Sad news, I’m afraid. Ripley has gone. He was fine until a few days ago when he started going off his food. Then he was breathing very heavily. I took him to the vet who did some X-rays and said he had pleural effusion – lots of fluid in his chest. It could be caused by an infection, a cancer, or his heart (Maine Coons are known to be prone to Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.) 
The vet suggested more tests at the local animal hospital. I took him along and they found some lumps in his abdomen. After some ultrasounds the hospital vet diagnosed lymphoma. The cancer was advanced and had spread. The prognosis was not good, so we said goodbye to the boy. He’d lasted 10 years, not too bad for a Maine.
He was a great cat and very handsome. We’ll miss him. Sooty now has the house to herself and seems to be enjoying it.
