IN MEMORY OF SNOWBELLE 6/1/2005 to 6/9/12

IN MEMORY OF A WONDERFUL CAT

Snowbelle sunning herself 6/8/12

6/8/12 Age 7

6/8/12 Getting a little sun

Today was a very difficult day for me. I had to put down Snowbelle because she had fluid on her lungs and though the vets at Sunburst Animal Hospital tried six times to do so, they were unable to because the fluid was so thick. The Vet said that, though it couldn't be proven without tests, that she most likely had cancer and there was a mass that they couldn't see due to all the fluid in her system. It was not a sudden thing, but had been developing for years. It would explain WHY she was always sensitive around her ribs. Without us knowing it we'd been hurting her. The vet also informed me that even if I'd brought her in for a check-up, and I had been doing that for years as well, it still would have gone undetected because her heart sounded fine, her gums were pink, and her temperature was normal. Except today..it was below normal...95 degrees. I had thought her sensitive sides were caused by being "ticklish" not realizing that a more serious condition existed. She'd been sensitive around her ribs for as long as we've had her. She'd visited the vet numerous times over the 7 years she'd been with us and they never detected anything wrong with her. It wasn't until Thursday (6/7/12) that she showed signs of distress. The vet informed me that it wan'ts my fault that she'd gotten sick because I'd been trying to save electricity by turning the A/C off during the day and running it at 68 during the night but it had acerbated the condition. It would have eventually manifested itself, my running the A/C as I had been doing just sped up the process. It doesn't make me feel all that much better since I can't help feeling if I'd just run the A/C as I normally did at 78 to 80 during the Summer months, perhaps we would have had her for a few more years. So this edition of my blog is dedicated to her. The reason why she was so "fat" was due to the fluid around her chest NOT because she'd actually put on weight in a day. Up until Thursday the "fat" on her side DID NOT hang over the window sill as it does in the video and last photos I took of her. If only I'd known....

6/8/12

This photo was taken last night. I was optimistic that she was going to be okay. She seemed to be alert at times, then lethargic. I wish I'd taken more photos of her last night but perhaps it is for the best that I didn't. She wasn't looking her best and it's always difficult for me to watch a cat suffer, and she was suffering. To watch her breathing and not be able to help her except through the meds she was given was extremely hard. To find out that it was all for naught was even more difficult. Still I did all I could for her, and I KNOW that but it doesn't ease the fact that this evening, when I feed the other cats, she won't be among them begging to be fed.

The rest of this blog will be photos of her. I'm having to much trouble writing this without crying.

Father and daughter...

Her favorite place to chill out

On the hunt!

Chillin in the bathtub

Her vampire impression

This is actually HER tree. I bought it for her in
2005 when I first brought her home from the
Humane society. She  was the one who used it
the most. I shall sorely miss seeing her in it. :(

MY DEAREST LITTLE SNOWBELLE


Snowbelle, my dearest little one
I shall miss all your funny little quirks,
How you'd try to drink water out of the faucet,
Putting your whole head under neath
The way catnip would drive you crazy,
The struggle to clip the nails on your feet. 


I shall miss your purring  
As you sat in my lap, 
Kneading into my arm,
How you wormed your way into our hearts
With all of your sweat charm. 


You were always the queen of the house,
Keeping the other cats in line
You loved to bat around your mouse,
And had a grand old time.
             
Now you are gone and my heart is sad
I only wish you hadn't felt so bad.
I'd always imagined you to be our very last cat,
Growing old with us and all of that. 


                                        Snowbelle...gone but by no means forgotten

                                                            ALOHA