Hi, all,
I posted to the death & dying portion of this forum earlier this month, and again tonight. I thought I might explain a little about why it took me so long to get back to you kind folks.
We lost our dearest Audrey on Dec. 25th and couldn't stand the empty house. It didn't take me and my husband long to begin seeking a new cat, not to fill Audrey's spot but to make a new one. We searched online at rescue sites and finally settled on the Humane Society. We went with one cat in mind, and ended up with a different cat entirely. Her name is Missy Blue - the shelter named her that because she looks like a Russian Blue. We're pretty sure she's not pure Russian Blue, but she does have the eyes for it.
Well, we took her to her first vet's visit the next day and she had a high fever. Her spay site was badly infected under the sutures, and she had also acquired a respiratory infection from the shelter. The vet even asked us if we wanted to take her back and get another cat, considering the long road we would have ahead administering antibiotics, multiple vet visits, etc. We never considered it. We buy a defective pair of shoes, we take them back. There's no such thing as a "defective" cat, in our opinion. In the days that have followed we were at the vet every other day for subcutaneous fluids (she was not eating or drinking) and cleaning of the spay incision, which opened up. The vet finally said that he could do no more - that the Humane Society was our only option. We took Missy back there only after being reassured that they would return her to us once the second surgery was over. It was a long drive and a long overnight wait, but we took our still very ill cat home, 'again.' Her respiratory infection was so severe that we had to put her in a steamed-up bathroom to help her breathe, about three times a night. We'd wake to her heavy wheezing, and back to the bathroom we'd go.
We heard her first "meow" just five days ago, when we finally got her interested in a little canned food: she sounded like a squeaky door. Weeks with no sound except wheezing replaced by squeaky door - we were elated.
Our new companion, still named Missy, about 2 years old, looks like she's going to make it. I didn't think that having a new cat would help the grief for Audrey, but she has. Partly it's just her presence - she's not timid about affection - partly it's our triumph over odds with this beautiful cat. What a roller coaster ride this has been!
Thanks for reading!