of being a responsible pet owner and 'parent' however.  The Vet, Dean, and I were all in agreement and so Lance passed away peacefully this morning in the loving arms of his 'Dad'.

Our tribe of kitties have a definite social order.  Lance and Marley always ate dinner together.  So the question remains...