Marley se fue

Unfortunately, we returned to Guatemala to find a strange growth on Marley's lower jaw. Sadly, he had developed an aggressive cancer which couldn't reasonably be treated. He seemed in good spirits and at first remained very active, but gradually ate less and less. We treated his swelling and pain for a few weeks and I had a hard time figuring out when was the right time to let him go. His jaw got so swollen that his upper tooth poked through his lower jaw. Up to the end, he was still sitting on my bed and purring. We will remember Marley for the dozens of birds and moles he laid waste to, at times either munching them in front of us or dumping them in my bed. Marley was a good boy whose crazy-loud pigeon purr could be heard in the next room. Marley was a Mama's boy who preferred sink water and would wait in the bathroom until we could share our evening bathroom time together. Marley had a penchant for licking plastic bags, and that probably didn't help and may or may not be related to his cancer. Marley lived in Chicago and Guatemala but was a Californian at heart. He spent his best days lounging near the beach in San Diego or trolling the woods of the Santa Cruz mountains. Marley was a tough guy, so I had Michael take him to be put down rather than continue the nonsense of trying to shove meds down his throat and watch him unable to beat up Minnie. The funny thing is she does not seem to miss him much. She now gets to lie on our bed, which Marley would not let her do. She seems pleased to step into the position of favorite cat. (She will be holding on to the title of most annoying cat along with that.) Shalom keeps saying "Marley se fue." She and Marley were just starting to tolerate each other when he got sick.