- Joined
- Jun 30, 2019
- Messages
- 28
- Purraise
- 46
My sweet Samba was one of two siblings from the same litter I had adopted over 16 years ago. I had two of the sweetest angels I could have ever been blessed with, we named them Salsa and Samba.
Samba was the tougher one of the two...she made it clear she was the "Top cat" at home...always taking "her place" on the couch and on my bed and shooing my Salsa away...at times I thought she was a bit of a bully but I LOVED her regardless.
She was always STRONG, unapologetic, confident, and proud...qualities I admired in her. I never worried too much about Samba because Samba always took such good care of herself and if I ever forgot to feed her or she didn't get enough food, she always made sure to ask.
She grew to be a large 16-pound cat but when her sister Salsa died on November 4th of 2018, she stopped eating her usual dry food and looked sad and depressed. For the first time, I could see what sadness looked like in a cat. The only thing I could get her to eat was fresh canned food...she dropped down to 12 pounds...We both missed Salsa immensely, my home didn't feet complete. I felt I was missing more than half of my family when Salsa died.
Aside from her sadness and her decreased eating in November, I didn't see any physical signs of illness. I took Samba to the vet in December because I was concerned about her weight loss and the change of her eating habits. The vet said she was mourning the loss of her sister.
On Father's day, she started vomiting every 15 minutes till there was nothing but bile and she kept vomiting this. I took her to the vet that same day. They ran tests and said she had a UTI, and x-ray results showed a nodule in her lungs, and one enlarged kidney and the significantly smaller. They also said she had a heart murmur. They sent me home with antibiotics, gave her some subQ fluids, and an anti-nausea shot and sent us on our way. I was relieved thinking it was just a UTI causing a stomach upset but concerned about her heart, and nodule in her lungs.
This is when her illness escalated. She looked in severe pain the following days and wouldn't eat or drink water. I took her to the ER when I saw her look unresponsive or maybe it was her trying to manage the pain? More fluids, more anti-nausea meds, transdermal appetite stimulants.
We continued this way for weeks, I took her to the vet 8 times and the ER twice from June 10th - July 20th, which is a lot for a cat. An ultrasound revealed thickening and loss of boundaries in the intestines, IBD or lymphoma or cancer all possibilities. The only way to know was a biopsy but she needed an echo to make sure she could tolerate the anesthesia.
After weeks of treating my poor baby with steroids, pain meds, appetite stimulants, subQ fluids, B12 shots....her health continued to decline. Over the weekend of July 12, still in pain and then limping first on her front right leg, then on her back right leg. My vet said that her illness was terminal and (she thought it was an aggressive cancer that caused affected her legs) Heartbroken but knew it was time to start facing the fact that she wouldn't get better. I didn't think I would be saying goodbye just 5 days later.
She was euthanized at home the morning of July 20th when her pain couldn't be masked with pain meds... I tried raising the dosage and the frequency as directed by a hospice doctor that I hired and seeing her in pain, weak, and thin was too much ....I was an emotional wreck and my baby had hung in there in pain for a month and a half, a sign of her strength...even til the end....I was finally convinced that her time had come...I still question the timing of everything...Maybe I waited too long? Maybe I prolonged her suffering? Maybe I was too late? I hope she forgives me and I hope she is free of pain, reunited with her sister Salsa...and somewhere her soul is at peace. She deserves EVERYTHING WONDERFUL...all the LOVE, all the PEACE, and all the HAPPINESS....she was such a gift and blessing to me. I am eternally grateful for this gift of Samba.
I hope she rests in peace knowing I loved her and tried to do my best.
Samba was the tougher one of the two...she made it clear she was the "Top cat" at home...always taking "her place" on the couch and on my bed and shooing my Salsa away...at times I thought she was a bit of a bully but I LOVED her regardless.
She was always STRONG, unapologetic, confident, and proud...qualities I admired in her. I never worried too much about Samba because Samba always took such good care of herself and if I ever forgot to feed her or she didn't get enough food, she always made sure to ask.
She grew to be a large 16-pound cat but when her sister Salsa died on November 4th of 2018, she stopped eating her usual dry food and looked sad and depressed. For the first time, I could see what sadness looked like in a cat. The only thing I could get her to eat was fresh canned food...she dropped down to 12 pounds...We both missed Salsa immensely, my home didn't feet complete. I felt I was missing more than half of my family when Salsa died.
Aside from her sadness and her decreased eating in November, I didn't see any physical signs of illness. I took Samba to the vet in December because I was concerned about her weight loss and the change of her eating habits. The vet said she was mourning the loss of her sister.
On Father's day, she started vomiting every 15 minutes till there was nothing but bile and she kept vomiting this. I took her to the vet that same day. They ran tests and said she had a UTI, and x-ray results showed a nodule in her lungs, and one enlarged kidney and the significantly smaller. They also said she had a heart murmur. They sent me home with antibiotics, gave her some subQ fluids, and an anti-nausea shot and sent us on our way. I was relieved thinking it was just a UTI causing a stomach upset but concerned about her heart, and nodule in her lungs.
This is when her illness escalated. She looked in severe pain the following days and wouldn't eat or drink water. I took her to the ER when I saw her look unresponsive or maybe it was her trying to manage the pain? More fluids, more anti-nausea meds, transdermal appetite stimulants.
We continued this way for weeks, I took her to the vet 8 times and the ER twice from June 10th - July 20th, which is a lot for a cat. An ultrasound revealed thickening and loss of boundaries in the intestines, IBD or lymphoma or cancer all possibilities. The only way to know was a biopsy but she needed an echo to make sure she could tolerate the anesthesia.
After weeks of treating my poor baby with steroids, pain meds, appetite stimulants, subQ fluids, B12 shots....her health continued to decline. Over the weekend of July 12, still in pain and then limping first on her front right leg, then on her back right leg. My vet said that her illness was terminal and (she thought it was an aggressive cancer that caused affected her legs) Heartbroken but knew it was time to start facing the fact that she wouldn't get better. I didn't think I would be saying goodbye just 5 days later.
She was euthanized at home the morning of July 20th when her pain couldn't be masked with pain meds... I tried raising the dosage and the frequency as directed by a hospice doctor that I hired and seeing her in pain, weak, and thin was too much ....I was an emotional wreck and my baby had hung in there in pain for a month and a half, a sign of her strength...even til the end....I was finally convinced that her time had come...I still question the timing of everything...Maybe I waited too long? Maybe I prolonged her suffering? Maybe I was too late? I hope she forgives me and I hope she is free of pain, reunited with her sister Salsa...and somewhere her soul is at peace. She deserves EVERYTHING WONDERFUL...all the LOVE, all the PEACE, and all the HAPPINESS....she was such a gift and blessing to me. I am eternally grateful for this gift of Samba.
I hope she rests in peace knowing I loved her and tried to do my best.