My cat had to be put to sleep last night.

[haele]

25. I'm so sorry - I lost both my boys to a cancer in the jawbone area -

Once the cancer started showing symptoms, it was a matter of weeks for both of them - one was 15, the other 17 when we had a hospice vet come over and put them to to sleep at home to save them further discomfort. The vet could only have given them another three/four months if we wanted to treat them, and they wouldn't be quality months.
Our vet told me that that elderly cats often have a type of bone cancer in their jaw or skull for over a year, it's just not noticable to their people until the tumor starts to grow and impede their eating, breathing, or vision. By then, it's just a matter of months or weeks, depending on the age of the cat. The only symptom you might see early enough to catch and treat the cancer is unusual or excessive drooling, "goop" around the eyes, or cracked teeth - cats will hide any pain they might be feeling due to a sore jaw or "headache" that the cancer may be causing.
Regular vet and dental visits might catch it early, but even then - if the vet or vet tech doesn't know what he or she is looking at, it might not be caught.

So sorry, he looked like a lovely, happy kitty.

Haele