This is Lucy & also Tedy. Our kitties that are about to turn 2 years old next month. They are brother and sister, rescued from a feral stray by a friend when they were newborns and the rest of the litter died. Because we were petless for the first time in our adult lives, we decided to take them in.
They are incredibly cute, troublesome and a source of constant entertainment. And like most free pets, they have become anything but. At their 1 year check-up our vet found heart murmers in both of them. X-Rays and Ultrasounds confirmed that they have genetic heart disease - a thickening of the walls of their heart that will shorten their life spans. Tedy takes 2 different pills twice a day and another every 3 days. Lucy was the healthier of the two until another round of X-Rays and ultrasounds last month showed she had grown worse than her brother, who seems to be doing quite well. Lucy now takes 3 different pills twice a day and another once a day.
When we travel to visit Molly's family in CT, they come with us. When we go on vacation though, we recruit friends, family and neighbors to take turns coming by to give them their meds via pill pocket treats which thankfully they enjoy. But several hours after returning home from an out of town trip recently, Lucy's breathing became distressed and we had to bring her to a nearby emergency clinic. She was experiencing heart failure, even though she had taken all of her meds while we were away.
The vet was able to give her an injection and oxygen from which she responded very quickly. After an overnight stay she was released, acting and looking completely normal. Tedy gave her the cold shoulder for a few days because she smelled different - but he eventually got over it when he decided he needed a bath.
So we continue to give them their meds and have found a local pet sitter with extensive animal hospital experience who will stop by and take care of them when we have to leave town in the future. We let them outside on weekends to chase squirrels because they should enjoy as much of their shorter lives as they can. And rolling around in the dirt makes them purr. Lucy likes to show off her paper wad fetching skills and Tedy likes to show off his oversized belly.
They greet us at the door when we come home, wrestle each other every morning, bust into our bedroom with toys in mouth when we sleep later than they like, curl up in the crook of our legs or settle onto our laps for a scratch behind the ear. But they seem happiest when they are snuggled up together. One big furry ball of love -
that some day will break our hearts when theirs give out. But they're worth every penny.
19 comments:
You made me cry :(
I love them. Please pass on kisses to them from me
Most of what we talk about at our house is our two cats: how cute they are, how funny they are, how bad they are. They're so great! I'm sorry that your love of and pleasure in Lucy and Tedy is tinged with this sadness. I'm sure with such love and tender care, they'll live longer than expected and they'll certainly be the happiest cats ever.
You brought tears to my eyes. They are such precious babies, poor little things. No, free cats are never free. Just over the past few months we have had a broken hip, a UTI and an unidentified infection in three of our cats, but you do what you have to do. They are our children.
I never tire of seeing pictures of cats or hearing cat stories. What a special home these two felines found when they got adopted by you. Over the years I've had my fair share of sick cats. In fact, I gave injections to one of my cats every other day for three years (she was in kidney failure). She was 19 when we put her down. Give your cats all the love you can, and enjoy every minute you have with them. Hugs,LJ
that is sweet.
yes, they may well have shorter lives than most cats, but you have given them such happy, content lives.
cutest post!
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/i-want-my-old-friends-back-awards/
two awards for you.
Animals add so much to our lives!! I loved those photos!!!
Okay, this post brought tears to my eyes. Love cats and know how much joy they can add to your lives. Hoping the meds keep them healthy longer.Great photos.
What cute kitties!!!
P.S. I left you an award on my blog. :)
These pictures made me laugh and cry at the same time. They are beauties for sure and very lucky to have such good "parents".
Beautiful post and gorgeous kitties. I'm sorry that they have such serious health issues, but it doesn't sound like it's damaging their quality of life. They are so cute curled up together.
Nice! And that bottom photo.. a classic! Hopefully they will surprise you and live long lives. They certainly look healthy, well cared for and loved in these photos.
Awww... your cats are so special and we're so glad to know them. Nate and I love all of you :)
oh how tender--I hope they live a little longer than you expect.
They're absolutely adorable. I'm such a cat lover. Right now, all but one of our cats is black. Our all black Hemingway had surgery for an abcess last week. We found a big lump on his side and I feared cancer. Luckily it wasn't but if he hadn't had surgery, it still could've been fatal. He's 7 but should have many years ahead of him. If only he'd stop licking his surgery wound open when we take off the e-collar so he can eat. Then he'd get the hated e-collar off a heck of a lot faster.
I'm sitting here with a huge lump in my throat :( I know what you're going through! Long story which I am not going to expand on.
Your kiddies are the cutest (except for my own of course ;) !
Thank you for sharing your story. I feed a feral colony at work. Although at home I am a dog person...I love my "little girl" at work...a very young mama cat who should not be giving birth. We've had success getting some of our cats adopted. Wishing you much success and health for your little ones.
That is precious. It sounds like they are living very happy lives...imagine if they were still feral.
I've never had cats. This post makes me almost want one (or two!).
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