Boots came into my life back in May of 2003. A co-worker from that time period was trying to find a good home for 2 kittens that her cat had given birth to. She approached me because she knew how much I love cats & asked me if I could take them in. I didn't have any pets at that time because I had been living in a place that forbids people to have any. However, about a month before, I had moved to a new place that did allow pets. What luck!
I've watched Boots grow for the past almost 13 years & I loved her so much. She brought joy & great happiness into my life from the very beginning. She always had good health so when she became ill, I was very worried. Here are the details of her illness & death:
Boots started getting a cough last summer but since it's very common for cats to cough up hairballs, I wasn't really concerned at first. The cough persisted so I decided to take her to the vet just to be safe. I took her, they checked her out but couldn't find anything wrong. The vet also thought it was hairball related so she gave me hairball medicine, a special comb for her fur & an antibiotic just in case there was something there. I brought her home & everything seemed ok.
Then a week or so before Christmas, I noticed a change in her behavior & she wasn't eating much. By Christmas Day, she stopped eating completely. The vet was closed that day, of course so the next morning I rushed her to the vet again. They took blood this time but the blood tests didn't really show us anything. The vet said her kidneys, thyroid & liver were all ok. He gave her a B12 shot to stimulate her appetite, gave her fluids through an IV & gave me Baytril pills for her, which is an antibiotic for animals. Brought her home again.
She still wasn't really eating so a few days later, I took her back. This time, the vet took xrays of her stomach & intestines to see if there might be a blockage of some sort. Nothing like that was found but he said her kidneys looked inflamed as well as her bladder. He thought she might have a bladder infection & she was on the antibiotic already so that should take care of it. He gave her another B12 injection & more fluids. He wanted to see her again if she didn't perk up.
Well, right after we got home, that B12 shot must have kicked in( the first injection did NOTHING!) because she started eating! I was so happy & was really hopeful that it was really only a minor bladder infection & she would be ok. WRONG. She was doing good for almost a week then she went downhill again. Stopped eating & was breathing harder than normal, which alarmed me. Took her to the vet AGAIN. This time, the lady vet saw her & I explained what had been going on with Boots. The vet noticed she was breathing hard so she drew blood for testing. The test determined that her white blood cell count was way too high while her red blood cell count was low. Since red blood cells transport oxygen, that is why she was breathing hard.
The vet gave her Convenia, which is a very powerful antibiotic & she told me that at this point, it was more than likely that Boots had kidney failure or cancer. Her white blood cells were elevated so there was something very wrong, obviously. She said if I wanted to pursue this further, I would have to take her to a special animal hospital pretty far from here that has the equipment to check for cancers such as an MRI. She told me how expensive all that would be & that so many others have tried that but nothing could be done to help their pets. Well, I had been laid off from my job right before Christmas so I didn't have the money. I didn't want Boots to go through all of those awful tests, either. The vet told me she was being honest, she didn't think Boots had much time left but the Convenia could work. I brought her home again.
The next day she was worse but the vet's office was closed since it was a weekend. I called the vet at home & she said she didn't think Boots would make it through the night. I said if she does, can I please bring her in tomorrow morning to be put to sleep? The vets had assured me that Boots WAS NOT suffering several times but I wish I would have just listened to my gut instinct & had her put down. I was still holding out hope, though, so I just couldn't do it. What if the Convenia did work & she pulled through? Well, that wasn't to be.
The next morning, Saturday, January 9th, 2016 at 9:08 am, Boots passed away. I had called the vet early that morning since she did live through the night but they put me off until 10 am. By 9 am, she was barely hanging on. I grabbed a blanket, bundled her up & ran for my daughter's car to take her to the vet, even though those idiots told me 10 am. As we were getting into the car, Boots had a seizure & died in my arms. Her facial expression will always be imprinted on my brain as she died. She was gasping for breath & she looked so scared. She was looking at me like "HELP ME!" but there was nothing I could do. I was screaming & crying & so was my daughter. We brought her back inside to spend some time with her, saying goodbye, even though I had already done so the night before. After a little bit, we took her to the vet's office because I had already made arrangements with them to have her cremated & to get her ashes back.
When we walked in at the vet's, I told them she had died & we went to a back room. The vet technician who is a very nice guy, came out to talk to me. He had been there each time Boots had been brought in so he knew what had been going on. He gave me some comforting words. He told me that all animals are experts at hiding their illnesses, it's a survival type instinct that they have, to not show weakness when out in the wild. He then told me about a young dog he had that was only 4 years old, never been sick before so all of a sudden one day, the dog just collapsed. He rushed him to a vet & they found out the poor thing was in the FINAL stages of kidney failure. That dog was so good at hiding it's illness that he never knew until it was too late. He put the dog down. He also told me a story of a monkey who had broken it's arm & while people were in the room, the monkey would act normal. They had a camera in that room & when nobody was in there, the monkey would cradle it's broken arm. That damn instinct again!
He asked if he could check Boots & I said yes. He felt her abdomen & said her kidneys felt hard & very enlarged so she probably had kidney failure & would have had it for quite some time but like his dog, she hid it so well until it was too late. It was nothing I had done or neglected to do & it was a relief hearing that. I had her cremated & got her ashes back about 2 weeks later.
That is the whole, sad story of her passing. I wanted to put it all on here so I'll never forget the details & to help heal me from this awful pain & heartache. I still have Boots' sister here with me & she has been my rock through all of this.
Boots has been gone 5 months now & I really miss her. My pain is easing a little because I have sought help to cope with this. I'll never forget Boots & we had a very strong bond. She was a sweet, beautiful cat & she will always be in my thoughts & my heart. I hope she has found her peace. I love you so much, baby girl. Rest in peace.
I've watched Boots grow for the past almost 13 years & I loved her so much. She brought joy & great happiness into my life from the very beginning. She always had good health so when she became ill, I was very worried. Here are the details of her illness & death:
Boots started getting a cough last summer but since it's very common for cats to cough up hairballs, I wasn't really concerned at first. The cough persisted so I decided to take her to the vet just to be safe. I took her, they checked her out but couldn't find anything wrong. The vet also thought it was hairball related so she gave me hairball medicine, a special comb for her fur & an antibiotic just in case there was something there. I brought her home & everything seemed ok.
Then a week or so before Christmas, I noticed a change in her behavior & she wasn't eating much. By Christmas Day, she stopped eating completely. The vet was closed that day, of course so the next morning I rushed her to the vet again. They took blood this time but the blood tests didn't really show us anything. The vet said her kidneys, thyroid & liver were all ok. He gave her a B12 shot to stimulate her appetite, gave her fluids through an IV & gave me Baytril pills for her, which is an antibiotic for animals. Brought her home again.
She still wasn't really eating so a few days later, I took her back. This time, the vet took xrays of her stomach & intestines to see if there might be a blockage of some sort. Nothing like that was found but he said her kidneys looked inflamed as well as her bladder. He thought she might have a bladder infection & she was on the antibiotic already so that should take care of it. He gave her another B12 injection & more fluids. He wanted to see her again if she didn't perk up.
Well, right after we got home, that B12 shot must have kicked in( the first injection did NOTHING!) because she started eating! I was so happy & was really hopeful that it was really only a minor bladder infection & she would be ok. WRONG. She was doing good for almost a week then she went downhill again. Stopped eating & was breathing harder than normal, which alarmed me. Took her to the vet AGAIN. This time, the lady vet saw her & I explained what had been going on with Boots. The vet noticed she was breathing hard so she drew blood for testing. The test determined that her white blood cell count was way too high while her red blood cell count was low. Since red blood cells transport oxygen, that is why she was breathing hard.
The vet gave her Convenia, which is a very powerful antibiotic & she told me that at this point, it was more than likely that Boots had kidney failure or cancer. Her white blood cells were elevated so there was something very wrong, obviously. She said if I wanted to pursue this further, I would have to take her to a special animal hospital pretty far from here that has the equipment to check for cancers such as an MRI. She told me how expensive all that would be & that so many others have tried that but nothing could be done to help their pets. Well, I had been laid off from my job right before Christmas so I didn't have the money. I didn't want Boots to go through all of those awful tests, either. The vet told me she was being honest, she didn't think Boots had much time left but the Convenia could work. I brought her home again.
The next day she was worse but the vet's office was closed since it was a weekend. I called the vet at home & she said she didn't think Boots would make it through the night. I said if she does, can I please bring her in tomorrow morning to be put to sleep? The vets had assured me that Boots WAS NOT suffering several times but I wish I would have just listened to my gut instinct & had her put down. I was still holding out hope, though, so I just couldn't do it. What if the Convenia did work & she pulled through? Well, that wasn't to be.
The next morning, Saturday, January 9th, 2016 at 9:08 am, Boots passed away. I had called the vet early that morning since she did live through the night but they put me off until 10 am. By 9 am, she was barely hanging on. I grabbed a blanket, bundled her up & ran for my daughter's car to take her to the vet, even though those idiots told me 10 am. As we were getting into the car, Boots had a seizure & died in my arms. Her facial expression will always be imprinted on my brain as she died. She was gasping for breath & she looked so scared. She was looking at me like "HELP ME!" but there was nothing I could do. I was screaming & crying & so was my daughter. We brought her back inside to spend some time with her, saying goodbye, even though I had already done so the night before. After a little bit, we took her to the vet's office because I had already made arrangements with them to have her cremated & to get her ashes back.
When we walked in at the vet's, I told them she had died & we went to a back room. The vet technician who is a very nice guy, came out to talk to me. He had been there each time Boots had been brought in so he knew what had been going on. He gave me some comforting words. He told me that all animals are experts at hiding their illnesses, it's a survival type instinct that they have, to not show weakness when out in the wild. He then told me about a young dog he had that was only 4 years old, never been sick before so all of a sudden one day, the dog just collapsed. He rushed him to a vet & they found out the poor thing was in the FINAL stages of kidney failure. That dog was so good at hiding it's illness that he never knew until it was too late. He put the dog down. He also told me a story of a monkey who had broken it's arm & while people were in the room, the monkey would act normal. They had a camera in that room & when nobody was in there, the monkey would cradle it's broken arm. That damn instinct again!
He asked if he could check Boots & I said yes. He felt her abdomen & said her kidneys felt hard & very enlarged so she probably had kidney failure & would have had it for quite some time but like his dog, she hid it so well until it was too late. It was nothing I had done or neglected to do & it was a relief hearing that. I had her cremated & got her ashes back about 2 weeks later.
That is the whole, sad story of her passing. I wanted to put it all on here so I'll never forget the details & to help heal me from this awful pain & heartache. I still have Boots' sister here with me & she has been my rock through all of this.
Boots has been gone 5 months now & I really miss her. My pain is easing a little because I have sought help to cope with this. I'll never forget Boots & we had a very strong bond. She was a sweet, beautiful cat & she will always be in my thoughts & my heart. I hope she has found her peace. I love you so much, baby girl. Rest in peace.
Boots came into my life back in May of 2003. A co-worker from that time period was trying to find a good home for 2 kittens that her cat had given birth to. She approached me because she knew how much I love cats & asked me if I could take them in. I didn't have any pets at that time because I had been living in a place that forbids people to have any. However, about a month before, I had moved to a new place that did allow pets. What luck!
I've watched Boots grow for the past almost 13 years & I loved her so much. She brought joy & great happiness into my life from the very beginning. She always had good health so when she became ill, I was very worried. Here are the details of her illness & death:
Boots started getting a cough last summer but since it's very common for cats to cough up hairballs, I wasn't really concerned at first. The cough persisted so I decided to take her to the vet just to be safe. I took her, they checked her out but couldn't find anything wrong. The vet also thought it was hairball related so she gave me hairball medicine, a special comb for her fur & an antibiotic just in case there was something there. I brought her home & everything seemed ok.
Then a week or so before Christmas, I noticed a change in her behavior & she wasn't eating much. By Christmas Day, she stopped eating completely. The vet was closed that day, of course so the next morning I rushed her to the vet again. They took blood this time but the blood tests didn't really show us anything. The vet said her kidneys, thyroid & liver were all ok. He gave her a B12 shot to stimulate her appetite, gave her fluids through an IV & gave me Baytril pills for her, which is an antibiotic for animals. Brought her home again.
She still wasn't really eating so a few days later, I took her back. This time, the vet took xrays of her stomach & intestines to see if there might be a blockage of some sort. Nothing like that was found but he said her kidneys looked inflamed as well as her bladder. He thought she might have a bladder infection & she was on the antibiotic already so that should take care of it. He gave her another B12 injection & more fluids. He wanted to see her again if she didn't perk up.
Well, right after we got home, that B12 shot must have kicked in( the first injection did NOTHING!) because she started eating! I was so happy & was really hopeful that it was really only a minor bladder infection & she would be ok. WRONG. She was doing good for almost a week then she went downhill again. Stopped eating & was breathing harder than normal, which alarmed me. Took her to the vet AGAIN. This time, the lady vet saw her & I explained what had been going on with Boots. The vet noticed she was breathing hard so she drew blood for testing. The test determined that her white blood cell count was way too high while her red blood cell count was low. Since red blood cells transport oxygen, that is why she was breathing hard.
The vet gave her Convenia, which is a very powerful antibiotic & she told me that at this point, it was more than likely that Boots had kidney failure or cancer. Her white blood cells were elevated so there was something very wrong, obviously. She said if I wanted to pursue this further, I would have to take her to a special animal hospital pretty far from here that has the equipment to check for cancers such as an MRI. She told me how expensive all that would be & that so many others have tried that but nothing could be done to help their pets. Well, I had been laid off from my job right before Christmas so I didn't have the money. I didn't want Boots to go through all of those awful tests, either. The vet told me she was being honest, she didn't think Boots had much time left but the Convenia could work. I brought her home again.
The next day she was worse but the vet's office was closed since it was a weekend. I called the vet at home & she said she didn't think Boots would make it through the night. I said if she does, can I please bring her in tomorrow morning to be put to sleep? The vets had assured me that Boots WAS NOT suffering several times but I wish I would have just listened to my gut instinct & had her put down. I was still holding out hope, though, so I just couldn't do it. What if the Convenia did work & she pulled through? Well, that wasn't to be.
The next morning, Saturday, January 9th, 2016 at 9:08 am, Boots passed away. I had called the vet early that morning since she did live through the night but they put me off until 10 am. By 9 am, she was barely hanging on. I grabbed a blanket, bundled her up & ran for my daughter's car to take her to the vet, even though those idiots told me 10 am. As we were getting into the car, Boots had a seizure & died in my arms. Her facial expression will always be imprinted on my brain as she died. She was gasping for breath & she looked so scared. She was looking at me like "HELP ME!" but there was nothing I could do. I was screaming & crying & so was my daughter. We brought her back inside to spend some time with her, saying goodbye, even though I had already done so the night before. After a little bit, we took her to the vet's office because I had already made arrangements with them to have her cremated & to get her ashes back.
When we walked in at the vet's, I told them she had died & we went to a back room. The vet technician who is a very nice guy, came out to talk to me. He had been there each time Boots had been brought in so he knew what had been going on. He gave me some comforting words. He told me that all animals are experts at hiding their illnesses, it's a survival type instinct that they have, to not show weakness when out in the wild. He then told me about a young dog he had that was only 4 years old, never been sick before so all of a sudden one day, the dog just collapsed. He rushed him to a vet & they found out the poor thing was in the FINAL stages of kidney failure. That dog was so good at hiding it's illness that he never knew until it was too late. He put the dog down. He also told me a story of a monkey who had broken it's arm & while people were in the room, the monkey would act normal. They had a camera in that room & when nobody was in there, the monkey would cradle it's broken arm. That damn instinct again!
He asked if he could check Boots & I said yes. He felt her abdomen & said her kidneys felt hard & very enlarged so she probably had kidney failure & would have had it for quite some time but like his dog, she hid it so well until it was too late. It was nothing I had done or neglected to do & it was a relief hearing that. I had her cremated & got her ashes back about 2 weeks later.
That is the whole, sad story of her passing. I wanted to put it all on here so I'll never forget the details & to help heal me from this awful pain & heartache. I still have Boots' sister here with me & she has been my rock through all of this.
Boots has been gone 5 months now & I really miss her. My pain is easing a little because I have sought help to cope with this. I'll never forget Boots & we had a very strong bond. She was a sweet, beautiful cat & she will always be in my thoughts & my heart. I hope she has found her peace. I love you so much, baby girl. Rest in peace.
I've watched Boots grow for the past almost 13 years & I loved her so much. She brought joy & great happiness into my life from the very beginning. She always had good health so when she became ill, I was very worried. Here are the details of her illness & death:
Boots started getting a cough last summer but since it's very common for cats to cough up hairballs, I wasn't really concerned at first. The cough persisted so I decided to take her to the vet just to be safe. I took her, they checked her out but couldn't find anything wrong. The vet also thought it was hairball related so she gave me hairball medicine, a special comb for her fur & an antibiotic just in case there was something there. I brought her home & everything seemed ok.
Then a week or so before Christmas, I noticed a change in her behavior & she wasn't eating much. By Christmas Day, she stopped eating completely. The vet was closed that day, of course so the next morning I rushed her to the vet again. They took blood this time but the blood tests didn't really show us anything. The vet said her kidneys, thyroid & liver were all ok. He gave her a B12 shot to stimulate her appetite, gave her fluids through an IV & gave me Baytril pills for her, which is an antibiotic for animals. Brought her home again.
She still wasn't really eating so a few days later, I took her back. This time, the vet took xrays of her stomach & intestines to see if there might be a blockage of some sort. Nothing like that was found but he said her kidneys looked inflamed as well as her bladder. He thought she might have a bladder infection & she was on the antibiotic already so that should take care of it. He gave her another B12 injection & more fluids. He wanted to see her again if she didn't perk up.
Well, right after we got home, that B12 shot must have kicked in( the first injection did NOTHING!) because she started eating! I was so happy & was really hopeful that it was really only a minor bladder infection & she would be ok. WRONG. She was doing good for almost a week then she went downhill again. Stopped eating & was breathing harder than normal, which alarmed me. Took her to the vet AGAIN. This time, the lady vet saw her & I explained what had been going on with Boots. The vet noticed she was breathing hard so she drew blood for testing. The test determined that her white blood cell count was way too high while her red blood cell count was low. Since red blood cells transport oxygen, that is why she was breathing hard.
The vet gave her Convenia, which is a very powerful antibiotic & she told me that at this point, it was more than likely that Boots had kidney failure or cancer. Her white blood cells were elevated so there was something very wrong, obviously. She said if I wanted to pursue this further, I would have to take her to a special animal hospital pretty far from here that has the equipment to check for cancers such as an MRI. She told me how expensive all that would be & that so many others have tried that but nothing could be done to help their pets. Well, I had been laid off from my job right before Christmas so I didn't have the money. I didn't want Boots to go through all of those awful tests, either. The vet told me she was being honest, she didn't think Boots had much time left but the Convenia could work. I brought her home again.
The next day she was worse but the vet's office was closed since it was a weekend. I called the vet at home & she said she didn't think Boots would make it through the night. I said if she does, can I please bring her in tomorrow morning to be put to sleep? The vets had assured me that Boots WAS NOT suffering several times but I wish I would have just listened to my gut instinct & had her put down. I was still holding out hope, though, so I just couldn't do it. What if the Convenia did work & she pulled through? Well, that wasn't to be.
The next morning, Saturday, January 9th, 2016 at 9:08 am, Boots passed away. I had called the vet early that morning since she did live through the night but they put me off until 10 am. By 9 am, she was barely hanging on. I grabbed a blanket, bundled her up & ran for my daughter's car to take her to the vet, even though those idiots told me 10 am. As we were getting into the car, Boots had a seizure & died in my arms. Her facial expression will always be imprinted on my brain as she died. She was gasping for breath & she looked so scared. She was looking at me like "HELP ME!" but there was nothing I could do. I was screaming & crying & so was my daughter. We brought her back inside to spend some time with her, saying goodbye, even though I had already done so the night before. After a little bit, we took her to the vet's office because I had already made arrangements with them to have her cremated & to get her ashes back.
When we walked in at the vet's, I told them she had died & we went to a back room. The vet technician who is a very nice guy, came out to talk to me. He had been there each time Boots had been brought in so he knew what had been going on. He gave me some comforting words. He told me that all animals are experts at hiding their illnesses, it's a survival type instinct that they have, to not show weakness when out in the wild. He then told me about a young dog he had that was only 4 years old, never been sick before so all of a sudden one day, the dog just collapsed. He rushed him to a vet & they found out the poor thing was in the FINAL stages of kidney failure. That dog was so good at hiding it's illness that he never knew until it was too late. He put the dog down. He also told me a story of a monkey who had broken it's arm & while people were in the room, the monkey would act normal. They had a camera in that room & when nobody was in there, the monkey would cradle it's broken arm. That damn instinct again!
He asked if he could check Boots & I said yes. He felt her abdomen & said her kidneys felt hard & very enlarged so she probably had kidney failure & would have had it for quite some time but like his dog, she hid it so well until it was too late. It was nothing I had done or neglected to do & it was a relief hearing that. I had her cremated & got her ashes back about 2 weeks later.
That is the whole, sad story of her passing. I wanted to put it all on here so I'll never forget the details & to help heal me from this awful pain & heartache. I still have Boots' sister here with me & she has been my rock through all of this.
Boots has been gone 5 months now & I really miss her. My pain is easing a little because I have sought help to cope with this. I'll never forget Boots & we had a very strong bond. She was a sweet, beautiful cat & she will always be in my thoughts & my heart. I hope she has found her peace. I love you so much, baby girl. Rest in peace.
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