I lost Jellybean today. Jellybean was my firecracker, with lots of “tortie-tude”. The spark of that firecracker has sadly gone out.
Jellybean in their window enclosure
Archive for the ‘Chi-Town Fur Gang’ Category
Farewell, sweet princess
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged cats, grief, Jellybean, loss on September 7, 2010| 9 Comments »
Gentle giant goes to the bridge
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged cancer, grief, loss, Studley on July 12, 2010| 15 Comments »
As I’d posted previously, Studley was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago. I opted not to pursue IV chemotherapy or immunotherapy (vaccination therapy). While they might have slowed the progress of the cancer, it would have meant a lot of unhappy car trips for my little man. He’d been losing weight drastically since January, so I wasn’t optimistic any treatment would buy him much time. We did put him on oral prednisolone (steroids) to hopefully reduce the swelling in his lymph nodes, increase his appetite and make him more comfortable.
For two weeks, the steroids helped – he was eating more and seemingly feeling better. Due to the weight loss, he was even able to do things like hop up to the back of the couch – something he hadn’t been able to do previously. However, the past week he started to deteriorate again. He lost 6 ounces. He vomited violently on Sunday. I felt we should spend one last, really nice, weekend together, and then ask the vet to help him move on. Maybe this was a selfless act on my part, wanting him to move on BEFORE he was suffering and unhappy – while he was still having relatively good days filled with sunshine and fresh air in our outdoor window encosure. Perhaps it was selfish, wanting to spare myself the agony of watching my little man die. Maybe it was both. I’m not sure.
Studley, his last weekend
Stormy weather
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged cancer, melanoma, Studley on June 25, 2010| 2 Comments »
Studley has been losing weight since January. I admit, at first I was pleased. He was overweight at 19.5 pounds and needed to drop several pounds. He’s a big cat, but he doesn’t need to be THAT big.
Studley
Hunger pains
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, Life of the Lintee Bean, tagged cats, hungry on November 3, 2009| 4 Comments »
I have four cats. Most people consider that a LOT of cats. People react to the information on the size of my furry family in many ways, including comments like:
- “You must spend a LOT on litter/cat food!” (Yes, I do.)
- “Wow, do they all get along?” (No, they don’t. They’re like kids, sometimes they squabble.)
- “You must have to clean your house a lot” (Only if I don’t want giant cat fur tumbleweeds)
- and simply “You must really like cats!”
Most of the time, I do really like cats. But you know, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes the cats drive me BONKERS.
My little miracle is now an angel
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged grief, Ralph on August 25, 2009| 15 Comments »
I lost Ralph Friday. It was sudden and unexpected. I came home from work, started the usual routine of grabbing my mail and saying hello to the cats – when I see Ralph wasn’t there to greet me. Stepping into the living room, I see him laying near the bottom of the stairs. Of course, those mixed feelings hit me – a combination of dread and fear and hope that really nothing is wrong and I’m being paranoid. But I know something’s wrong, the way you just KNOW. He’s not getting up. I give him a freeze-dried 100% meat treat and he eats it eagerly, but he’s not getting up. Honestly, I hoped he’d just fallen down the stairs and broken his leg, but again, I just KNEW. I knew this was bad.
Ralphie in the cat tree, surveying his domain
Little soldier loses the battle
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged grief, Louie on June 22, 2009| 4 Comments »
My little Louie, Aloysius, lost his battle with cancer Saturday. It’s never easy to let them go. Louie held on longer than I expected, honestly. When he was diagnosed with oral cancer in February, the oncologist gave him three to six months with hospice care. Neither I, nor my regular vet, felt he had that long. The mass in his mouth was growing SO fast. It literally went from not visible to the naked eye, to the size of a grape in about two weeks.
Louie napping
Hump-me the LION!
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang on March 11, 2009| 2 Comments »
Oh my gosh! After correcting someone for the millionth time, that Hump-me is NOT a bear… and having my friend Adrienne note that he LOOKS like a bear… I looked at him… and… he’s NOT a tiger! He has no stripes! He’s a young lion!
Hump-me the Lion modeling skinny scratchy scarf
Louie drama
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged cats, Louie on February 20, 2009| 3 Comments »
Louie went to the vet January 24, just for a routine check-up and anal gland expression. The vet noted he could use a dental. I asked if it would be okay to get it done in March or April, and he said that was fine. I scheduled it for March 10.
Louie the goof
Hump-me the Tiger
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, tagged Ralph, Studley on February 19, 2009| 4 Comments »
You may have noticed our friend, Hump-me the Tiger, as the model for my recent crochet projects. There’s a story behind Mr. Hump-me the Tiger, as is probably self-evident from his name.
Hump-me the Tiger, modeling simple fluffy scarf
Friends in High Places
Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, Life of the Lintee Bean on February 11, 2009| 1 Comment »
One day last week I brought in the mail, and saw an envelope with my address and the return address hand-written. Those always get opened first, as they might actually be correspondence, not just another bill or offer.
I was perplexed when I looked closer and saw the return address was for Care Credit. Care Credit is a credit card that can only be used for medical, dental, and veterinary bills. I’ve had it for a couple of years and love it for those large unexpected vet bills (such as Studley’s attack of pancreatitis, Louie’s anal gland eruption, or Rumpelmintz’s sudden lack of appetite).
Life of the Lintee Bean 