Our cat’s silky fur camouflages most of the mass hardening behind her left hind leg. But the sharp ridge of her spine — a more prominent area stroked many times daily — now feels like a long necklace of knobby old lady jewelry.

On Wednesday, the oncology team at Colorado State University’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins showed me the numbers.

In just six weeks or so, her tumor ballooned to 5 centimeters wide and 4 centimeters deep. Also, her consistently healthy 8-pound weight fell 25 percent to 6 pounds.

These losses all add up to explain the blah around Black Susan’s bounce.

During backyard bird hunts, she once wowed us by rocketing from the lawn to the top of our 6-foot backyard fence.

Inside, she often doubled for a flying squirrel by leaping from her s

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