but that did not make it any easier to bear.  I said goodbye to my dear sweet Emma today.

Emma, my brown tabby kitty of 14 years, has been fading in the past few months. She had refused to eat since Sunday night/Monday morning, and would only accept some water this morning. She then had a seizure about 12:15, and I knew she was telling me it was now time. As my friend Jeanne had told me, the animals will tell when it is time. I had promised her and myself that when she wouldn’t eat (eating was always Emma’s greatest joy), it would be time. At 1:00 we went to her vet who has cared for her since 1996, seeing her through the polycythemia diagnosis and treatments since age 6, through the heart issues, the seizures, and finally the Cushings disease that robbed her of her mobility.

Through it all, Emma was a brave, smart, loving kitty. She didn’t like the vets or anyone trying to get blood out of her neck (rear leg instead please!), but she dutifully went about every 4 to 6 weeks for her various illnesses. She’d raise a grumbling, growling fuss whenever they gave her a shot or took blood, and today was no exception. But with me and her friends Sharon, Michelle and Sherry and I petting her, and me telling her what a good girl she was and that I loved her, she slipped away.

Always on the lookout for a handout (partially her nature, and partially due to her medications), Emma loved eating. Anything. Especially Fancy Feast, her sister’s food or her momma’s people food. She used to be a pest if you ever ate anything in the living room–she’d be hanging on every move of the fork. She was always willing to cleanup the last drops of cereal milk and ice cream meltings in bowls. Anything. Anytime.

She loved to sit near me, on the back of the chair, the arm of the sofa, or at the end, by my feet on the floor. She’d take naps with me in the recliner, cuddling under a blanket with me. The past few months, since her leg muscles could no longer lift her up–she’d get around fairly well by crawling on her ‘knees’–we instituted a bedtime ritual involving a bedtime snack of dry crunchies and I’d tuck her in with her blankie and her ‘pupper’ toy and we’d share the full size bed. Most often she got 2/3rds of the bed for her little 10 pound body, smack dab in the middle of the pillows. I’d make do with the edge/side, and Cleo would sometimes join us by laying near my feet.

Without the ability to walk (much less jump) like a normal kitty these past 11 months as the Cushings’ deteriorated her muscles and ligaments, Emma learned to use ‘puppy training pads’ as her kitty litter box. My carpet will attest she wasn’t always accurate, especially near the end, but I was proud of her learning this new skill at the age of 14! The stains will come out or the carpet will be replaced, but my memories of my Emma are dear to me.

I’ve missed her terribly already today, and tonight when I hold her blankie close to me, trying to recapture the sound of her purring as we went to bed every night, I’ll cry. But I know the tears will eventually be replaced by the sweet memories of how much she loved me and I loved her.

My Cleo cat has been a comfort today, sitting on my shoulder and purring several times tonight. She knows Emma is not here and is not sure what to do yet, as she is so used to being the submissive cat in the two-cat household. She and I will have each other as we learn our new ways without Emma physically here, but still held close in our hearts.

I imagine now Emma is running and jumping and playing with catnip mice, that my other kitties I have lost–Merbie, PJ and McFurr–have welcomed her to a new place and will watch over her.

In an effect to recover from the Ravelympics and my megathon of many projects, I have started some quick baby gift items to have on hand.  Two items were finished so far this week, and I found two somewhat-willing models to show off the completed garments:

Petal Bib from Leigh Radford’s One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet.  Knit in Filatura di Crosa’s Zarella Baby, which while 48% acrylic and 52% wool, felt very ‘plasticky.’ I wouldn’t knit with it again. Miss Emma is demonstrating the usual bib position.  She’s willing to pose in this position in hopes of getting something to eat.  Don’t worry, she doesn’t go hungry around here.

Second item is based on Elizabeth Zimmerman’s work, but is from Maria Grace’s I am, Therefore I Knit’s blog, and is called the Mitered Square Baby Bonnet. I ran out of the Zarella Baby yarn but finished off the crocheted ruffle using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK (much nicer feeling than the Zarella Baby–and still considered machine washable. ) This time, Miss Cleo is modeling, demonstrating her best Southern belle attitude.

I ran across this article from Purina about working cats. That then led me to ShopCat.com, where you can read bio’s of kitties who work in stores. I wish there were some store cats near me to visit, but the ones listed in North Carolina are not very close.

My sweet kitty Emma got a checkup this week. While her joints continue to deteriorate, she seems to be holding her own against the ravages of Cushings’ Syndrome, diabetes and polycythemia. Her attitude is still good, always eager for her next snack or meal, and she seems happy to share the bed every night with me.

The exciting news for Miss Emma is that she is growing fur! The area on her hips/flanks was shaved about 18 months ago for sonograms to diagnose her Cushing’s Syndrome. Some light downy beige fur grew back in 3 months, but no usual tabby fur. Fast forward to this month, and she’s now growing darker tabby fur on her hips. Yay! Her other fur is still not in great shape, easily pulled out and has lots of dander, but it is nice to see the new fur growing! The vet was also pleased that the sores on her shoulder blades are almost healed up. Unfortunately, she has another sore on her chin, likely a result of her dental problems, so she is back on antibiotics for a couple weeks. At least it is Baytril and topical Animax, not the Clavamox which gives her diarrhea.

furniture Bulgaria

It has been months since I commented on my kitty, Miss Emma’s health. For new readers, she has a variety of long-term rare illnesses, the most debilatating is Cushing’s Disease (rare for cats, common in dogs and horses). Her muscles have wasted away to the point that her ligaments are affected, and her joints are dislocated and can’t be put back in place. (rear knees, at least–do cats have front knees? I don’t know.) So since December or so, she has been a ‘disabled’ kitty who needs help getting around the house, to the kitchen for food and to the litter pan.

I worried for a while if she was going to make it without much mobility, but her spirit is as determined as ever. She can crawl around a bit, on carpeted surfaces, and has adapted fairly well to using ‘doggy training pads’ as her kitty litter box (no need to climb a lip to get in). If food is involved, she is still VERY interested. She comes to where I sit in the chair in the living room and asks to be picked up and held in my lap. She purrs whenever I carry her to the kitchen (dinner is coming!). I’ve decided I will put up with the extra care she needs as long as she continues to be perky and interested in life around her. If/when she gets listless and not interested in eating, I’ll know it is time to say goodbye.

At present, when I have to go out of town I am boarding her at the vets where they have treated her for the last 8 years. The vet techs take good care of her and make a fuss over her. Last trip, when I went to Michigan for my Dad’s 85th birthday, I even took Emma with me rather than board her or have the catsitter try to care for her. Emma did very well, flying in a soft-sided carrier under the seat in the airplace cabin for 2 hours, and in the car for another 2.5 hours. Then upon arriving at my parents, she became the center of attention for the weekend and my parent’s shy cat (Jack) spent the weekend hiding under the couch due to the little ‘intruder’ (Emma is about 1/2 his size) that had taken over! In the photo, she is modeling one of her Uncle Jack’s furry mouse toys as the latest in millinery fashion.

The folks at Workman Publishing (who also publish 365 Cats Page-A-Day Calendar ) are celebrating the outstanding sales of All I Need to Know I learned From My Cat by Suzy Becker, with a special double-platinum collector’s edition. This edition adds 48 new pages, including the ‘Are you a Cat Person Quiz?’ which is, ta-da, also available online. Click on the image to go to the Workman Publishing site, then look for the link with the purple exclamation point to take the quiz. I was a cat fanatic. No surprise there, eh?

I thought I’d kickoff Caturday posts with some photos of my calico, Cleo. She is the shy one, timid when strangers appear, but can be demanding in her own way. When she wants to play, she will drag her gold cord to me so I can fling it about for her to chase. When she is hungry, she’ll sit on the arm of the chair, and dig a sharp claw into me, just to ensure I have the proper attention to her needs.

She seems to be doing OK on the special diet food (Hill’s Prescription Diet d/d Duck flavor), but did have a bout of vomiting this past week, the first in several months. I have a appointment next week for her to get a checkup and bloodwork since she has been on Enalapril for her heart condition for over 6 months now.
This is her ‘red bed’ that sits on the back of the sofa. She sleeps in it a lot of the day, but usually joins me in bed at night, on the foot of the bed. There is quite a bit of cat fur accumulating in the bed that testifies to how much time she spends in it. Occasionally, the ‘red bed’ has slipped off the back of the sofa and dumped her out, poor girl. She just shakes it off and climbs back in after I set it up there again. The back of the sofa affords a view out the window (behind her in the photo) that she seems to enjoy.

My sweet Emma kitty who has the wide variety of health issues (Cushings’, diabetes, polycythemia) been deteriorating over the past 8 weeks. The Cushings’ muscle wasting has affected her ligaments so she has at least one dislocated knee, maybe two. She has trouble walking so I am providing ‘royal treatment’ and carrying her around the house, to eat, to the litter box, to bed, etc. She can scoot along the floor a bit if she is determined to get to food, but is not very mobile otherwise..

She still has a healthy appetite, and does not seem to be in pain when sitting still, and still interacts with me, so I’m willing to carry on for a while longer. If she gets listless, or loses interest in eating, then I think it would be time to say goodbye. It is a hard decision, but one I hope I can make for her benefit when the time comes, not for my own, wanting just to keep her around for my sake. We’ve been together for 13 1/2 years, and she is a beloved sweetie.

Miss Cleo went back to the vet last week. At least she has not lost any more weight, but had not gained any in the three weeks since we’d been there. Holding steady at a lean 9 pounds. She was vomiting less (although has done so twice in the 10 days since), but is still not eating much. My vet suggested a sonogram of her intestines since they seem thicker than normal. That was done the next day, but the general conclusion is probably not cancer (yet) but irritable bowel syndrome, which can lead to cancer.

So we are continuing with the special hypo-allergenic food and monthly checkups for now, since her vomiting was less and no diarrhea. Of course, her tummy was shaved for the sonogram, and it revealed both black and pink skin! So soft and warm to snuggle!

I don’t know what the future will bring, but am committed to enjoy her and make her life pleasant while I have her with me…same approach I’ve using with Emma, and I’ve had her for 7 years after her initial diagnosis of polycythemia. It is the pain of loving pets that they don’t live as long as we do–I suppose if you had turtles or an elephant as pets, they would approach or surpass human longevity, but that’s not my idea of a companion pet.

My calico cat, Cleo, has been sickly as of late. About a month ago I took her to the vet for an infected wound on her face (courtesy of her sister’s claws), and we discovered she had lost 1 and 3/4 pounds since last fall. That’s a lot for what was a 10 pound cat, now an 8.75 pound cat.

She was put on a special diet that she did NOT approve of until we tried the flavor of “Duck and Green Pea.” That is acceptable to the royal princess. She is still vomiting frequently tho’ (3 times in the past week). We made a return trip to the vet yesterday, and the good news is she has gained 1/4 pound in a month, now at 9 pounds fighting weight, and her blood pressure (measured by a cuff on the tail) was good. She has heart problems, so that is a concern.

Xrays and blood tests are somewhat inconclusive. The recommendation was to continue the special food–she may have ‘irritable bowel disease’, and add hairball treatments (Laxatone) and bring her back in 2-3 weeks for a recheck. It’s a change from taking Emma to vet–she’s doing OK and due to return in a month.

Photos are from the Cat Hospital in Wheatridge CO, seen on my recent vacation. The calico cat in front of the building was about 5 feet tall.