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atracattus
15-06-2012, 12:11 AM
Sookie came into our lives when we bought our current home in April 2010. She was owned by the previous owners of our house. She was always in our garden and would dive in the front door whenever we opened it, so we tried to contact them through the estate agents but the message passed on was that a neighbour had agreed to take her in.

Sookie would always come to our house and cry to come in, so we persisted in refusing her to try and reinforce that this was no longer her home. It was difficult as she is such a lovely sweet natured cat, and I'm a big softy.

Two weeks later she collapsed in our garden and we rushed her to the vets. She was severely dehydrated, malnourished, had various infections and was riddled with fleas and worms. She also had a reoccurring prolapsed rectum. We contacted the neighbours who did not know anything about the cat other than her age and name as they actually owned her brother. They had not agreed to take her in. We also discovered that the previous owners of our house had run-ins with the RSPCA. So it became quite obvious that Sookie had been abandoned. Some people are just plain old evil.

The vets were not optimistic about her chances of survival, and told us we should be prepared for her to pass on very soon. They offered to put her to sleep for us. I've nursed many animals in shelters and wildlife hospitals and could not possibly just give up on an animal, so we decided to take her home and do what could for her. She was 16 years old at this point.

Sookie went from strength to strength, and fast became a member of the family. She used to cower at the sight of brooms and mops, was scared of feet and boots so we surmised she had also been physically abused. After a year or so she would chase brooms and you were likely to trip over her as she had entirely lost her fear of feet.

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i440/solarisphotos/sookie.jpg
She has had two good years with us where she was happy and healthy. Although she is totally deaf and a little senile she still went out hunting, slept in the sunshine on our bed, and lived a good life. But a few months ago she began to lose weight dramatically.

We visited the vet who was perplexed. She did not match the symptoms of any classic illnesses. Her diet is good and she eats plenty. She does not over-drink. Her kidneys are not enlarged. Her thyroid functions normally, and so forth. But her heart is erratic. It is very slow for a cat, 120-140bpm and it often misses beats or briefly speeds up. I got my text books out from uni, and searched. I came across taurine deficiency, which is no longer very common due to improved modern cat foods. So our vet didn't think to check for it. It turns out her heart is so damaged there is absolutely no chance of her getting better. Such is the case in a cat with prolonged deficiency in taurine. So we decided on no treatment other than steroids to help with her weight loss.

The previous owners kept a number of dogs in questionable conditions, and were not financially well off. So we assume she was probably fed dog food over a very long period. In which case it's a miracle she has survived to the age she is. She is now on borrowed time. She continues to lose weight and is now only about 3lbs. Three weeks ago the vets said they thought it likely she would die within hours or at most days. She's proved more stubborn than that! She is often weak and sleepy. She remains mobile and does not appear to be in any pain, she is still very much enjoying her food and cuddles. But it's obvious she doesn't have long left.

She's a wonderful cat and I'm so glad to have her as part of our family. She's sweet and affectionate, and a little bit smelly too ;) and she's ours. I doubt she remembers anything of her past.

angieh
15-06-2012, 08:52 AM
What a sad and lovely story - poor little Sookie. Bless you for giving her a couple of years of proper care and love, she has obviously benefited enormously from your care.

I hope that you can enjoy whatever time you have left with her. Tbh I did not know the long term effects of taurine deficiency, and Sookie's story illustrates it too well.

atracattus
15-06-2012, 12:17 PM
Taurine deficiency is an awful thing and so easily avoidable. In the short term it can be reversed and the damage repaired by reintroduction of taurine. But in Sookies case the damage is to severe to be reversed. As she has reached old age her damaged heart has simply gone into degenerative failure. There is a complex surgical option but at her age and condition it is simply not viable or fair to put her through that, so we are making sure her remaining days are as comfy as possible. We are hoping she will just pass on in her sleep quickly and quietly.

yola
15-06-2012, 04:11 PM
Heartbreaking.

I hope when her time comes you're able to be there with her and comfort her so she slips away surrounded by love and warmth.

Thank you for sharing Sookie's story with us.

lynz85
15-06-2012, 07:10 PM
aww, bless her. what a horrible life she must have had before you came along. glad shes keeping so well considering, hope she has many more happy days with you

alexgirl73
15-06-2012, 08:58 PM
What a touching story. And Sookie is beautiful. I hope her remaining time with you is peaceful and pain free x

atracattus
06-07-2012, 09:24 PM
My beautiful old girl's story came to an end tonight. She passed away naturally, quietly and peacefully. She was on our bed being cuddled on her favourite blanket. My little boy sang her some nursery rhymes and gave cuddles so she would sleep well. I don't think there could be a better way out of this life than what she had.

This is the last photo of Sookie I have, cuddling up to Willow one night a couple of weeks ago.
http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i440/solarisphotos/sookiewillow.jpg

angieh
06-07-2012, 09:35 PM
Oh I'm so very sorry - I am glad for her and for you that she passed so very peacefully. RIP beautiful Sookie.

lynz85
06-07-2012, 09:50 PM
so sorry, but as you said she went very peacefully in the place she was so loved, so the best way for her.

sleep tight little girl x

Mrskatyb
06-07-2012, 09:53 PM
Aaah I feel so emotional after reading sookie's story. It's so special that you 'found' her and turned her life around, she's a cutie and hope she continues to enjoy her time and be comfortable xx

Mrskatyb
06-07-2012, 09:54 PM
I have just read the rest of the thread... My love and thoughts are with you all x

Mags
06-07-2012, 11:00 PM
I am so sorry :cry:

Sleep tight, precious girl ........xx

atracattus
06-07-2012, 11:13 PM
Thanks for your thoughts folks. She was a good age, the saddest thing is that we didn't have her from a younger age. I would have loved to know her as a kitten. She was so playful in old age that she must have been a blast as a kit!

But I'm relieved that her passing was so peaceful. I had worried terribly that I'd made a mistake in not euthanising at an earlier stage, but now I know it was the right decision. There was no suffering with her condition. Passing away comfortably and naturally at home surrounded by family and love was so much better than on the veterinary table. It was always so difficult to get blood out or a line in her veins that I knew it would have been very distressing for her to be euthanised.

Mrskatyb
06-07-2012, 11:36 PM
Still feel emotional and touched by this x

yola
07-07-2012, 03:37 PM
Having experienced a very traumatic euthanasia a little over two months ago with my old girl, I can't help agreeing with your decision.

That said, I'm so very sorry you've lost Sookie, it's always so very horrible when we have to part ways with our beloved cats.

TiggerMoon
24-07-2012, 02:16 PM
What a beautiful girl she was xx and so lucky to have you to spoil her in her last years.