Cheree : September 2003 — February 3, 2019
I haven’t been around much lately since our baby Cheree was making a long, slow exit.
Normally, we would have ended it sooner, but you would have had to have known Cheree to understand. She beat death back many times since she was a baby.
She & MCS found each other at the machine shop where he used to work. She was a sick, stray, semi-feral kitten, who wanted nothing to do with the cat colony by the railroad tracks outside of the shop. She was only a kitten, but she fought them off & never had so much as a scratch on her. He started feeding her, but couldn’t get too close -She was afraid of people. But he kept feeding her & even went in on weekends & holidays to make sure she had a good meal. (He got his friends on 2nd shift to do the same.) She rewarded him handsomely with mice -some still alive!
Then she was gone for a few days. And came back very weak. She dragged herself to MCS. For the first time he was allowed to touch her! Then he put her in a carrier & took her to the nearest vet. She was severely anemic. That vet said “This cat is dead, she just doesn’t know it yet.” MCS said, “No she’s not dead, she’s looking at me.” So, against veterinary advice, MCS had her admitted.
She was there for over a week as she got stronger & her anemia improved, but still wasn’t right. We brought her home & set up a quiet, low-stress room for her to recuperate. And I “Vet Shopped”- Specialty vets in 3 states. Finally found one at Veterinary Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania. It turned out to be a rare genetic blood disorder. Sometimes she had PCV’s (like a blood count in cats) that were incompatible with life- I learned to recognize her down-turns just by looking at her -Pale ears were a big sign, fatigue, staggering. More subtle: pale mucous membranes, conjunctiva, appetite changes, places in the house where she stayed. The VHUP vet put her into a very long remission & then the little “dead kitten” with a life expectancy of 2 to 3, had 16+ long, healthy years with us. Most of them without meds. And she was active, healthy & happy. And very much loved!
About 1 ½ months ago, the writing was on the wall- Subtle at first, but we knew from 16 years of carefully observing her. A little weight loss, changes in her activity & appetite. Nothing severe, but we knew. Although she didn’t get pale this time, the rest of her body was failing. Our lovely baby Cheree wouldn’t be bouncing back again. We had to give her every chance, but it was clearly not going to happen. We don’t believe in animal torture.
We shared a special bond: She scared me to death by going into hemolytic shock 3 or 4 times (even needed a transfusion), and I scared her to death by going into septic shock (shivering uncontrollably) once & SIADH once. She looked so scared that she would loose her mommy. Now I lost my baby.
Saturday, was the first sunny day in a long time. Cheree enjoyed her last day basking in the sun room. We are so happy she had that day in the sunshine that she loved so much. By Saturday night, it was clear that no matter what we did, this was the end of her time on earth- she fell into her water fountain. We gently dried her. That was Cheree -She tried until the very end. And Saturday night, she slept in bed with me, under the covers, but further under than usual. And we cuddled all night.
Sunday, the hospice vet came to guide her across The Rainbow Bridge. So on Sunday, Feb 3 at 3:39 PM, in my arms & on our bed with MCS there to comfort his girls, a hospice vet came to guide Baby Cheree over The Rainbow Bridge. She was home and surrounded by love.
Just always thought my baby girl & me would exit this earth together.
Hang on Baby Zhu Zhu Girl, Mommay will be a little late, as usual.
And the song was wrong,
Cheree’s exit changed my world a whole lot.