My sweet Lily would have turned 7 years old on June 19th, and she passed away on May 4th. It has only been almost 4 weeks since she became an Angel-Kitty and my crying has lessened but hasn’t stopped. She was a huge part of my husband and my life; and I had the most special bond with her that a human can have with their cat. I believe I treated her like a little person and she treated me like a big cat!
She was taken too soon by pyometra, an infection of the uterus. There are not many symptoms to look for and this disease is known as the “silent killer”, so the few things that had changed with her in the few weeks before she died were not cause for major alarm…her personality was the same and she was eating and drinking, just less than usual, but nonetheless, still being our little buddy around the house.
The day before she died, she was showing signs of more bloating and her eyes just looked scared and her reflexes were not there, when I’d say her name or hold her, she would just twitch her tail and look at me with scared eyes. We made the choice to take her to the vet the next morning because we didn’t know the severity of the situation or that she had a uterus infection. She kept trying to hide when I had her on the bed with me, so I made her a little box with towels, which she did not want to sit in but was too weak to get out the second time I put her in there at 10:30pm. I petted her and told her that tomorrow we would get her all fixed up at the vet.
I woke up at 1:30 am to check on her and she had passed away, never having made it to the vet. I’ll never forget how she looked in that box, exactly how I set her in there, she must have been really close to passing when I put her in there. She wasn’t purring when I put her in the box, and she ALWAYS purred, so I knew that she must not feel good, but it never crossed my mind that she would die.
I hope and pray that she went quickly. I will always wonder if she’d still be here if I’d taken her to the emergency vet that night instead of deciding to wait until the morning. I called the vet the next morning wanting to know what happened and if I should bring her in for an autopsy, but they were able to diagnose the pyometra over the phone. I will forever feel guilty.
She was an indoor kitty who had never been spayed, and we thought there would be no need to since she had no access to male cats. She recently did mate three times with a young male cat outside who was really sweet and came around when she was in heat, but it must have been too late for her to get pregnant because she died of pyometra within months after. We were hoping to move on a farm soon and keep her kittens. I thought she would be such a sweet mother to her kitties, because she was such a sweet-mannered cat.
I wish that I had known that it is not healthy for a female cat to not get spayed. So please to anyone reading this, spay your female cat, not only for pet population control, but for the kitty’s health. I feel like 7 years was not enough for us to be together and our time was cut short and I will forever feel like I let her down. But if I would have been educated on the subject of female cats and being spayed for health reasons, she would not have died from pyometra. But I will always love her and try to smile and not cry when I think of her.
Her mom, Sammy is still with us and will turn 8 next month. She is mostly an outdoor kitty and she has been spayed for 7 years, thank God. I only hope nothing will happen to her that will take her before her time. Losing an animal is so hard and any time they pass is too soon. I love you Lily and I’m sorry you didn’t get to live your full life-span because of miseducation on our part. We’ll always miss you and love you, our little Nino-kin.
I wrote this poem in Lily’s honor.
My Angel Kitty
You were the little angel who made my life so sweet.
You were always there wherever I looked, with your fuzzy face and feet.
I had you for such little time, though forever would not suffice. If I had only known the things I know now, you might still be alive. But your spirit grew wings and flew away, now my home and heart are bare. Your delicate meow and your plinking paws still linger in the air. I’ll try to remember you as a happy little girl who only wanted my love. And how you’d do anything for a little attention from your mama standing above.
I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter cat, you were always such a good girl. Never wanting more from life than to do your dreamy Lily-twirls. You truly were a special cat, who was nothing but beautiful and heavenly. So God must have needed you right away, by taking you so quickly.
I know that you are smiling again wherever you now are. Your passing leaves a wound in my heart that will heal, but leave a scar. And each tear I shed when I think of losing you, will remind me of how lucky I was… To be blessed with my sweet little Lily’s angel kitty love.
Forever Loving & Missing You,
| Tracy & Keith |