Peekaboo, my 11-year-old cat, is such a star. Our amazing little star…And yes, in case you’re wondering, all of these photos are recent, post-surgery photos. Obviously, her right side looks better than her left, as you can see…But once her fur grows back, she’ll be as good as new (not that that’s the most important thing, of course!).

Here’s the most important thing:

Our vet just called to let us know that the final results of Peekaboo’s mandibulectomy (half of her lower left jaw was removed) show CLEAR MARGINS.

In other words, no cancer cells were found in the outer portion of her jaw, the portion that was removed. Had that happened, if even a few cancer cells had been found, it would not have been good news at all…

I have to confess that I got all choked up on the phone and could barely speak to the vet. Tears of happiness.

This has been such an emotional journey for Stefano and me. Just a few weeks ago, when this awful cancer was found in her mouth, by chance!, we didn’t know what to do: should we agree to the surgery? Is surgery the right decision for Peekaboo? What about her quality of life afterwards? Would she be able to eat without half her lower left jaw? We had so many questions…and so few answers.

But in the end, based on her test results, specifically her second CAT (hah) scan, we agreed to go ahead with the surgery. And now I’m so glad we did…

And yes, she is eating on her own again, eating like a horse, as you can see…

This final biopsy result doesn’t mean that Peekaboo will never have a recurrence of this beastly cancer…

But we’re not thinking about that now…

We’re celebrating today’s victory…

And she’s back to chasing her video mice again…