Isi.
Also called Miss Miesi Toothless or Isemietz

Born early in July 1991
Died    24. November 1997

Isi was two weeks old when she came to the pound - after a man walked up to a little girl in the pedestrian precinct, gave her a plastic bag with two kittens in it with the words "here! Wanna a kitten?" and dissappeared.
Fortunately a nursing catmother was in the pound, which took care of the siblings. Nevertheless died the little black male, Isi's brother, a few days later.

I was very taken with those small pink ears. Again and again I hang around the little kitten with those unusual colors. Once even John, my husband, had to come and take a look of it. He also brought Fanny, our then four months old Newfoundland bitch. I just held the -literally!- handful cat, when she saw the dog. Just like in a comic this tiny thing turned into a grizzlybear: all of her fur ruffled up, both front paws raised with extended claws, hissing and spitting the whole little person! This was the moment, we fell in love with her.
But we still resisted - until she got sick and urgently needed special care. So she came home with us, to Jimmy, who got infected by this virus himself already.
It was close for both of them, the vets told us already to look for other animals. But they finally made it.

Isi became a real catprincess: extremely elegant and sovereign, she could be very loving - until she hit one in the face with her claws. Except me. I guess, mommies are taboo for that.
She developed a enormously urge for freedom, nothing and nobody could hold her back. But she really only wanted to visit our next door neighbour, an older gentleman, who led with his wife a quiet live, in harmony with the garden.
Often, when I looked out of the window, I could watch man an' cat: the old man, who padded slowly to his kitchen garden and Isi, following him around and helping him by keeping his garden free of rodent.

One day we noticed that Isi had become extremely slim. Since deworming didn't help and the neighbours assured us that they also kept on feeding Isi, we went worried to the vet. We went to an animal hospital right away, because we knew that they could examine blood instantly.
It came out that Isi's kidneys were damaged. It was supposedly an organ feline leukemia. Since this form of leukemia doesn't show up in a test, we even didn't care to take one. The cat received several injections and some more medication for hometreatment. *Unfortunately one could not do any more*.
Isi indeed recovered again.

Months later the same game. More injections, medication, recovery.

Then for the third time. But this time Isi felt visibly worse than the other times. She didn't eat at all, was limp and seemed to feel bad.
So we went back to the animal hospital. During the first minute of examination the vet pulled back appalled while smelling Isi's breath - it stank like acetone. The bloodwork brought it out: all datas far beyond anything which could get improved with a drip or other medication.
There was only one thing left I could do for my friend.

Now, many months later, after I have learned so very much more, I ask myself if Isi maybe could still be alive - would the vet have told me about *kidney diet*. If I would have known then already about  those several possibilities to help feline kidney patients. I don't know.
But I am absolutely posive about one thing: nobody gives up the responsibility for an animal while walking into a vets practise - one MUST educate oneself and maybe also the vet - because they are "only" humans, too, who might forget something or presume something wrong.