Our Feline Kids

This page is also a tribute to the professionals that have cared for the "kids." In addition to caring for the cats, these professionals have been very supportive and provided us incredibly useful information. Dr. Michael Horton of Fairborn Animal Hospital is our primary care veterinarian. The list of doctors and staff at The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital are wonderful and caring. I'm afraid to list them because I'm afraid I'll miss someone. Click here to check our other related and informational sites.

Pandora named for Pandora's box because she was able to open the drawer where John kept the carpet tacks. She would remove the tacks, carry them around the house, and flip them in the air to play with them. We picked Pandy from the litter because of her beautiful green eyes and the white tip on her tail.

In October 1997, after months of vomiting (it was clear and foamy) and some weight loss, Pandy was diagnosed with cancer. There are two primary forms of cancers in cats: lymphoma and mast cell tumors. Lymphoma sometimes responds to chemotherapy; in cats, there is no treatment for a mast cell tumor (however, in dogs it may respond to chemo). The cytology reports were never very conclusive as to which form of cancer Pandy had, so we proceeded with chemo. Pandy was a model patient. She would eat while they had a needle in her arm for the chemo drip and would lie on her back while they poked needles into her stomach. She tolerated the weekly 3 hour round trip drive to The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital. Eventually it became clear that Pandy had a Mast Cell tumor. On February 20, 1998, Pandy lost her battle with cancer. Form more information on Feline Oncology, check out Veterinary Oncology.

Cassandra, named for the mythological character because she always had something to say, is Pandora's sister. We picked Cassie out at the same time we picked out Pandy. As a kitten, Cassie would crawl under the furniture and hide in the drawers. Even as she got older, she liked to culr up in the smallest possible places. Cassie thought she was a person: she would talk to you if you spoke to her and she liked to sit up. She also liked to carry around a sock. She would cry at the sock as though it were her own kitten. Her favorite past time was sucking on my ear -- she would wrap her arms around my neck to hold on.

Cassie began displaying some of the same early symptoms that Pandy did. In May 1998, Cassie was diagnosed with Cancer and hyperthyroidism. The hyperthyroidism can be managed with medication. The cancer was in her stomach and believed to be lymphoma. The doctors at The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital believed that they could remove the tumor by resectioning her stomach. On June 8, 1998, Cassie underwent surgery and seemed to be doing extremely well. On Friday June 12, Cassie began having severe breathing problems and died that evening. For more information on Feline Oncology, check out Veterinary Oncology.

Caspar and his brother Alex were brought to my office by a co-worker in 1986. She was going to turn them over to the SICSA. At the time we thought that Caspar would be a good companion for our friend's cat. And we would keep Alex for ourselves. But when the time came, we were attached to Caspar and most of the time he was literally attached to John. Caspar always seemed to be at the center of everything...whether it is the fallen tree (Julie provided the wings) or whether it is helping John and I with our photo scrapbook--apparently he is checking out our photo selection.

Caspar was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) in October 1997. He has been receiving subcutaneous floods with Vitamin B twice a week ever since. His diet is a combination of Hill's Science Diet K/D and R/D. He gets the R/D because he is our heaviest cat. His most recent bloodwork shows that his BUN and creatine levels were normal! He seems to be holding his own for now. Click here for more information on Chronic Renal Failure. In December 1999, Caspar developed pneumonia and died on the 19th.

Alexander and his brother Caspar were brought to my office by a co-worker in 1986. Alex spent much of the first 5 years of his life living in our closets. Alex loves to rub his face on your feet. Alex and Chessie seem to have a love-hate relationship -- I think that they really like each other but neither is willing to admit it -- so instead they just fight with each other. Alex likes to have his tail pulled causing his hind legs to lift off the ground. He is also our cat-retriever. Alex will chase a paper wad and return it to you to be thrown again.

In January 2000, Alex was diagnosed with Fibrous Sarcoma. The mass was the result of his annual vaccinations. The mass developed between his shoulder blades. Now we just wait to see if the mass recurs. Alex had a second surgery in March which removed a significant amount of bone and muscle. However, within a month, the tumor had returned. We will not put him through any more surgeries but will do everything to keep him comfortable. As of October 2000, he seems very normal except that he does a lot of scratching at the tumor to the point of causing sores. Right now he is wearing a t-shirt to allow the sores to heal.

In 1988 Chessie was living in the apartment complex of one of my co-workers. We set out one day at lunch to catch her. That trip was unsuccessful, however, a few days later this co-worker had caught her and wanted to bring her over. As I was carrying her straight to our Vet, I had the sickening realization that this was a pregnant kitten. She was only about a year old herself. Because she was pregnant, Chessie could not be vaccinated. And because we were already a multicat household, she could not be brought into our house. Another co-worker offered to keep her through her pregnancy. Once Chessie and the kittens could be vaccinated they moved into our house. Fortunately, two of the kittens were placed before they moved in because the other three (Nutmeg, Boomer, and Qantas) never left.

Chessie continues to be our most kitten-like cat even today. She still chases her tail and generally behave strangely. In June 1998, we took Chessie to the Vet because she was sneezing. During the exam, Dr. Horton also noticed that her left kidney is smaller than her right. We are awaiting the results of the bloodwork and keeping our fingers crossed. In the meantime, Chessie gets antibiotics and nose drops for her infection.

In January 1999, Chessie began vomiting a clear, foamy liquid. In this house, we recognize that as a possible sign of cancer. She went to OSU for tests and we determined that she probably has a form of lymphoma. We believe that we found this very early as no mass had actually formed, we were able to detect the lymphoma from a tissue sample. Chessie now receives Prednisone daily and Leukeran every two weeks. As of March 1999, no mass had formed.

In Februrary 2000, Chessie was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF). Her kidney failure got progressively worse and on October 16, 2000 she passed away.

Nutmeg got her name because of her color. Meg loved to eat -- anything other than food. We couldn't leave plastic bags out because she would try to eat the bags. We have books that still have Meg tooth prints where she chewed on the corners. In September 1996, Nutmeg was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF). Meg did not tolerate the subcutaneous injections. She died in October 1996. Meg was the first cat that we lost. Although we intellectually knew that losing a pet was something that we were going to have to deal with, we were not prepared. We got a lot of help from our friends on the internet. Click here for one of the most useful Pet Loss websites.

Boomer was named after Boomer Esiason - quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Boomer was born in our house after we rescued his mother from the streets. Chessie was pregnant at the time we rescued her. As a kitten, Boomer would lie on the floor with me on Sunday afternoons and watch football. Boomer was a quiet cat but loved to jump in my lap and knead. He would also do this really strange thing where he would sit on his hindlegs and wave his front paws in the air. We were never able to figure out what he wanted when he did that.

In January 1997, Boomer was diagnosed with a heart problem. In March, the doctors at The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital gave Boomer a pacemaker. In April of 1998, Boomer's chest began filling up with a fluid-like substance called Chyl. The most frustrating part was that the Chyl would not gradually fill up his chest; it was like it flooded his chest. He could go a week between chest x-rays and show no significant accumulation and then be full the next day. On June 4, 1998 we rushed Boomer to the emergency Vet. It was obvious that he was unable to breathe but it was too late to help him. Boomer died June 4, 1998.

Qantas got his name because as a kitten he would climb our giant corn plant and hang on it like a Koala. He is the son of Chessie. Qantas is our peacemaker. If two cats are thinking about getting into a fight, Qantas will walk between them. Qantas always wants love from the other cats and can usually be found laying on top of another cat or with his head placed to encourage another cat to bathe him. He hates being brushed which is a problem with his long hair. He also hates going to the vet. Qantas like his brother Boomer, has a heart condition; however, Qantas condition must be controlled through daily medication. This is a significant challenge!

In 2001, Qantas was diagnosed with a heart condition. Medication was prescribed but he hated it; so we opted to let him live out his life comfortably. To the surprise of everyone, including his doctors, he is still alive today; although, he is a shell of the cat you see in the pictures below. However, he seems comfortable.

In 1988 John and I had finished dinner at a local seafood restaurant and were walking around the historic neighborhood when Samantha accosted us. She would run around us talking and rubbing herself against John's legs. When we got near a street light we could see she was wearing a flea collar. We continued walking around the neighborhood, with Sam following, hoping that we would find her home. After about an hour we decided to take her home with us. Once in the car, I quickly realized that she was missing much of her fur and the flea collar was almost too tight. At the Vet the next day we learned she was allergic to the flea collar. Over time, we were able to relieve her allergy and her fur eventually grew back.

In July 1996, Samantha started losing a significant amount of weight. Dr. Horton wasn't even sure she would make it. Sam spent 4 weeks in the hospital and we determined that she had Chronic Renal Failure. We began subcutaneous floods and vitamin B at home. Sam's bloodwork seemed to stabilize somewhat. Unfortunately in June 1997, Samantha was hospitalized again for 3 weeks. Early in 1998, Samantha's bloodwork has been normal. Samantha gets subq fluids twice a week and her diet consists of a blend of Hill's Science Diet K/D and R/D. So far, Samantha is holding her own. In November 1998, Samantha was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). She was given high doses of Prednisone to control the problem. Soon after, she developed Diabetes and required daily insulin shots. We were able to reduce the Pred and eventually eliminated the diabetes. She still receives small doses of Pred to control the IBD.

Samantha's diabetes returned in 2000. She was stable for a long time but in late September we began having problems keeping her blood sugar stabilized. On Oct. 3, we came home and found her collapsed on the floor. We rushed her to our vet but there were so many complications. She didn't make it.

In 1988 we moved into a new house that came with a neighborhood stray. Momcat was born in our backyard. Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck catching her mother or the other kittens. Momcat eventually had kittens as well -- hence her name. When we got ready to move again, we knew we could not leave her behind. We eventually caught her and her four kittens. Two of the kittens went to my mother and the other two were adopted out. Momcat is feral and not adoptable; however, she loves living with our other cats. She is constantly rubbing against them but doesn't want anything to do with us. I guess she is living in the right household.

Momcat loves the loft. She still doesn't care for us, but at least we can be in the same room with her now.

Debo came to us in 1996. Debo was the housecat at a fraternity house at The Ohio State University. Ben, Julie's boyfriend, brought Debo home over the Christmas holiday to be spayed. She stayed with us for a few weeks while she recovered. Upon her return to the fraternity house, she disappeared because someone left the door open. Once she was found, she moved back with Julie.

Debo's favorite game is trying to get out of the house. And if someone leaves the house, she will sit at the door and cry. She also likes to climb on top of the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. On March 20, 1999, Debo and Julie moved to Ft. Wayne.

Kirby (on left with her buddy Boomer) was supposed to be a visitor. Our neighbors found her in the empty lot next to their house the week before they were leaving on vacation. They asked if we would adopt her and of course we said we couldn't but offered to keep her while they were on vacation. After 2 weeks, we decided that she would be the perfect companion for Julie's cat Debo. Unfortunately, while Kirby loves playing with Debo she didn't really warm up to Julie. Kirby has now become our cat.

Lola joined the household in October 1999. We were having dinner with our friends Chuck and Teresa Johnson (14 cats, 2 dogs) when we heard this meow-ing across the street. Sitting by the door to a bar was this mouthy little kitten. There was no question she was going home with one of us.

Lola doesn't get along with anyone...fortunately, there is enough space for everyone to live comfortably...at least most of the time.

Namir joined our family in February 2001. A neighbor of our friends Chuck and Teresa needed to get rid of this cat. We had just lost Chessie and Alex was very ill, so we knew we would "need" another cat. Namir was 2 years old when we got him. Namir is the one of the most loving cats that we have had. Namir means "swift cat."

Harley joined the household in July 2002...one week before we moved. Harley got his name because we found him laying in the middle of the bike path. Of course, John petted him and he came home with us. He spent his first weekend living in the loft while it was under construction.

Claudette is the latest addition. Claudette has a chronic runny nose that my Father's vet said couldn't be treated. We decided to take her in and see if it couldn't be addressed...she came home with us Christmas Day 2002.

She has since been on antibiotics and nose/eye drops for 4 months. Dr. Horton had said that she had the highest bacteria count he had seen. While she is MUCH improved, she still has drainage. At least, she seems to be more comfortable.

Early in 2006, Claudette began having more problems with her runny nose. She'd been to see Dr. Horton several times to be cleaned out. On Sunday, February 4, we rushed her to the emergency vet because she had collapsed. Her blood sugar levels were 7x normal, her blood pressure and body temperature were critically low. Although her vitals were stabilized, Claudette never recovered. Claudette passed on February 8, 2006.

Those who knew Claudette knew that she was the most loving and trusting cat in the world. She never met a lap or chest she didn't insist on sitting on.