Cleo, cat of my heart

We had Cleo at the vet this week as she had started limping on one of her front legs. He thought she might have displaced some ligaments and took x-rays which he sent off for second, third and fourth opinions, even consulting the cat experts at the Edinburgh vet school. We received the verdict yesterday, either a tumour or tuberculosis in her bone and we took her down to the vet for another check this morning. David could find no evidence of other tumours or problems with her lymph nodes so thinks it probably is TB. He offered us further investigation but given Cleo's age, about 18, we all agreed not to put her through this, she would not be able to withstand any operation or aggressive treatment so its pointless. We have pain killers/anti inflammatories for her, she took her first dose today sprinkled on fresh mince. Although she is walking very badly and only short distances, she is still eating, purring, scratching the furniture and jumping onto chairs and our bed, as she did at 5 am this morning to let me know she fancied a light snack. Lately she has preferred company when she eats and will wake me well before our alarm goes off and lead me to the kitchen where her food is waiting. Luckily I now keep a supply of dried food with a dish in the bedroom and Mr FF and I were happy to watch her crunching away. She spent some time in the garden with me this afternoon, I took her furry cat igloo out and when the wind turned chilly she climbed inside.
I promise that once the quality of her life deteriorates we will do the right thing, meantime we are treasuring this time with her. We are both quite weepy, which is a bit tricky as we have friends coming tomorrow to stay with us for a few days, but they are cat people too, they will understand. The prospect of loosing her is heartbreaking, the prospect of a house without a cat is terrible but her welfare will be our main concern so bear with me while I devote my time to Cleo.