Hello.
A couple of days ago, I had to say goodbye to my sweet, spunky Lola. And I'm devastated.
In August of 2018, a family friend contacted me about a small, malnourished cat they found while working. She was alone and not doing well in the heat, so they brought her home and made sure she was cool and had food and water. They were worried about keeping her because their dog doesn't like cats and had killed one in the past, so after they contacted me I agreed to take the cat the next day. Meanwhile, I already had 2 cats, but I felt that I owed it to this little girl to give her a chance.
And so our short journey with Lola began.
In the beginning, it was rough. She had a hard time adjusting to the new environment, and more so my resident cats. But after nearly 4 months of hard work and long hours spent getting them slowly acquainted with each other, everyone was finally getting along. It was an amazing feeling of success and relief that things were going in the right direction - Lola was here to stay.
She became my constant companion, following me from room to room, meowing and rubbing my legs constantly. It was her way of thanking me, I think now that I look back on our brief time together. She was special, and so full of personality. She definitely livened up our tiny home.
A couple of days ago, I woke up and immediately went to feed the cats, knowing if I didn't she would be on my heels all morning. But she stayed in her bed beside mine and went back to sleep. I didn't think much of it, too worried at the time about making it to my doctor's appointment on time. It was my boyfriend that noticed her weird behavior first. He called me and said that Lola was acting strange, just laying around and didn't seem interested in anything, not even food. I rushed home, and in the span of only an hour she'd gone extremely downhill. She was breathing heavy, lethargic, and couldn't move; when I picked her up she was limp. I loaded her into the car and called the vet clinic. Unfortunately, she had a blood clot that the vet suspected moved into her lungs, so the only option available was to have her euthanized.
It's been 2 days now, and I'm completely devestated. She was only with me a short time, but she made such an impact on our lives. It's hard not having her as my little shadow around the house, or having her wake me up every morning with load purring and insistent meows, and normally a big headbutt to the face. I'm trying to remind myself that even though she had a rough start at life, she lived her best life with us for the past 7 months. But it's so hard when all I keep thinking is that she deserved more time, that she didn't get nearly what she deserved in this life because it was taken from her so soon. My other 2 cats are having a hard time as well. One of them (Maisy) has been wondering around the house, howling endlessly and searching for Lola. The two had become very close and now I'm worried about her. I don't know how to help her through this grieving process.
I was not prepared for this emptiness, but it's helped to write out my feelings and share my beautiful fur baby's story. She was a special girl that was taken too soon, and I'm sure I will never meet another kitty quite like her. xoxo
A couple of days ago, I had to say goodbye to my sweet, spunky Lola. And I'm devastated.
In August of 2018, a family friend contacted me about a small, malnourished cat they found while working. She was alone and not doing well in the heat, so they brought her home and made sure she was cool and had food and water. They were worried about keeping her because their dog doesn't like cats and had killed one in the past, so after they contacted me I agreed to take the cat the next day. Meanwhile, I already had 2 cats, but I felt that I owed it to this little girl to give her a chance.
And so our short journey with Lola began.
In the beginning, it was rough. She had a hard time adjusting to the new environment, and more so my resident cats. But after nearly 4 months of hard work and long hours spent getting them slowly acquainted with each other, everyone was finally getting along. It was an amazing feeling of success and relief that things were going in the right direction - Lola was here to stay.
She became my constant companion, following me from room to room, meowing and rubbing my legs constantly. It was her way of thanking me, I think now that I look back on our brief time together. She was special, and so full of personality. She definitely livened up our tiny home.
A couple of days ago, I woke up and immediately went to feed the cats, knowing if I didn't she would be on my heels all morning. But she stayed in her bed beside mine and went back to sleep. I didn't think much of it, too worried at the time about making it to my doctor's appointment on time. It was my boyfriend that noticed her weird behavior first. He called me and said that Lola was acting strange, just laying around and didn't seem interested in anything, not even food. I rushed home, and in the span of only an hour she'd gone extremely downhill. She was breathing heavy, lethargic, and couldn't move; when I picked her up she was limp. I loaded her into the car and called the vet clinic. Unfortunately, she had a blood clot that the vet suspected moved into her lungs, so the only option available was to have her euthanized.
It's been 2 days now, and I'm completely devestated. She was only with me a short time, but she made such an impact on our lives. It's hard not having her as my little shadow around the house, or having her wake me up every morning with load purring and insistent meows, and normally a big headbutt to the face. I'm trying to remind myself that even though she had a rough start at life, she lived her best life with us for the past 7 months. But it's so hard when all I keep thinking is that she deserved more time, that she didn't get nearly what she deserved in this life because it was taken from her so soon. My other 2 cats are having a hard time as well. One of them (Maisy) has been wondering around the house, howling endlessly and searching for Lola. The two had become very close and now I'm worried about her. I don't know how to help her through this grieving process.
I was not prepared for this emptiness, but it's helped to write out my feelings and share my beautiful fur baby's story. She was a special girl that was taken too soon, and I'm sure I will never meet another kitty quite like her. xoxo