The word went out on June 29, 2010. The economy was still crumbling for many people, and Sara had lost her job and was now about to lose her place. She had five cats, including a bonded pair aged 13 and 15. She was doing everything right, but there wasn’t a lot of help available, especially for people with pets.
She loved her cats and didn’t want to give them up, so she had been networking to find someone who could provide temporary housing for them. That didn’t work, so she contacted all the rescues and shelters in the area to surrender them to and was turned down everywhere. Not only was it kitten season, but many other people were in her position and surrendering their cats as well. A few places were honest enough to tell her that Taz and Tsarina would be euthanized immediately due to low adoption potential because of their ages. She decided, if that was their only option, she owed it to them to hold them herself as they crossed The Bridge. With a heavy heart, she took them to a local clinic. And that is where the story takes a dramatic turn for the better.
A woman who is active in the TNR (trap-neuter-return) community was there, met Sara and heard her plight. A flurry of emails and phone calls and the cats were transferred to us. Other local rescuers and organizations stepped up to provide initial temporary housing, veterinary exams, labs and vaccinations, financial support, and then temporary housing for her other, younger, cats. Sara was unable to find steady work enough to afford housing in the SF Bay area, so she ended up moving to Washington.
Meanwhile, Taz and Tsarina stayed in foster care with us. As you can see from the pictures, they are gorgeous kitties and were friendly and loving. We knew we would be able to adopt them to a good home. We have the “advantage” over traditional rescues and shelters because we focus on special needs animals, so we don’t have piles of kittens and puppies
coming through the pipeline and pushing the older animals aside. And, people who want older animals tend to find their way to us. However, we were watching Sara do everything she could to get her life stabilized, and we knew how much she loved her cats, and how much they loved each other. So, we kept them, and we kept them together.
We kept in touch with Sara and told her stories of how they were doing. She told us stories of their lives with her.
Sara told us when Tsarina was spayed; she had a much rougher recovery than is typical. She told us how Taz had slept next to Tsarina and would accompany her to the litter box and the food and water. He didn’t leave her side for three days. It was so clear he was taking care of her.
We started to see the same solicitous behavior, and it alerted us that “something was going on” long before there were any overt symptoms. Although their intake exams with lab work were not concerning, nearly a year had passed, so we took her into our veterinarian. Sadly, Tsarina was diagnosed with heart disease and the beginning of kidney failure. This is a particularly difficult combination since kidneys need extra fluids, and the heart needs less fluid. So, the primary kidney-disease support of sub-cutaneous fluids was not available to us. She was still symptom-free, but we started treating anyway. We put Tsarina on a kidney-friendly diet, and the transformation was instantaneous. She had been a life-long picky eater, but she LOVED this food. She was so excited at mealtime she would stand up on her back legs, chirping and “dancing.” It was so gratifying to see!
By this time, Sara had her life in order and was ready to take them back. The original plan was to fly them up in the cabin (as “carry on”) but with Tsarina’s heart condition, and the fact the cats were good travelers in the car, we changed plans. Airlines pressurize their cabins
similar to being at a 6000 to 8000-foot elevation (think Lake Tahoe), which puts some strain on the heart. A normal heart has no problem with this, but Tsarina’s was no longer normal. And, this is not what these cats were used to. We decided the risk, however small it was, wasn’t warranted. Sara drove down to get them.
Almost exactly one year after she walked into the clinic with a heavy heart to say, she walked in with a joyful and grateful to welcome them back into her life and bring them home. What a year it had been!
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