Sadly, Enya's CH wasn't the only thing she battled. After countless visits to the vet, and complete devotion to her - Enya's condition only worsened to the point of complete paralysis. Something much more severe than just the CH, but the vet couldn't determine what was wrong with her.
After days of watching her brother Thomas improve and adjust to his mild CH, Enya was eventually only able to faintly meow while laying paralyzed from the neck down. I waited painfully each day to see improvement, but she just got worse each day. After a week or so, we couldn't bear to see her suffer any more. Only after every effort was made to help her did we decide to end her suffering. We kissed her head lovingly, we prayed for her and we cried as we let the vet take her away and we said our goodbyes.
We spread her ashes in the Spring, over the roses in the garden. It was moving to me - she was finally free from the trapping of her little body. I imagined her running and jumping all around the yard, free from the restraints of her CH, free from the pain of whatever else was raveging her body. I imagined her tumbling and playing with her brother Thomas, just as she should have.
I smile when I think of her. Though she suffered some, I still see those bright eyes of hers and remember how loved she was and how happy she was - the sound of her happy purr. Her life was short but significant. She touched the lives of my family, friends, the workers at the Vet's office and people online as well who are affected by CH. Maybe she helped inspire others to adopt pets with disabilities. Maybe her story will help those with CH kitties to appreciate each day dispite it's struggle over-coming a defect or adapting to life, because no matter how hard the life - it's still a life and that's worth something. I hope she is remembered. Look at those eyes, how can you forget a kitten so sweet?
It's months later now, and Thomas is a tank. He is a little clumsy, tripping and falling from things he shouldn't have climbed to begin with. A true brat, if ever a boy cat could be. Yet loveable and sweet, and enjoying the life of a cat well loved.
3 comments:
I followed Enya's story as it was happening via the CH kitty website. I have a tortie CH kitty Yoda (9 years old now!) so the pictures of Enya brought back wonderful memories of Yoda as a kitten. When Enya's condition deteriorated, I sat here at my desk at work and cried while reading your posts. (Good thing I work alone in my office...)
Anyway, the reason that I'm commenting now is that, a few weeks ago in the shelter where I volunteer, a litter of kittens was born, some with radial hypoplasia, and the most severely affected is a beautiful little tortie kitten who looks remarkably like Enya. I commented on the likeness to my friend Gwen who has Malachi, a severely afflicted CH kitty, and she saw the similarity, too.
So yes, Enya is remembered and her story still pulls at my heartstrings!!!
I found your story while searching for more about what might be wrong with my kitten. The stories sound very similar. She is progressively getting worse and has lost bladder control. She just lays around wherever he put her. It is so sad. I know that the endings to our stories will be the same, and it is heartbreaking. I too believe that she has more than CH. She is very tiny for her age and has become more and more paralyzed each day. She can eat if I hold her to her food and no longer attempts to go to the litter box. I am just heartbroken, but comforted to know that she wasn't the only one. :(
I also found this blog when looking for what was wrong with my little kitten Cocoa. We found him as a stray all alone when about 1 month old, we managed to cure his cat flu, and then thought he only had CH which we were more than happy to deal with. Unfortunately similar to Enya and the kitty mentioned by Kimberley, poor Cocoa also gradually deteriorated, becoming more and more paralysed and losing weight, he also seemed to have some reflux after he ate - as though he had a horrible taste in his mouth sometimes. He passed away in his sleep at 6 months of age, he saw about 4 different vets and no one really knew what was wrong with him, one thought he had a liver problem, another thought eggs from the worms he had as a kitten could've got to his brain as it was clearly a neurological problem. Similar to Enya though, he had so much love and brought happiness to our lives in his short existence and he wasn't in pain. He will be always remembered and we will scatter his ashes in the Botanical Gardens near to us so he can be free from the constraints of his little body here on earth, though it will always seem a waste that he never had the chance to live a full life. We have now adopted another abandoned kitten in memory of Cocoa, so that another cat can have a chance of a long and happy life. Rest in peace Cocoa.
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