Seven Weeks Old/Sad Week

This week started out with a fun day back up at the beach in Canada.  Regan enjoyed playing in the water all day, and Great Grandma Flo came with us too.

When we got home from the beach, our neighborhood had been bombarded by police cars and news crews. Come to find out an elderly man up the street had been murdered by one of his former employees.  Earlier in the day we had also found out that my mothers cousin's husband passed away after battling with Alzheimer's. I thought privately in my head, that bad things come in three's and wondered what else bad would happen.

Yesterday afternoon, I found out.  I noticed that Pita was limping on her rear left leg, and picked her up with check it out.  She didn't seem painful, and I could move her leg all around, so I called Mom and asked her to watch the kids so I could take her to the vet.  Mom said it was probably a sprain, and to give it a day, and we would take her tomorrow if she was still limping.  I agreed, because I always over react to these kinds of thinks because of all the bad stuff I've seen working at the vet.

So a few minutes later she jumped off the bed and tried to walk.  She was walking in a circle, looking at her back leg like, "Why won't you work".  I called my vet and they couldn't get me in until tomorrow morning, so I called Kevin, just to tell him what was going on.  The minute I got on the phone with him I saw Pita walk into the hallway dragging her whole back leg.  I immediately knew what that meant, swore out loud, and basically hung up on Kevin.  

I called the vet back and said that she needed to be seen ASAP, and they could get me in at 3:45.  I called my friend Val, a DVM, and told her that I thought Pita had a saddle thrombus, and asked her if she know if there was any way to treat it.  The only instances I had ever seen of this (about 3 or 4) automatically result in euthanasia.  Val confirmed my fear, that if I was right about my diagnosis, that the outlook was grim.

I called Mom and she watched the kids while I rushed Pita to the emergency clinic.  By this time she had labored breathing, what howling, and turning blue.  I thought I was going to loose her right there in the car.

The vet at the e-clinic confirmed my suspicion, and said her toes were cold and there was no pulse in her left rear leg.  I shared with her that Pita's litter-mate Sydney had passed from cardiomyopothy, and that Pita likely had heart disease as well.  She took and x-ray to look at her chest, and while her heart was not enlarged, she had lots of fluid in a around her lungs and heart.  I had to make to make the inevitable decision to put her to sleep.  Even if for some reason we could get this clot to dissolve after thousands of dollars of treatment, there was no telling when it would happen again...tomorrow, a week, a month; and in the meantime there would be the underlying risk of the heart disease.

All in all the whole ordeal lasted about 2 hours, so it was quick, and I was very glad to be home to respond to her right away.  No one will ever know how much Kevin and I love her, and how painful it was to let her go at such a young age (5). 

We got Pita on June 17, 2006; our 3 year dating anniversary.  It took a little convincing to get Kevin to say it was ok, but after he held the little fuzz ball for the first time, it was love.

Pita lived with Kevin in our apartment for two months before we got married, and I moved in.  They bonded instantly and she followed him everywhere.  She was always Kevin's cat.

Pita will always be our "first born" and our baby girl.  We had five wonderful years together, and we gave her the best life we could.  It helps to know that we is not suffering, and she will always hold a special place in our hearts.

the day we brought home Cosmo

"helping" with the laundry

pissed off under the bed on the day we moved into the house

checking out the new neighborhood

wearing her Christmas elf outfit

most recent photo - hanging out with the whole family on the couch

 We love you and miss you baby girl!