suki & crystal (GA)
Member Since 2014
Hello dear friends
Today is the one year anniversary of my beloved Crystal's passing. Somehow I never did get round to writing a tribute for her, I just wasn't prepared for the overwhelming heartache that I experienced. I still can't quite believe it's a year since she has been gone; there isn't a day that passes that I don't think of her and long to hold her soft little body just one more time, I miss her so much. I know my grief will last as long as my love for her – forever. Like so many of you who have GA's, our time together was never long enough and all we are left with now are sweet memories.
When Crystal was dx with acromegaly and my vet told me the prognosis, I made her a promise that I wouldn't let her suffer.... and I kept my word, as heartbreaking as it was, and helped her cross on the 4th April last year. By then the daily struggle with acromegaly had became just too much for her to bear. I have had many cats before her, and perhaps other kitties will find their forever home with us in the future, but none will ever share the incredible relationship we had, one of complete trust and love that only got deeper once she got sick. She bore all the trials and tribulations of FD and acromegaly with calm tolerance and bravery, with just the occasional growl for vetty's benefit.
This video tribute came about with the help of two very dear friends that I have made through this forum; Marje, who so kindly offered to do all the whizzy technical stuff for me (what a brilliant job she has done producing a beautiful tribute for my special girl
). And also dear Bron , for persuading me to go ahead with it when I had doubts. There are so many new members here on the forum now that perhaps don't know Crystal or her history, so at the risk of repeating it for the few that might remember our time here, this is her journey. Sorry it's so long, but it was rather cathartic writing it all down.
Crystal found her way into our lives in August 2005 as a tiny, weak abandoned kitten about 3 or 4 weeks old. We managed to catch her after hearing her plaintive cries in a friend's garden where she had been hiding. The first photo in the video was taken that very day. She snuggled in close to me and started to lick the crystal heart pendant I was wearing at the time, and somehow the name Crystal seemed appropriate for her, bright and precious. When we brought her home she took one look at our very cat friendly Labrador, Rolo, and promptly spat at him, despite the fact that he could have swallowed her whole; that set the scene for the remainder of his life, what a feisty little mademoiselle she was! Little did I know on that first meeting that this tiny scrap of grey fur would become the feline love of my life.
Crystal was an adorable kitten who grew into a beautiful cat, small and dainty. Unfortunately, her tail didn't grow as fast as the rest of her and remained, shall we say, a little on the short side. My friends often commented on this and John and I used to say she was a new breed, a “French Short Tail”. What it lacked in inches however, it made up for in cattitude. Her tail was white on the underside with beautiful grey mackerel stripes, very unusual. Crystal's tail was always a great barometer of her mood; mostly it was up straight as she was always happy, but when she got excited and naughty, it would twirl madly like a propeller and she would make little excited brrupps and then zoom off on some adventure, which usually involved ambushing and wrestling one of the other 3 civvies, which was one of her favourite pastimes, along with tree climbing and napping in my flower pots. I had endless squashed plants but I could forgive her anything.
Life was good for Crystal for many years; she was happy and healthy and had gardens and fields to roam at her heart's content. She was an accomplished small mammal enthusiast, often bringing home her prey, which even once included a small viper
which she promptly deposited in the kitchen. Naturally this latest offering caused her beans to have near heart failure but somehow we all survived the ensuing chaos.
Crystal was dx with FD in March 2014 after I noticed that she was drinking excessively. Even then I wasn't unduly worried as I had had a diabetic cat many years before and got him OTJ (more with luck than judgement as I never home tested in my ignorance). It wasn't until a few months of non response to the insulin that I started to feel there were other forces at work. I had been lurking on this board for a few months and somehow picked up on acromegaly, which I had never heard of but I thought it could be a possible cause of Crystal's resistance, so I persuaded my vet to run the test in November 2014. She was very reluctant to do it as she said acro was very rare; we now know that's not the case, it just goes undiagnosed, especially here in France. Unfortunately my worst fears were confirmed when Crystal's results came back "off the scale" as vetty put it. I then joined the board full time in a state of total panic and was immediately taken under the expert eyes of members who eventually became my “Team Crystal” - Wendy, Julie, Suzanne and Lu-Ann who shared their expert knowledge and advice on acro, and latterly backed up by Marje and Sandy (who tragically lost her own beloved Black Kitty on the same day as Crystal passed) for their invaluable experience with R insulin, which I started using in the never ending battle to bring her numbers down. We suspected, but it was never confirmed, that Crystal also had IAA.
Over the next 18 months Crystal continued to require more and more Lev, (something my vet heartily disapproved of but she eventually had to accept the evidence) but I came to rely more and more on the experience and advice of my mentors, and much hand holding on their part as she went up and up, eventually reaching her peak dose of 60u (together with 26u of R), before finally showing some response (or the suspected IAA broke), and she started coming down the dosing ladder and giving me blues and greens. Unfortunately, by that time, the effects of the acro were really taking hold of her. She also developed cardiomyopathy and neuropathy. One small plus for Crystal was that she got a daily portion of prawns, which she absolutely adored, and I hid her medication in a prawn "gel cap".
I never took any photos of her in the last six months of her life as I wanted always to remember her when she was the prettiest cat in town. Acro is a horrible disease and she showed all the classic signs, it was just so sad to see the deterioration in her and eventually it became evident that her QOL was not good. Her beautiful “Cleopatra" eyes, which were always so expressive, and which seemed to look right into my soul, now seemed dull and sad; it was time to let her go and start her new adventure at the Rainbow Bridge.
Her last day will forever be ingrained on my memory. It was a beautiful spring day here and Crystal spent the morning slowly following me round the garden, visiting her favourite sunbathing spots and talking softly to me all the time, taking in all the sights and memories as if she was saying her goodbyes, and then I moved her bed outside in the sunshine and we sat peacefully together. I am positive she knew her time had come, and she seemed at peace with it. It was the hardest decision I have ever taken but I knew it was the right one for her. She passed peacefully in my arms later that day but for me, when her heart stopped beating, a light went out of my life forever.
My special thanks to my dear friends Bron and Marje, without their love and support in the dark days after Crystal passed life would have indeed been unbearable. Bless you both And of course my eternal gratitude to my wonderful “Team Crystal” whose knowledge and experience allowed me to have more precious time with Crystal. I feel that I have truly been blessed with being part of this wonderful caring community, where all of you kind, unselfish people take the time to help and support each other; there really isn't any other place like this. I don't post much these days, but I do look in occasionally to see how a few of Crystal's friends are doing; unfortunately many have now joined her at the Bridge .....where they are happy and whole again and enjoying life, waiting until we meet with them again
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for Crystal and for me in our time of need.
Suki x
Today is the one year anniversary of my beloved Crystal's passing. Somehow I never did get round to writing a tribute for her, I just wasn't prepared for the overwhelming heartache that I experienced. I still can't quite believe it's a year since she has been gone; there isn't a day that passes that I don't think of her and long to hold her soft little body just one more time, I miss her so much. I know my grief will last as long as my love for her – forever. Like so many of you who have GA's, our time together was never long enough and all we are left with now are sweet memories.
When Crystal was dx with acromegaly and my vet told me the prognosis, I made her a promise that I wouldn't let her suffer.... and I kept my word, as heartbreaking as it was, and helped her cross on the 4th April last year. By then the daily struggle with acromegaly had became just too much for her to bear. I have had many cats before her, and perhaps other kitties will find their forever home with us in the future, but none will ever share the incredible relationship we had, one of complete trust and love that only got deeper once she got sick. She bore all the trials and tribulations of FD and acromegaly with calm tolerance and bravery, with just the occasional growl for vetty's benefit.
This video tribute came about with the help of two very dear friends that I have made through this forum; Marje, who so kindly offered to do all the whizzy technical stuff for me (what a brilliant job she has done producing a beautiful tribute for my special girl
). And also dear Bron , for persuading me to go ahead with it when I had doubts. There are so many new members here on the forum now that perhaps don't know Crystal or her history, so at the risk of repeating it for the few that might remember our time here, this is her journey. Sorry it's so long, but it was rather cathartic writing it all down.Crystal found her way into our lives in August 2005 as a tiny, weak abandoned kitten about 3 or 4 weeks old. We managed to catch her after hearing her plaintive cries in a friend's garden where she had been hiding. The first photo in the video was taken that very day. She snuggled in close to me and started to lick the crystal heart pendant I was wearing at the time, and somehow the name Crystal seemed appropriate for her, bright and precious. When we brought her home she took one look at our very cat friendly Labrador, Rolo, and promptly spat at him, despite the fact that he could have swallowed her whole; that set the scene for the remainder of his life, what a feisty little mademoiselle she was! Little did I know on that first meeting that this tiny scrap of grey fur would become the feline love of my life.
Crystal was an adorable kitten who grew into a beautiful cat, small and dainty. Unfortunately, her tail didn't grow as fast as the rest of her and remained, shall we say, a little on the short side. My friends often commented on this and John and I used to say she was a new breed, a “French Short Tail”. What it lacked in inches however, it made up for in cattitude. Her tail was white on the underside with beautiful grey mackerel stripes, very unusual. Crystal's tail was always a great barometer of her mood; mostly it was up straight as she was always happy, but when she got excited and naughty, it would twirl madly like a propeller and she would make little excited brrupps and then zoom off on some adventure, which usually involved ambushing and wrestling one of the other 3 civvies, which was one of her favourite pastimes, along with tree climbing and napping in my flower pots. I had endless squashed plants but I could forgive her anything.
Life was good for Crystal for many years; she was happy and healthy and had gardens and fields to roam at her heart's content. She was an accomplished small mammal enthusiast, often bringing home her prey, which even once included a small viper
which she promptly deposited in the kitchen. Naturally this latest offering caused her beans to have near heart failure but somehow we all survived the ensuing chaos.Crystal was dx with FD in March 2014 after I noticed that she was drinking excessively. Even then I wasn't unduly worried as I had had a diabetic cat many years before and got him OTJ (more with luck than judgement as I never home tested in my ignorance). It wasn't until a few months of non response to the insulin that I started to feel there were other forces at work. I had been lurking on this board for a few months and somehow picked up on acromegaly, which I had never heard of but I thought it could be a possible cause of Crystal's resistance, so I persuaded my vet to run the test in November 2014. She was very reluctant to do it as she said acro was very rare; we now know that's not the case, it just goes undiagnosed, especially here in France. Unfortunately my worst fears were confirmed when Crystal's results came back "off the scale" as vetty put it. I then joined the board full time in a state of total panic and was immediately taken under the expert eyes of members who eventually became my “Team Crystal”
- Wendy, Julie, Suzanne and Lu-Ann who shared their expert knowledge and advice on acro, and latterly backed up by Marje and Sandy (who tragically lost her own beloved Black Kitty on the same day as Crystal passed) for their invaluable experience with R insulin, which I started using in the never ending battle to bring her numbers down. We suspected, but it was never confirmed, that Crystal also had IAA.Over the next 18 months Crystal continued to require more and more Lev, (something my vet heartily disapproved of but she eventually had to accept the evidence) but I came to rely more and more on the experience and advice of my mentors, and much hand holding on their part as she went up and up, eventually reaching her peak dose of 60u (together with 26u of R), before finally showing some response (or the suspected IAA broke), and she started coming down the dosing ladder and giving me blues and greens. Unfortunately, by that time, the effects of the acro were really taking hold of her. She also developed cardiomyopathy and neuropathy. One small plus for Crystal was that she got a daily portion of prawns, which she absolutely adored, and I hid her medication in a prawn "gel cap".
I never took any photos of her in the last six months of her life as I wanted always to remember her when she was the prettiest cat in town. Acro is a horrible disease and she showed all the classic signs, it was just so sad to see the deterioration in her and eventually it became evident that her QOL was not good. Her beautiful “Cleopatra" eyes, which were always so expressive, and which seemed to look right into my soul, now seemed dull and sad; it was time to let her go and start her new adventure at the Rainbow Bridge.
Her last day will forever be ingrained on my memory. It was a beautiful spring day here and Crystal spent the morning slowly following me round the garden, visiting her favourite sunbathing spots and talking softly to me all the time, taking in all the sights and memories as if she was saying her goodbyes, and then I moved her bed outside in the sunshine and we sat peacefully together. I am positive she knew her time had come, and she seemed at peace with it. It was the hardest decision I have ever taken but I knew it was the right one for her. She passed peacefully in my arms later that day but for me, when her heart stopped beating, a light went out of my life forever.
My special thanks to my dear friends Bron and Marje, without their love and support in the dark days after Crystal passed life would have indeed been unbearable. Bless you both
And of course my eternal gratitude to my wonderful “Team Crystal” whose knowledge and experience allowed me to have more precious time with Crystal. I feel that I have truly been blessed with being part of this wonderful caring community, where all of you kind, unselfish people take the time to help and support each other; there really isn't any other place like this. I don't post much these days, but I do look in occasionally to see how a few of Crystal's friends are doing; unfortunately many have now joined her at the Bridge .....where they are happy and whole again and enjoying life, waiting until we meet with them again Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for Crystal and for me in our time of need.
Suki x
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