:0( Three Elderly Cats Lost in One Year From Stroke, Heart Disease & Cancer - :0) One Kitten Gained

tobby

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2020 will be among the worst of years for the loss of cats.

In 2019 our only male, who we rescued from a farm in December, 2000, had developed arthritis in his hips. He also developed a benign lump in his hips that made one leg a lot weaker. He began to loose weight and muscle mass in his hindquarters. He loved to be escorted outside along the borders of our property to patrol his turf, which he was still able to to do in November, 2019, although much slower.

He had two mini strokes in late 2019. These occurred during a nap. Upon waking he would suddenly moan and his hindquarters showed signs of paralysis. He slowly gained use of his legs over the next hour or so during each episode that allowed him to walk with a limp. These mini strokes changed his personality as he no longer played with his favorite toy, but instead was afraid of it. He no longer wanted to sleep next to you on the floor, but by himself on a blanket.

In February he appeared to have suffered a more massive stroke while asleep. He was not able to wake up. His whiskers would wrinkle if you said his name; however, he would also do that occasionally without saying anything, as if he was in a REM state of sleep. After 21 hours he awoke, but his hindquarters were paralyzed, he was almost entirely blind and he could not longer eat.

As the vet was not available for two days I needed to try for the best palliative care as possible until then. His front was still very strong so I made a sling to hold up his hindquarters while he walked with his front legs. He was not able to see well thus I needed to guide him to his water dish. He was able to sit by his dish and drink water and tuna juice but could not eat. I guided him around the dinning room table to try to make him tired and then placed him a large linen lined box I kept on my lap on the couch. When he woke and moaned form not being able to see I could sometimes coax him back to sleep by petting him. I didn’t sleep for more than 30 hours straight.

Comforting him after the vet injected him with a compound to relax his muscles was difficult. Due to his size, which was 19 pounds at its height, he began making walking and kneading motions with his front legs as if on one of his favorite walks. The vet seemed surprised to the activity, but joined in petting him to try to relax him.

A female who we also rescued from the same farm in December, 2000, at three months old, had started to loose weight and muscle mass. At first we considered this to be part of the normal aging process; however, by early summer I had noticed that her four legs felt cold. She was eating less as much. There was also a very small gap in her mouth when she breathed. This all pointed to advanced heart disease, which would steadily get worse and cause fluid to build up on her lungs, eventually causing her to develop open mouth panting in an attempt to obtain enough air. We let her play out in grass and took some final pictures just prior to taking her to the vet.

Less than three weeks ago we noticed a swelling of the lower jaw of a nearly 15 year old female we rescued from another farm. she had been eating less. She also has diabetes that required a daily shot. We thought it might be a minor dental problem; however, it turned out to be terminal oral cancer. Putting her through the stress of multiple chemo therapy and radiation treatments in a city more than 100 miles away might result in 2-3 months of life at best. The vet gave her a shot that would control her pain, and allow her to eat, for 6-7 days during which time we could say goodbye.

On 11-27-20 we able to capture a feral kitten who became tame within 3 days. We are waiting to add him to the household with our female three year old and male and female two year olds, all of which were rescue cats. He does not makeup for the three loses but makes it less painful.
 

mani

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I'm so sorry you have lost all these lovely companions. :rbheart:
Reading through your post, it's so obvious you did all you could for them, and I'm sure they knew that.
Rescuing a litte feral is a lovely way to help deal with such loss.
 

di and bob

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The loss of three such wonderful family members is almost more then any heart can bear, blow after blow to a already grieving heart.....
Life is so fleeting, so precious. But it IS determinate. We all want our loved ones to live forever, our hearts will not accept the inevitable. Though your love for those three beautiful little ones is personal, is unique, we can empathize with your pain because of our own loss. You are not alone, we are here for comfort, to let you know you can survive, it does get better in time. Time is the only thing that helps to dull the sharp edges of loss. Though you will never get over something like this, you will get through it, learn to live with it, and through the pain learn to treasure your own life even more. Loss is a part of life, those who have gone before us will forever be a treasured part of our past. Your future is not known, but your present can be filled with joy and the wonder of life with the help of family, friends and those remaining little ones who love you so very much. Love has no end, it is spiritual. "Death cannot take that which dies" and you know in your heart your little ones would never want you to be sad because of them. Just as you would want for them if you were the first to go.
They will be forever bonded to your soul. They will always be as close as your thoughts and prayers. They were in your life for a reason and that reason was love. Your life would never be the same if they would have never been in it. Cherish knowing that love and the wonderful legacy they left you. Do not make their deaths more important than their lives. That can never be.
My heart goes out to you, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Take care of yourself and that little family you have left, may God bless you all......RIP dear precious ones. You will be forever missed, you will always have secure places in loving hearts. May the good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!
 

Mia6

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I am so very sorry about your losses. I'll bet the new kitten will win your hearts. Do you have
a pic of him? ♥
 

betsygee

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Losing three kitties in one year is heartbreaking. I'm so sorry. Rest in peace, little ones. :rbheart:
 
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tobby

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I am so very sorry about your losses. I'll bet the new kitten will win your hearts. Do you have
a pic of him? ♥
Attached is crop of a scanned photo from when he was still outside with his all black mother. We believe the father is a large similarly spotted male that roams the neighborhood. His name is MooMoo, aka Mooey, as his coat resembles some holstein cows housed at a dairy about 1,200 feet from here.

We decided to move him into the bathroom for the next week to keep him away from the other indoor cats. He experienced some dry heaving at the 4:00 am check and there was about a dime size spot of bile near his litter pan. He was not his usual playful self and was not eating as much.

He seemed to me he might be depressed as he is not use to be confined to large boxes and was always looking to get out and roam free. After exploring for short period of time he was back to his playful self and has graduated from small stuffed mice to a stuffed dolphin that is nearly as large as him. His eating is stiff a little off.
 

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Mamanyt1953

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Rest you gentle, Sweet Friends, dream you deep. Your pawprints are on someone's heart forever.

What lovely, long lives your babies led, and after a rough start. But...where there is love, an eternity together would not be long enough. I will tell you a thing, though, it is that love never dies, it only changes form and continues on, translated and purified into Love. And your babies send the best of them, their Love for you, back to you to give comfort. Those Loves with never leave you, because Love abides. Always, forever, Love abides.

And now a new little family member is making more love for you, stretching your heart again. The more love we give, the more love we have to give. That is how it works.
 

Mia6

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Attached is crop of a scanned photo from when he was still outside with his all black mother. We believe the father is a large similarly spotted male that roams the neighborhood. His name is MooMoo, aka Mooey, as his coat resembles some holstein cows housed at a dairy about 1,200 feet from here.

We decided to move him into the bathroom for the next week to keep him away from the other indoor cats. He experienced some dry heaving at the 4:00 am check and there was about a dime size spot of bile near his litter pan. He was not his usual playful self and was not eating as much.

He seemed to me he might be depressed as he is not use to be confined to large boxes and was always looking to get out and roam free. After exploring for short period of time he was back to his playful self and has graduated from small stuffed mice to a stuffed dolphin that is nearly as large as him. His eating is stiff a little off.
Oh, he is precious ♥
 
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tobby

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Here is the little boy after a bath - with a better camera.

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We utilized a temporarily setup similar to that used for the later stages two earlier kittens abandoned in our garage by their mother. We needed to keep them isolated from our indoor cats in our garage until they weaned off the bottle, got all their shots and a eye infection was cleared up.

Two large boxes are connected by a small doorway. The larger being 24” x 24”. False bottoms, that are covered in tape, are placed each box as the surface can be wiped clean. The top box flaps are taped in a upright position. The boxes are placed on a insulating piece of cardboard and three layers of rag rugs on the cement floor.

A litter box is placed in the smaller box and can be removed to provide more play room. The floor of the larger box is covered in a folded rag rug. A small flap is cut in the corner of the larger box to allow a heating pad’s cord and control unit to be positioned outside the box away from the kitten. The heating pad is embedded in multiple layers of other linens, which are not shown in the images, as they’ve already been put in the laundry.

A further large cardboard lid with a Visqueen window in it is placed on top of the two boxes and weighted down with two tool box trays. Even though the walls are 31” tall such kittens can escape by taking a running leap toward a wall and bouncing off its surface in order latch their paws onto the upper edges. They then pull themselves up over the edge. It may take multiple tries but chances are they will make it.

A second larger box about the size of the other two boxes is kept on a banquet table. The front has a flap door at waist height to allow interaction with the kitten. The flap is as wide as a adult human torso to allow one to stand in front of the box or sit on a bar stool to block any exit. As this box is not as high as the other two boxes a 4” overhang has been added to prevent the kitten from jumping up and grabbing the top edges.

The flap on the large exercise box can be held upright with two twine loop latches. The large windowed lid is transferred to the exercise box and weighted down to allow the kitten to entertainment himself while maintenance is performed on the other two boxes such as cleaning his litter.

Not a bad setup for a few free boxes from a local store and a couple dollars of tape. The boxes were cutup and sent out with the recycling today.

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BellaGooch

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I know I'm late to this thread, but I just wanted to say I am so, so, so sorry for your losses. You are in my prayers and in my thoughts. Although I know firsthand how hard losing a cat can be, I am sure that, while, as you said, this new kitten will not replace your kitties, he will lift your spirits and bring you happiness. Feel free to private message me if you need to talk or vent, and God bless you :redheartpump:
 

les26

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I'm so sorry you have lost all these lovely companions. :rbheart:
Reading through your post, it's so obvious you did all you could for them, and I'm sure they knew that.
Rescuing a litte feral is a lovely way to help deal with such loss.
Just saying what Mani said, very sorry for your losses. They are fine now, no health issues, just fine, and when you meet again one day it will be wonderful.

"Their last breath on Earth is their first breath in Heaven" :rbheart:

I hope your heart heals a bit more each day, God Bless you.......:alright: :grouphug2: :rbheart:
 
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