Tiggy was abandoned on a skip with her brother at just a few weeks old, a kind man found them and took them into the vets who handreared them. Tiggy was described as the runt of the litter (how dare they!), she and her brother came home to live with me and my family at just 4 weeks old. She had to be fed a substitute cat milk 4 or 5 times a day and had some health scares as a tiny baby.
Mummy's babies
On Bank Holiday Monday all those years ago she was rushed to the vets as she couldn't wee, the vet manually expressed her bladder but then told us the devastating news that she had a congenital hip deformity, dermatitis and possibly FIP. They said that the likelihood was that she would be incontinent for the rest of her life, I was devastated - I was 10 years old and she was my first kitten. We took her home and continued to care for her but she had to be separated from her brother. I told my Mum that it would be OK, I'd wear an apron when I was cuddling her! The vet could not have been more wrong - the congenital hip deformity turned out to be because her hips were pushed out so much by the overfull bladder, the dermatitis was mashed up kitten food stuck to her face and there was no FIP!
She was such a special little girl, so affectionate and gentle. We used to play fighty bitey, which involved her wrestling my hand and arm but if she got a bit over enthusiastic I would say 'soft paws' and she would pull her claws in and carry on fighting. I adored my little girl, she was a cheeky, loving little thing but didn't really like being picked up very much and didn't like her back being touched. She cut one of the pads on her paw when she was a few years old and so she had to have stitches and an elizabethan collar on to stop her picking at the stitches. The cone was bigger than the cat flaps so we left them open so her brother could still get out. I remember looking out of the window one day to see my little cone head scuttling down the street, she had managed to get through two cat flaps, jumped over a high fence and was seen wandering down the street at the front! The collar changed her in that after she had it on she suddenly loved being picked up and would allow her back to be stroked, so I had everything I could have ever wished for - a cheeky loving little girl who loved cuddles! She was bit of an adventurer, when she was about 10 I was in my bedroom with her and she slipped out of the window on to the bay window roof below, she slid down the tiles with her claws out desperately trying to hang on - my parents were sat in the living room and saw a flailing ginger ball falling to the ground - no harm done - a limp for a day or two!
Aged two
Aged five
Aged seven
Aged ten
When I moved out my little girl came with me and the bond grew stronger, she was truly like a child to me. She was diagnosed as being hyperthyroid at the age of 14. I was devastated, her brother had died unexpectedly 3 years earlier and I was terrified that she would die too. The vet explained that she could either have an operation or daily medication, I couldn't face putting her through an op - I couldn't take the risk that I would lose her no matter how small. I opted for the tablets which had to be taken twice daily, she was such a good girl and took them in various treats. The medication worked and her thyroid levels returned to normal although she had to have regular blood tests to make sure. In the summer of 2005 I noticed she was drinking a lot, we were having a heat wave and I hoped it was because it was so hot but took her to the vets as a precaution, the test results came back - she had kidney failure - CRF. Again I was devastated, I asked the vet how long she might have left. He said that given her age 5 - 7 months was probably realistic. I set about educating myself, the vet had given her daily tablets but I wanted to do everything possible to keep my girl healthy for as long as possible. I researched various medications and supplements and my vet agreed to let her take them, she had another 20 months with me after diagnosis and it was not the CRF that took her.
She was so affectionate, every night she would come to bed and sleep on 'her' pillow on her side of the bed. She would gently drop off to sleep purring and would stretch out a paw so she was touching my hand or face. I have to admit that she was spoilt, if I was dishing my dinner up and she came into the kitchen I would let my dinner go cold while I made her something to eat, usually some gently pan fried chicken breast with the edges cut off! She was so gentle and tolerated anything, I used to give her a manicure - she would lay there while I clipped her claws and cleaned in the crevices of her nails. She couldn't meow so used to do a silent meow instead, she would open her little mouth like a goldfish and the only sound that could be heard was the opening and closing of her mouth. She adored headkisses and would press her little head against my face demanding it be kissed, I was only too happy to oblige
25th March 06 - aged 17
9th July 06 - aged 18
30th August 06 - aged 18
14th October 06 - aged 18
Tiggy took steroids (feline junkie!) to perk her up throughout the CRF, the steroids usually lasted 4 weeks, infact when my vet first started her on them he said that with his own cat the steroids lasted 4, then 3 weeks and when they only lasted two weeks he had to let his cat go. In February this year she began to go off her food and the steroids didn't seem to last as long, I took her to the vets and they gave her another steroid jab. I got home and was just about to leave for work when she vomited with blood in, I rushed her back to the vets and they gave her an antibiotic. She perked up completely by the next day as was back to her usual trick of waking me up in the early hours of the morning trampling on my head, purring at 100 decibels (she couldn't meow for some reason so made up for it with her purr!) and pawing at my face.
Just 10 days later she was off her food again, on the Sunday I knew that it was probably time to let her go. She spent most of the day asleep in her little tent that I had made for her, I got some pillows and a snuggly fleece and set up camp next to her. I spent the whole day stroking her head, cradling her paw while she slept and telling her how much I loved her. I had an appointment at the vets the next day at 4:45, I decided that I would make an earlier appointment in case there was something they could do and if the news was bad then I would bring her back home to spend one last day with her and take her back for the evening appointment. I woke up that morning with my little girl standing over my pillow purring very gently, I kissed her head over and over and told her how much I loved her. I was hoping this was a sign and that the vets would be able to give her something to make her feel better. I made an appointment for 09:20, I honestly believed that she would be coming home as she seemed a little happier.
When we saw the vet he felt around and was lingering too long in one spot, while he was doing this she seemed to give up and went from standing to laying on her side. The vet told me that he could feel a lump, I asked where and he said the small intestine. I then asked if she was in pain, he said probably not but that she obviously felt poorly rather than in pain. I continued to stroke her frail little body, I knelt down and looked into my precious little girl's eyes, she was still laying there with her head resting on the table like she had given up and when I looked into her eyes I saw that she could not go on any longer. I asked the vet if I should let her go, he said that it would be the kindest thing to do and that it was like her coming to the end of her natural life, we could have tried the steroids again but he said that they would only last a few days again and then she would have to go through this again.
I chose to let my little girl go, I gently cradled her face as the vet gave her the injection into her front leg. Her head went limp as though she was sleeping and then she was gone. It was very peaceful but heartbreaking nonetheless. I stroked her and kissed her little head, I asked her to send me a rainbow to let me know that she had arrived at the Bridge safely and told her that I was sorry but that I had done it for her because I loved her so much and didn't want her to suffer.
So, my little girl is gone. Words cannot express how much I love and miss her, I can't wait until I can think of her and remember the happy times instead of feeling sad that she is no longer here. This is the last picture that I took of her she was, unusually for her, asleep in her little tent. It was taken on the 16th February, 10 days before she left for Rainbow Bridge.
Forever and always baby xx
