Welcome to Sylvia's
"Photo
Friends"
This is the special place at Sylvia's Kitty Condo
where we are pleased to be able to share with you some of the very special furry
friends who we have met along the course of our dear girls journey. As our
"extended family" of friends grows, so
too grows the love which fills our family's hearts.
This beautiful Empress Angel girl is Rainbow,
a furry friend of ours who after a brave battle with the sarcoma monster has
now made that heartfelt journey to the land of love and comfort. Rainbow's
parents are truly to be commended, for they are now reaching out and
empowering other's with the information that will help prevent them from
having to share in the heartache associated with this terrible disease.
Rainbow's Mom composed the following furry
tribute to their dear Angel girl so that we could share with all of our feline
loving friends some of the loving memories that they will forever cherish
within their hearts.
"I adopted Rainbow in 1989, shortly
after my Tiger died at the age of 18. I went to the DuPage County Shelter in
Suburban Chicago and there she was, reaching out to me from her confines. Love
at first site! That evening as I pondered names for this lovely calico, my
little god-child phoned to breathlessly suggest the name Rainbow.
It was an inspiration and so she was christened Rainbow.
In 1994, when I married Howard, we moved Rainbow
to Mississippi. She always hated other cats and chose to be an only child. She
also had disdain for dogs, but loved other creatures: rabbits, squirrels,
chipmunks, but especially birds. (Finches were her favorite.) Rainbow
was in inside-only girl, so Howard
enclosed a screen room for Rainbow with stairs
and perches. She loved visiting her friends from her secure location. (Some
foolishly ventured in and thus she became Rainbow
the Hunter.)
She was always energetic and playful, racing
through the house like Mario Andretti. Rainbow
also adored doing Yoga exercises and would join me on the Yoga mat where she
would stretch and stretch her elegant body. Christmas was her favorite season.
Rainbow would help decorate, gently inspect
packages and curl up under the tree to dream of catnip and toys.
She had hundreds of toys, but her most
cherished were yarn pompoms which she would bat and fling everywhere. There
were a few pompoms which she decided were her babies. Rainbow
would carry them in her teeth, crying softly as she sought to hide
them, like a Momma Cat carrying her babies to safety. Days, even weeks later,
she would take them out and present them to us.
Rainbow was
diagnosed with VAS in May, 2000, and had her first surgery then. Three months
later, another tumor appeared and she again underwent surgery. In September, a
long-held dream was realized when Howard accepted a job offer in Florida. (I
had promised this to Rainbow when I adopted her:
that she would be a Florida Kitty.) We did everything we could to make the
move as easy for her as possible and she responded well. We enjoyed several
months with Rainbow in our new home in DeLand,
FL., before the cancer returned, this time in her lungs.
During her final months, we devoted ourselves
to her comfort and care. Rainbow spent hours in
my lap and slept curled up with her Mommy until her last day. At night, she
would touch my cheek and I would pet and kiss and speak to her. We comforted
each other until we both drifted back to sleep.
When it became apparent that the time had come to help her to cross the
Rainbow Bridge, Howard and I were with her as the doctor assisted her to her
rest. We held, kissed and talked to her. I sang to her: “Peace is Flowing
Like a River.” As I had with Tiger, I filled her last moments with all the
love she had given us.
I have a PostScript I must share.
Exactly one week after 9/11/01 and the terrible events of that day, I had to fly to Chicago
with my mother to visit family. We were terrified! The day before we left, I
retrieved an item from behind a dresser and discovered three of Rainbow’s
yarn babies which she had hidden there. She had placed them there as a special
gift for her heart-broken Mommy to find. I placed the babies in my purse,
knowing when we boarded the plane that my beautiful Guardian Angel was with
me. I carry them wherever I go."
This purrrrfect posing cutie is Tammy,
a furry friend of ours who just happens to cuddle with her family in the same
part of Florida that we reside. After a scary brush with the VAS, we are
very pleased to announce that dear Tammy
and her family are now looking forward to being able to enjoy many more cuddle
filled years together.
The other good news is, that with this difficult part of their lives journey
behind them, Tammy's Mom is now lending us her
kind assistance towards carrying forth the "effort of education" in
the battle against VAS.
Before receiving the wonderful news that their dear girl had survived her
brush with the sarcoma monster, Tammy's Mom
composed the following furry family history so that all of our feline loving
friends could share in how their hearts and lives came to be united.
"I was on my way home on Sunday November 8, 1998,
when I spotted this beautiful little black kitty who seemed a little lost and
confused. She was on the stairs
of my 2nd floor apartment that I was renting at that time. She looked at me and meowed so sweetly, I was immediately
struck by her beauty (she resembled a mini black panther with a shiny patent
leather like fur coat) and her sweet expression.
I assumed that she belonged to my neighbor on the 1st floor,
as I had noticed food and water bowls near her door. The next morning, as I went out to drink my morning tea on my
patio, I noticed this little black shiny ball of fur emerging from under the
shelving of my neighbor’s barbecue grill!
I was appalled at the irresponsibility of any pet owner allowing this
beautiful little kitty to stay outdoors all night. She meowed when she heard me and started walking towards me.
I immediately picked her up in my arms and cuddled her to me.
She clung to me and purred ever so loudly.
I was hooked! I knew then
that I wanted to adopt this kitty! I
checked with a few of my neighbors, and they did not know who owned the cat. So, I took her in and she has been with me since November 8,
1998. I brought her to a local
veterinarian who pronounced her healthy and estimated her age to about six
months. I felt blessed!
Tammy has been by my side ever since that
time. Since my birthday is
November 6th, I opted to celebrate Tammy’s
arrival with my birthday. Every
year, we have a birthday cake featuring a black kitty!
Tammy and her two little sisters,
Amberberry and Tara get treats and new toys!
In February of 1999, my Mom, who was living in
my home in Stoneham, Massachusetts, took ill.
She underwent quadruple cardiac by-pass surgery!
Tammy and I were on the 7:00 AM flight
from Tampa to Boston the next morning. She
was so good! Since
the flight was so empty, I placed her on the seat next to me.
I was able to take a 2-month leave of absence from my job at Lucent
Technologies (now Avaya) to take care of my Mom (who has made a complete
recovery and is now sharing my home with me and kitties).
I also had the arduous task of cleaning out my large Victorian home and
placing it on the market after Mom had made the decision to move to Florida
with us. I will never forget the
first night Mom came home from the hospital.
Tammy climbed up on her bed and stayed
with her the whole night, which is a bit unusual for Tammy
as she is a shy kitty. It was as
though she sensed that Mom was not well and wanted to look after her!
I was truly touched by this wonderful kitty’s sensitivity!
We returned to Florida with Tammy in her
transport carrier aboard a Delta flight bound for Tampa.
She stayed with us (under the seat) in our flight cabin.
It was during this time that Tammy and Mom
really bonded. Three months
later, I purchased a large home in Clearwater with a large screened in lanai
with a pool. It even has a little
palm tree inside the lanai which I aptly nicknamed “Tammy’s
palm”. She loves to climb the
palm tree, which she readily uses as a scratching post.
She is a very affectionate kitty!
Every morning she climbs up on me and starts purring, kneading, talking
and giving me little love nips on my elbow.
She is always waiting for me at the garage door when I return from
work!
I dutifully have been taking her to our local
veterinarian every November for her yearly examine and vaccine updates.
I was never informed of the risks associated with these vaccines or
about VAS.
On November 17, 2001, I took my beloved kitty, Tammy
to my veterinarian for her annual examination and vaccinations.
She received the feline leukemia vaccine on her left hip and the FVRCP
vaccine was injected between her shoulder blades.
A few weeks later I noticed a lump at both her injection sites.
I immediately brought to her our veterinarian in Largo, Florida.
He drained both of the areas and gave her a shot of cortisone.
The lumps healed up and about three weeks ago, I noticed that the lump
at the scruff of her neck had returned. On
January 2, 2002, I brought her to the vet and he decided to excise the lump
the next day. After surgery, he
explained that the lump was not that large, but he had used "wide
margins" and had removed substantial tissue and a bit of muscle in the
surrounding area, which he submitted for biopsy. I am anxiously awaiting the
results which I was informed would not be available for 10-14 days.
He was optimistic that this is benign, but I am not convinced.
I am greatly indebted to Jeff and Coleen Kremer for their support and
education for which they have so generously offered and made available to us
during this difficult journey. I have made the decision that if Tammy’s
pathology report is positive, I will make every effort to obtain
state-of-the-art treatment for Tammy."
This laid back cuddling cutie is Bessy,
a furry friend of ours who cuddles with her family in Connecticut. With the
tender loving assistance of her family, dear Bessy
is bravely battling the sarcoma monster. Bessy is
blessed to have a family that is taking a proactive role towards giving their
dear girl the very best chance at winning this difficult part of her nine
lives journey.
Please include Bessy and her family in your daily
thoughts and prayers in the hope that they and their beloved fur child are
able to enjoy many more cuddle filled moments together.
Bessy's family composed the following furry bio
for their dear girl so that we could share with others how their hearts and
lives came to be united as well as all of the trials and tribulations that
they have overcome together.
"Bessy was born by a stray cat in the
basement where I used to live. There we five kittens and the mother cat. We
heard little meows so we decided to investigate. One by one we found the
kittens and pulled them to safety, even though they were already hissing and
spitting at us at the tender young age of 5 to 6 weeks. The mother cat was
nowhere to be found so we set a "Have- a Heart- trap at the bottom of the
stairs to capture her . We did catch the mother cat that night and reunited
her with her kittens. I had three of my own cats at that time so I had to kept
the mother cat and the kittens separated. I had just adopted one of my
cats from the humane society at the time and he was a male . I was afraid he
might harm the kittens since they were not his. I was also trying to keep him
away from my other 2 girls. I was trying to introduce them slowly. Well to
make a long story somewhat shorter, we found homes for all the kittens except
for the mother cat and girl now known as Bessy.
One of the local animal organizations called and said that they had room for
the mother cat and 1 kitten. I said I would bring them the mother cat, but
something inside me said don't give them the kitten. I kept her and called her
Bessy. At age 6 months I had her fixed. It turned
out that she was underdeveloped on one side and over developed on the other so
that meant that the surgery took longer and of course it cost more. Then four
years later she diagnosed with what they call secondary glaucoma, which means
that something other than age must have caused this condition. They wanted to
remove her eye and sew it shut because they didn't know what caused it.
Well I had her tested for everything and this time I was lucky as all tests
came back negative. I then asked the specialist if she could now have the
false eye. Bessy was only 4 years old and I knew
she would feel better as a whole cat. The Vet said yes, she could have
the false eye but it would cost me extra. I said ok and Bessy
got her new eye. The pathology report came back negative so it looked like Bessy
would be Ok. I thought that would be the end of my problems with her at
least until she was 13 or so, but only 4 more years have passed since that
time in our lives and we are now having to face VAS."
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