Today, we lost our dear friend, Shania the cat.
At the start of the week, we noticed that Shania wasn’t eating, so she went to Great Falls Animal Hospital. Dr. Snellgrove and her team tried everything, but no matter what the doctor tried, she wouldn’t eat. On Friday, we took her to see Dr. Miller at the The Life Centre in Leesburg for an ultrasound.
We nervously paced around outside, and sometimes we just lay in the grass in a glum mood. We didn’t know what the doctors would say, but we were worried. Then, we all got the terrible news: Shania had cancer that had spread to several organs, including important ones such as her liver.
We took her home and did everything to get her to take food and water, but nothing worked. Cats seem to shut down to conserve energy when facing discomfort, and that includes a hunger strike, which only makes the health problem worse.
As the hours passed on Saturday, we saw her rapidly fading. She watched us play in the yard but couldn’t muster the energy for more than that. By the evening, she wouldn’t even take a drop of her favorite milk in a syringe.
On Sunday morning, from her quiet place she climbed the big flight of stairs to find us and our other friend, Cagney the cat. Her breathing was strained, and it was clear she was in a lot of pain. I’ve had my share of heath issues, so I know it took great strength for her to make it up those stairs to say good bye.
As lead dog, it fell to me to do the right thing and allow her to rest comfortably forever.
In 2003 Shania appeared out of nowhere and was here before I showed up the next year. She was friendly and fearless. She could swat like a champ but had the sense to realize it was all just play.
We had a lot of fun playing “catch me if you can” in the obstacle course in our garage.
We shared a fascination with water, which you can see in the video from February 2015 below.
We already miss you, Shania the cat. Our home will never be the same without you. We’ll never forget you.
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