cat memorials

Passing over the rainbow bridge

The cats on this page may not have been adopted into a forever home but they were truly loved by our volunteers. Some of them were with Pet Refuge a long time, perhaps in a foster home, permanently or temporarily, and some of them were with Pet Refuge just briefly, yet were still able to touch our hearts.  These are their stories.

Last Updated:  4/25/07

                                              

GRACE

August 1, 2003 - April 19, 2007

 

                                              

SASSAFRASS

DOB - August 31, 2004 - October 20, 2006
Sassafras was born August 31, 2004, to a feral mother cat..  He stayed outside with his momma until I saw that he was not being taken care of properly.  He had a fever coat and was underweight with severe diarrhea.  When I took him to the vet he was so cold he wouldn't eat and was very sickly.  I then brought him inside and he was bottle fed. He turned into a beautiful, healthy, talkative cat that loved people and other cats, but, because he was "just another black cat", was never adopted.  He went to the vet again when he started losing weight.  After blood work was done on him the results did not look normal and a mass was felt in his abdomen. He immediately underwent exploratory surgery.  The vet was hoping to find a ribbon in his intestines but, sadly, it was a mass from cancer.  He was then put to sleep without ever waking up again. I never got to say good bye. 

Kim

 

 

                                               

LUCILLE

DOB - ? - October 7, 2006
Lucille came to us after she was found wandering around near the Dollar General store in South Bend in the fall of 2005.  She was the absolute sweetest older siamese cat !  She loved everyone and gave wonderful kisses!  Lucille had a chronic bladder infection and although she did fine in my home, she did not do well with the litter box when she was adopted. In October, 2006, she very quickly got ill and through some testing we finally found out why she continued to have trouble...she had bladder cancer and the tumor had finally obstructed her kidney function.  I will remember her for her wonderful and loving personality.  She happily sat on my daughter's lap while she was watching tv and then Lucille would sleep the night away purring in my ear. You will be missed - Karen

 

 

                                               

CHRISSY

DOB - ?1985? to October 20, 2006
I can still remember when Chrissy came to Pet Refuge approximately 4 years ago, coming from the home of an elderly person suffering from the later stages of Alzheimers.  Because of this, we never knew her history or how old she really was.  All we knew was that her name was Chrissy and she had beautiful blue eyes.  Chrissy did not do well at our shelter - she couldn't get along with all the other cats and she could not stay in a cage - she became extremely stiff and sore.  During a vet visit, it was discovered that she had previously broken her pelvis (probably years earlier) which had healed on it's own. She was taken into a foster home where she did well but really just wanted to be an only cat in her old age. I told several older people I knew about her, trying to get them to take her. She was eventually adopted by someone and we were all happy.  Unfortunately, not all adoptions end happily.  This adopter moved and instead of taking Chrissy back to us or even finding her a new home, she was thrown out of the house on moving day.  A kind hearted neighbor fed her for awhile and eventually took her into a local Humane Society. Because she had been microchipped to Pet Refuge, we were contacted that she was at their shelter.  I immediately  picked her up and decided I could not give her up.  I had loved that old girl so much when she first came to Pet Refuge but I didn't have the right home for her at that time.  I now had my own office that she could live in all by herself so I took her there and lavished her with TLC.  Chrissy soon became quite the fixture at my office and would greet everyone with a loud Siamese yowl so you would give her the attention she felt she deserved.  The local police also became quite acquainted with her since she set off my security alarm about 3-4 different times at 2:00 am before we decided she needed to be caged at night.   As my business became larger, my office staff grew.  When my sister, Jodi, started working there, Chrissy became quite attached to her.  But Chrissy had a special friend named April, who started at my office this last Spring.  April, who never saw Chrissy in her prime - Chrissy's  health had declined rapidly in the last year , she suffered from high blood pressure and was almost totally blind - loved Chrissy to no end.  April only worked on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but somehow Chrissy knew exactly when it was an "April Day" because she only voluntarily came out of her cage on those days, looking for her twice daily brushing from April.  It was a sad day in my office for all the men and women who work there when it became apparent that Chrissy was in liver and renal failure and she had to make that last trip to the vet.  I am truly glad I was able to spend these last 3 years with her and make her life comfortable.  May there be a soft, warm bed and plenty of brushing on your side of the rainbow bridge, old girl.  

Love, Tina