Happy Memorial Day friends!
I hope you are enjoying this long weekend and spending it with friends & family.
Please, take time out to remember our service men, women, animals and their families. They are true super heroes.
For awhile I've wanted to share Kita's story with you. I haven't been able to, until now.
Halloween, 1999 started out like any other normal work day. I worked at Waxie (a janitorial supply company) doing customer service. First thing when I sat down at my desk to start my day, I was asked if I saw the new warehouse cat. Drew and I had recently moved into a small 2 bedroom apartment with my 14 year old dog, Ginger. I've always had a soft spot for animals and the warehouse they spoke of was full of chemicals and such. No safe place for any animal. I hurried back there to help locate the poor thing. They told me it was under a pallet. I leaned down and peeked under. I saw the tiniest, scaredest, hungriest, beat up little kitten I had ever seen. We lured it out with some food, I scooped it up and put it in a large box with plans of taking it home. But, how do I break the news to Drew? And how would Ginger handle a cat?!?! I dunno, we'll work it out.
When I got home, Drew was pretty adamant that we couldn't keep the little thing. He was also worried about Ginger and our apartment was pretty small. I promised that we would find her a good home.
Tiny little kitten Nikita
At this point in our lives, I worked days and Drew worked nights. Within days, Kita and Drew had bonded, big time. She had wrapped him around her little marshmallow paw and the deed was done. We were in love. Our dog, Ginger, was curious and sweet with Nikita. Nikita wasn't so sure. But, they quickly became BFF's.
Nikita & Ginger 2000
Drew and I were married on April 1st, 2000. Life was beautiful. She grew into a gorgeous, sweet and funny girl.
In late 2001 we were told that Drew's company was moving his department to Massachusetts. We either moved, or Drew lost his job. We decided to pack it all up and move to New England. With a Uhaul trailer attached to our car, Ginger and Kita in the back seat, we left on our long journey on Dec 26th headed to Boston. Well, what a trip. Kita actually had her sweet little paws on the ground in KY and scared the crap out of us.
We made it safely into Boston on New Years day 2002. Life went like that. Ginger passed away at the age of 17 of congestive heart failure in Sept 2002. Kita became pretty depressed. We decided she needed a friend. We figured a kitten would be less intimidating for her and they would get along better. Drew and I went looking to adopt another kitty. We met so many, but didn't make any connections. We stopped into the Quincy Animal Shelter. They said they kept the kittens in foster homes and brought them in on weekends for adoptions. But, they had someone bring one in that day. She was in quarantine until she could be checked out. We could see her, but not touch her. We went back and in a small kennel was this darling little grey monster swinging from the top bars. They said her name was Trinity. We melted. We filled out the paperwork and adopted Trinity as soon as we were cleared. From day 1, Trinity was crazy and Mommy's girl. Nikita finally caved and accepted Trinity as her new BFF.
Kita meeting Trinity
Nikita & Trinity 2003
While we lived in Boston, we trapped several ferals that were living in the woods behind our apartment complex. Most of them were adopted, 2 of them stayed with us. Brandy & Nala were challenging but all girls got along well. During our time in Boston, I was laid off 3 times. We were ready to go back home, to Utah. things worked out in our favor and we packed up all 4 kids and made the trek back to the West.
Things were good and cozy in our little townhouse. Until one night in September when Trinity woke me up vomiting and dragging herself across the floor. We rushed her to the ER. She was diagnosed with Non-regenerative anemia brought on by Hemobartonella. She was gone within 10 days. She was 4 years old. We were all devastated.
As Kita got older, she was what people would consider a 'puker'. She would frequently vomit. At that point we didn't worry because... well, that's what cats do. And at this point, Kita was a chubby and healthy (we thought) girl. We weren't worried.
On June 1st, 2008 we moved into our new house. Maxwell moved in and things were stressful. Her puking became more and more frequent. We took her to the vet and it was thought that maybe she had IBD and was put on a strict hypoallergenic diet. She got better, for awhile. She wouldn't eat what she was supposed to. Things started to get very stressful. A cat cannot go more than 36 hours without eating. They start to get what is called feline hepatic lipidosis. It's very bad, indeed. Kita cruised along for awhile, doing ok. The puking continued and became very frequent. Then, one hot July day in 2009 I came home from work to find her hiding in one of the upstairs closets. She wouldn't budge. She was weak. We rushed her to the ER. Her WBC was very high, they suggested she had some kind of infection and sent us home with antibiotics and to check in with our vet the next day. After a week on the meds, she wasn't any better. I called her vet and told her flat out, something else was wrong with her.
We brought her back to the vet and had an abdominal ultrasound, which showed her intestines were thickened and her liver was enlarged. She suggested we do a biopsy to be certain. There are 2 different types of biopsies. They could open her up and take samples from all over or do a needle biopsy. The needle biopsy isn't always conclusive. We decided to do the needle biopsy and go from there.
On July 21st, 2009 we got the call we had been dreading. It was confirmed that Kita had Small Cell Intestinal Lymphoma. We started chemo the very next day. We were told that with chemo we could have her with us for at least another year.
I could go into a long post {Isn't this already long?? :-P} about feline lymphoma, but not today. Her chances for remission were very good. She didn't get better, even on chemo. We knew that starting the chemo could make her worse, but then as the cancer cells were killed she would get better. She didn't get better. She stopped eating and we started syringe feeding her. We did this for 3 months. 3 months of hell for everyone. We decided that for her to have a fighting chance, we need to insert a feeding tube. It was terrifying. I think Kita holds the world record for length of time needing a feeding tube. She had it for 1 1/2 years while we struggled with different chemo protocols.
Kita wearing her special collar that held her feeding tube
Near the end of 2010, things got very, very bad. She was dropping weight quickly, vomiting constantly and generally miserable. We 'had the talk' several times about her quality of life. We spoke with her vet once more, desperate for help in saving Kita. She suggested we try one more chemo drug, and if that didn't help we should think about letting her go. We decided we had to try. She started the meds and by that weekend I thought we had killed her. She laid upstairs in bed and didn't move. We couldn't bring ourselves to fuss with her. We were really struggling.
Very slowly, she gained strength, started eating a little bit. We were relieved. No, that's an understatement. Over the next weeks & months, she started cleaning out bowls of food and gaining weight. She was happy and playful again! Our prayers had been answered! On Feb 28th, 2011 her feeding tube was removed and we partied!!!
We were all so happy and grateful. Kita was in remission finally! We started to forget that she was sick. And your wouldn't know it to see her. She was happy, healthy and playful.
Mid April of this year, I noticed her not eating well and even started spoon feeding her like a toddler. Then, one night I checked her weight and she had gained 7oz. I KNEW that couldn't be right. She wasn't eating enough to gain that much weight. We took her to see her vet, she had a fever, was dehydrated and her abdomen felt 'squishy'. I. Lost. It.
Her vet suggested she stay so that they could do another ultrasound the next day. I was a basketcase.
When our vet called the next day and told me it was looking like FIP, my heart stopped and the tears and sobs began. After everything Kita had been through... there is NOTHING that can be done for FIP and it's deadly. We did a few other tests to rule out anything else. Kita stayed in hospital for 4 days. They drained the fluid from her abdomen and we brought her home. She still wouldn't eat. I spoon fed her, we gave her fluids, pain meds and let her rest. We brought her home on a Thursday and by the next Monday night, her abdomen was full of fluid again. We drained it again and brought her home. She got worse and worse during that night.
The next morning, May 2nd, was a beautiful spring day. That beautiful day we helped our sweet girl cross over the rainbow bridge. She was almost 13. She lived with cancer for almost 3 years, was in complete remission and was taken away by FIP.
I cannot even tell you how much we miss our miracle girl. She taught us SO much. She taught us what bravery and patience is. Love, she taught us how to love. Our lives will never, ever be the same.
"What?!?! Is there something on my face?!?!"
One of the last pictures taken of Kita
This gorgeous tribute hangs over our mantle.
We love and miss you baby bug.
XOXO
P.S. - Small Cell Intestinal Lymphoma is not a death sentence. It can be controlled with chemo and steroids. In Kita's particular case, we think she had such a hard time reaching remission due to the FIP.
P.S.S. - I'm a huge advocate of feeding tubes, if needed. It was terrifying, but no doubt saved her life. It kept her nourished, stress free while we worked on getting her well. I would do it again, in a heartbeat.
P.S.S.S. - FIP {feline infectious peritonitis} is something that most cats are exposed to {Corona virus}. Most kitties immune systems wipe it out pretty quickly. But, those that have weak immune systems allow the virus to mutate into FIP. It's nasty, and Kita didn't stand a chance.
I know more about feline health issues then I ever cared to know. As in anything, knowledge is power. If anyone reading this has any questions... feel free to email me.