2.21.2007

So we stopped by the SPCA yesterday, as usual, to visit all the kitties ... and look what we found.

I really didn't want to get another cat, especially so soon after Pumpkin ... but I just couldn't leave this one at the shelter. She looked so much like Mia (my old half-Siamese/half-Persian) at first glance that I almost cried. She was in a cage at the very end of the row, on the very bottom. I saw the words "American Snowshoe" on the card, and I had seen that particular kind of Siamese, but never one that had so little white on the face. And she is SO sweet! We named her Maia. :) I then found out that the person who has lobbied to get this relatively new breed accepted by various cat organizations is named Maia. Weird, eh? The Snowshoe is a Siamese crossed with an American Shorthair. They are usually seal or blue point, and then have four white paws and usually some white on the face.

Anyway, Maia is adjusting ... as can be expected, the other cats are a little out of sorts and hissy. But Maia isn't hiding under the bed as she was when we first brought her home. She's already spayed and is up to date on shots, which is fabulous. Apparently her owner gave her up because she had lost her home and was living out of her car with her four cats. She gave Maia and Maia's sister to the shelter, and Maia's sister had already been adopted. We took Maia to the visiting room and spent some time with her, and then put her back in her little cage with the decision that we'd think about it. But then I couldn't walk away from her -- I just didn't want to leave. So we brought her home. Funny -- you know those cardboard animal carriers that shelters give you to carry your new pet? Maia tore a hole in it and she had her head out of it by the time we pulled up into our driveway. Ha ha! :) She is a strong cat.

They're still a fairly rare breed, only originating in the 1960s, which is why I was surprised to find one in our shelter. And it still doesn't seem right without Pumpkin here, but we're adjusting.

In other news, we got our butts kicked in the ER last week, after the snow/ice event. Everyone in western Loudoun County decided it would be a GREAT idea to go sledding on pure ice ... lots of lacerations, broken bones, and messed-up faces. So here's a public service announcement: SLEDDING ON ICE WILL HURT YOU. There you have it. I can't tell you how many splints and bandages I put on patients. Yikes.

Off to do cardio, then get ready for the day ... the sun is out, everything is finally melting, and it almost feels like spring outside! :D

pixie.dust sprinkled at 10:29:00 AM • 0 witty remark(s)

2.11.2007

Pumpkin, September 2004 - February 11, 2007

We had noticed that Pumpkin had lost weight and had gotten a bit scrawny over the last few months. We took her for a check-up at the end of January, and she seemed fine, although our vet discovered a definite heart murmur, and possibly a ventricular septal defect. But she weighed over 7 lbs, and seemed to be okay. But over the last week, she'd gotten skinnier. Yesterday she looked horrible. And she was just curled up on the papasan, not wanting to get up, not wanting any treats (she usually goes nuts over turkey, and would barely eat a bite). She could barely walk, and she weighed less than 5 lbs. I gave her some fluids by syringe, and she really didn't protest too much.

We took her to the emergency vet around midnight, and we made the difficult decision to let her go. She was in complete renal failure and her core temp was really low, so she was already shutting down. The vet didn't think it was necessarily related to the heart condition, either. For whatever reason, her kidneys just failed. So I held her while they gave her the injection, and her suffering was done.

Ironically, it was the same vet tech and the same room where we took Mia. The vet tech remembered us, and she was just as wonderful this time as she was before. I should write a letter to the clinic about her.

pixie.dust sprinkled at 10:48:00 AM • 0 witty remark(s)