Emergency Purrs for Shadow

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "Pat"
artfully composed this message
within on 13 Jul 2004:

Sending many purrs for you, Cheryl, in your time of sorrow.

I didn't see anything in the posts about Shadow being ill
recently until today and don't know what happened to him. He was
a wonderful cat.





Sorry, Pat, I couldn't elaborate until now. Many here who read a
couple of years ago know Shadow's history. He abruptly stopped
eating 2 years ago May, and had to have a feeding tube when he got
hepatic lipidosis. I had them do a biopsy, and he was diagnosed
with IBD (inflammatory bowel disease, sort of like Crohn's disease
in people). There were many many complications during his feeding
tube treatment, and he had to have a transfusion which it turned
out was from a donor cat who was positive with feline leukemia.
Shadow tested positive in subsequent tests, and it was determined
he was persistantly infected. So the treatment for feline leukemia
to boost the immune system was the opposite of what his bowel
disease needed because IBD is an auto-immune disease, immune system
on overload. The treatment for the IBD was prednisone, a steroid
which suppresses the immune system, opposite what the feline
leukemia needed. Catch 22. He's been hanging in there for a while
and mostly ok; playing a little, good appetite, a little too good,
had certain things that made him happy. I only wanted to keep him
comfortable with whatever time he had left. He showed me time and
time again that he wanted to live. Even this morning he tried to
eat because the prednisone made him hungry all the time and he
lived for his little bit of dry food. When he didn't, that is a big
red flag something is wrong. Then I found the blood. Then he
started drifting off. Then more blood. Then I saw it in his eyes
that he was ready to go. No matter how much you think you prepare
yourself, it never works.

--
Cheryl

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "Pat"
artfully composed this message
within on 13 Jul 2004:

Sending many purrs for you, Cheryl, in your time of sorrow.

I didn't see anything in the posts about Shadow being ill
recently until today and don't know what happened to him. He was
a wonderful cat.





Sorry, Pat, I couldn't elaborate until now. Many here who read a
couple of years ago know Shadow's history. He abruptly stopped
eating 2 years ago May, and had to have a feeding tube when he got
hepatic lipidosis. I had them do a biopsy, and he was diagnosed
with IBD (inflammatory bowel disease, sort of like Crohn's disease
in people). There were many many complications during his feeding
tube treatment, and he had to have a transfusion which it turned
out was from a donor cat who was positive with feline leukemia.
Shadow tested positive in subsequent tests, and it was determined
he was persistantly infected. So the treatment for feline leukemia
to boost the immune system was the opposite of what his bowel
disease needed because IBD is an auto-immune disease, immune system
on overload. The treatment for the IBD was prednisone, a steroid
which suppresses the immune system, opposite what the feline
leukemia needed. Catch 22. He's been hanging in there for a while
and mostly ok; playing a little, good appetite, a little too good,
had certain things that made him happy. I only wanted to keep him
comfortable with whatever time he had left. He showed me time and
time again that he wanted to live. Even this morning he tried to
eat because the prednisone made him hungry all the time and he
lived for his little bit of dry food. When he didn't, that is a big
red flag something is wrong. Then I found the blood. Then he
started drifting off. Then more blood. Then I saw it in his eyes
that he was ready to go. No matter how much you think you prepare
yourself, it never works.

--
Cheryl

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "Pat"
artfully composed this message
within on 13 Jul 2004:

Sending many purrs for you, Cheryl, in your time of sorrow.

I didn't see anything in the posts about Shadow being ill
recently until today and don't know what happened to him. He was
a wonderful cat.





Sorry, Pat, I couldn't elaborate until now. Many here who read a
couple of years ago know Shadow's history. He abruptly stopped
eating 2 years ago May, and had to have a feeding tube when he got
hepatic lipidosis. I had them do a biopsy, and he was diagnosed
with IBD (inflammatory bowel disease, sort of like Crohn's disease
in people). There were many many complications during his feeding
tube treatment, and he had to have a transfusion which it turned
out was from a donor cat who was positive with feline leukemia.
Shadow tested positive in subsequent tests, and it was determined
he was persistantly infected. So the treatment for feline leukemia
to boost the immune system was the opposite of what his bowel
disease needed because IBD is an auto-immune disease, immune system
on overload. The treatment for the IBD was prednisone, a steroid
which suppresses the immune system, opposite what the feline
leukemia needed. Catch 22. He's been hanging in there for a while
and mostly ok; playing a little, good appetite, a little too good,
had certain things that made him happy. I only wanted to keep him
comfortable with whatever time he had left. He showed me time and
time again that he wanted to live. Even this morning he tried to
eat because the prednisone made him hungry all the time and he
lived for his little bit of dry food. When he didn't, that is a big
red flag something is wrong. Then I found the blood. Then he
started drifting off. Then more blood. Then I saw it in his eyes
that he was ready to go. No matter how much you think you prepare
yourself, it never works.

--
Cheryl

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "Pat"
No matter how much you think you prepare
yourself, it never works.

--
Cheryl

The day it becomes an easy thing, or not so bad, is the day something is
truly wrong. You did good by Shadow his whole life (((((Cheryl))))))) and
it was a good life.

Kareb

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "Pat"
No matter how much you think you prepare
yourself, it never works.

--
Cheryl

The day it becomes an easy thing, or not so bad, is the day something is
truly wrong. You did good by Shadow his whole life (((((Cheryl))))))) and
it was a good life.

Kareb

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "Pat"
No matter how much you think you prepare
yourself, it never works.

--
Cheryl

The day it becomes an easy thing, or not so bad, is the day something is
truly wrong. You did good by Shadow his whole life (((((Cheryl))))))) and
it was a good life.

Kareb

Our profoundest condolences. May your grief gradually be replaced by
your thousands of joyful memories.

Sad times here too for my neighbours whose Abyssinian Moses passed
away today under anaesthetic while being scanned (he had an enlarged
spleen and bad anaemia).
A lovely and loving 8yo who will also be much missed.

Hugs & Purrs

Gordon
Bandit
Pericles
Snowball

--
Feline family viewable at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/exocat

"Cheryl" wrote in message

Thank you guys. Shadow is gone.

Our profoundest condolences. May your grief gradually be replaced by
your thousands of joyful memories.

Sad times here too for my neighbours whose Abyssinian Moses passed
away today under anaesthetic while being scanned (he had an enlarged
spleen and bad anaemia).
A lovely and loving 8yo who will also be much missed.

Hugs & Purrs

Gordon
Bandit
Pericles
Snowball

--
Feline family viewable at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/exocat

"Cheryl" wrote in message

Thank you guys. Shadow is gone.

Our profoundest condolences. May your grief gradually be replaced by
your thousands of joyful memories.

Sad times here too for my neighbours whose Abyssinian Moses passed
away today under anaesthetic while being scanned (he had an enlarged
spleen and bad anaemia).
A lovely and loving 8yo who will also be much missed.

Hugs & Purrs

Gordon
Bandit
Pericles
Snowball

--
Feline family viewable at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/exocat

"Cheryl" wrote in message

Thank you guys. Shadow is gone.

Cheryl wrote:

Thank you guys. Shadow is gone.

I am so very sorry Cheryl. You and Shadow fought a good fight all these
years and together made a great team. You stood by his side when he
needed you and he stood by you when you needed him. And in the end, you
gave Shadow the greatest gift of love possible. Hobbes, Selena and Lacey
are sending purrs to you and in honor of Shadow and I shall light a
candle tonight to help guide his passage to the Bridge.

Gentle hugs and headbutts,
Julie, Hobbes, Selena and Lacey