Rachel & Chyna (GA)
Member Since 2012
Hello, LL. It is hard to write a short tribute to the girl that meant everything to me, so I am sorry for the length. I have so many memories and maybe this will help me grieve and heal. I can’t believe I am doing this and my stomach is in knots. I used to look forward to weekends, to spend time with her. Chynas last condo is here: Chyna 4/10
The beginning is shortened from her profile but I wanted to share our story.
I have always had and loved outdoor cats growing up on the farm, but have allergies. When I moved out on my own, I didn’t have a cat because of the allergies. Years later, I stayed with a friend who had an indoor cat while my place was renovated. The first few weeks were running itchy eyes, sneezing and feeling miserable. Then it cleared up, I was one of the lucky ones whose allergies adjusted.
So I went to the SPCA on October 30, 2002 to “look at cats”. I asked for the ones already fixed to be shown to me, and I wanted an older cat. The third one I “met” was Chyna, named by the SPCA. She was beautiful, and she only had half a tail! I talked to her through the cage and she purred and rubbed up and down the bars next to me. I fell in love! But my mom had come with me and said “don’t you want to think about this overnight”? So I said ok and went back to work for the afternoon, and picked up supplies as I didn’t even have a litter box yet. I then panicked thinking someone would take her (or she would be put down) before I got back there! I called them first thing in the morning when they opened and said please hold her, I will be there at lunch to start the adoption papers. When I went there to get her, I found out she was also declawed (and found outdoors, out of town, defenseless!).
The first night, she hid under the coffee table but was affectionate. I pushed her into the covered litter box to show her where it was. Half an hour later she hadn’t come back so I went to find her, and she was laying in the litter. I realized the cage at the SPCA was just a litter box and a bit of room beside it and she must have thought she was in her “cage”. I almost bawled and coaxed her out, telling her that she could go anywhere, she was free
She was the best decision I ever made.
Chyna was a torti fixed female adopted from the SPCA at 3-5 years of age on October 31st, 2002. She was an indoor only kitty who enjoyed watching the world outside from the windows and sitting in the sun that came through them. If curtains were closed she pushed her face between and worked her way behind so she could see. She was diagnosed with diabetes on Nov.30th, 2012 and then with CKD in Feb 2013. The poor girl also had arthritis, and food/scent allergies. But she was a mellow happy kitty, almost always purring unless she was mad or not feeling well. Before her arthritis got so bad, she used to meet me at the door when I got home from work and follow me from room to room. She wasn’t a very talky kitty (unless we were at the vet!) but would greet me with a meow when I walked in where she was, and sometimes would stretch one of her front paws out towards me as I walked towards her, reaching for me. If I left before she wanted me to, she would wrap both paws around my hand. I could walk into a room and talk to her while she was sleeping, and she would start to purr even while dozing.
Chyna was also a very good kitty. I had a lot to learn about having an indoor cat and she was happy to teach me. She of course tested what was and was not allowed and once she figured that out she rarely strayed. Unless she was trying to get her beans attention! She knew the main coffee table was off limits, but would sneak onto it if she wasn’t getting her proper attention! She did like to take a drink of water out of my frosty mug. And then look pleased when caught and jumped down right away.
She wasn’t allowed in the bed when I was sleeping, the first few nights I had her she tried to sleep on my feet but I took her off the bed. I was too scared I would roll over on her plus worried about hair on my pillow/allergies. Little did I know, that cat hair gets everywhere no matter your diligence. So after being kicked off, she would get on the nightstand and stare at me while I (tried) to sleep. Eventually I got used to it and just slept, but for awhile I could not, I could feel her watching me. Sometimes I would wake up with her leaning as far over as possible with her face in mine, whiskers tickling my nose. Or if the bean slept too long, she would run from one corner of the bed over the bean and to the other end, and be off before I could get her :lol: . By the time I wanted her there on the bed with me instead of just when I wasn’t there she was trained not to and no amount of placing her with me made her stay, she was like uh no I’m not allowed here when you are, I will be on the nightstand or the chair nearly sleeping and watching. She was so happy when my dad built her ramp last year and she could sleep at the top beside me when she wanted to
.
I remember once in my old apartment her having a speed burst across the living room up on the counters, the fridge, and somehow she got on top of the cupboards by the ceiling. A few minutes later I heard “meoooow?”…and saw her sweet face looking down at me waiting for a rescue. So of course, I climbed up to get her. She liked to play the shower curtain game when younger, and paw at wherever my hand poked from the other side. She liked to wait for me while I went into the shower on the toilet lid or the counter. Chyna also liked to pretend to sharpen her front “claws” on the plastic ends of my bed, especially when I came home for the day and went to change clothes, it went thwap thwap thwap…I don’t know what it signified, but it was a routine for her and cute as a button. She liked routine as much as her bean. Things should be in their place and done on time, especially fuds. In the past year with her meals spaced apart at certain times in small meals for her CKD she would sometimes come looking for me half an hour or so before her next mini meal and sit in the same room, waiting patiently. Who needs a clock?
Chyna never was a cuddly pick me up or a lap cat, but she always liked to be nearby and come to pet herself wherever the hand/bean was to signal it was time for attention. If the petting went too long, a little bite was to signify that it was time to play with the hand that was her former petting tool. She was generous with hand kisses and loved ear and chin scritches, and when her cheeks were brushed. If you were using a pen or a nail file, beware, as she would (and did!
) swipe them from you as you used them. Sometimes I would come home or walk into a room that had random cupboard or closet doors wide open…I guess she was bored and wanted them open and then would leave, her job done. Although sometimes she was inside the opened area She used to like to sleep on the top of the couch I was on to keep an eye on me. She tolerated hugs and kisses wherever she was sleeping, and when picked up would sit quiet in my arms for a few seconds before demanding down. In the past year, she slowed down a lot of course and old age and such took their toll so she wasn’t as mobile so it was me seeking her out in the spare room. But she would always look at me happily and greet me, and most days, she would go to her testing spot while I set up the supplies, and purr. And she still made it up into her cat tree to sleep in the sun quite often, with help from her extra stairs and arthritis meds.
I am grateful every day for the day I found this board. Without it, I know I would not have had the extra special last year and a half with my precious girl. We bonded more than I ever imagined cat_pet_icon . We had nine months in remission! If I thought I had loved her before, it was nothing compared to now. Her bravery and trust humbled me. Your support, knowledge, friendship, and answering my questions means the world to me. I’ve learned more about cats than I ever thought I would know. I’ve cried with many of you over your losses, and knew and dreaded the day that would come where the candle lit would be on my condo. It’s never enough time with our beautiful ones :cry: .
This was such a shock to me, to lose her so fast. I thought it would be slower. I am devastated and heart broken and my house is empty. Her life was my routine and I am lost, and she has taken a piece of my soul with her. I cherish every moment I had with Chyna, she was a very special, bursting with personality girl. I keep going to find her when I walk down the hall to the spare room that became her place to be the past few months and I can’t believe she is gone, I hear and see her everywhere. Even just now as I write her tribute, I went to start to get up to go check her.
But when I came back in the afternoon after the xrays/BW and the vet said her BP was bursting and showed me her tests with her kidneys off the charts and he thought she would maybe only make it another day and I could take her home for it if I wanted but she wouldn’t be able to move, I knew it was time to release her from her pain. There was no point in dragging out her suffering. I suspected with her not eating well the last week, and knew before that moment, but was hoping for a miracle when he said it was good she could still walk and wasn’t paralyzed before the tests were ran. I was hoping for a nerve pinch from constipation, or something she fell on, or the clot in the upper vein that may dissolve or whatever else he said as I was grieving ahead of time but trying to listen. As I said in her condo, I sat with her in the grieving room with my mom for awhile. Then they took her to give her sedation and brought her back to sit with me. I was sitting forward on the couch and Chyna was in her carrier set down beside me. Despite her weak back legs, she leaped out of the bottom half of the carrier and crawled behind me. I got up to turn around and kneel to pet and kiss her as she went to sleep. In true Chyna fashion, she decided to give me one last puke into the corner of the couch (stomach acid, I presume as she hadn't had her pills or eaten since morning, she hasn't puked for quite awhile at home). I stayed with her till she was asleep but I couldn't watch them do the final part. I wish I'd known before we left for the vet that was the last time I would hold her. She was too upset for cuddles at the vet until she was sedated. I feel terrible her last hours were spent there alone and getting tested.
I wish I would have stayed up all night the night before instead of napping between checking on her, if only I had known it was our last. When I saw her barely walking, I moved everything within a few feet of where she was and held her bowl of water, and spoon fed her. Sweet girl even hobbled to the litter box to go pee and poo, laying down in the litter to rest, in all her pain she still wouldn’t let me hold her up in the box or go on the towel or floor. I would never have been mad if she had. What a trooper.
Thank you so much for your comforting words and kind support and walking me through this difficult time :YMHUG: . Words are not enough to convey my gratitude. I will try to visit condos in the future to say hello, but the pain is so fresh right now. I saw many of you write in your condos to me yesterday, and I did not respond on your condo, but I did see and appreciate it. Some of you PM’d me and offered financial loans or help, donations to LLEF in her name, and emotional support and I am ever grateful and beyond touched. I still have to find the strength to sort through her things and return, donate, and get rid of things that won’t be needed anymore for possible future kitties. I have her pawprints in cement memorial on order. Maybe it sounds weird, but I wish I would have clipped a tiny bit of fur…I read about that in a pamphlet, but it’s too late now.
Give all your babies kisses from me, from one bean who just wants to give one more kiss to her gone ahead angel wings_cat . I used to sing to her that she was my sunshine. And yesterday it snowed and was terribly grey. She was my companion and dearest friend, and will be missed greatly. Fly free, sweet Chyna. I wish I would never have had to say goodbye. I will look for you in heaven, where you are free to run and jump like a kitten and you have no more disease or pain. Mama bean will always love you and hold you deep in her heart rb_icon .
The beginning is shortened from her profile but I wanted to share our story.
I have always had and loved outdoor cats growing up on the farm, but have allergies. When I moved out on my own, I didn’t have a cat because of the allergies. Years later, I stayed with a friend who had an indoor cat while my place was renovated. The first few weeks were running itchy eyes, sneezing and feeling miserable. Then it cleared up, I was one of the lucky ones whose allergies adjusted.
So I went to the SPCA on October 30, 2002 to “look at cats”. I asked for the ones already fixed to be shown to me, and I wanted an older cat. The third one I “met” was Chyna, named by the SPCA. She was beautiful, and she only had half a tail! I talked to her through the cage and she purred and rubbed up and down the bars next to me. I fell in love! But my mom had come with me and said “don’t you want to think about this overnight”? So I said ok and went back to work for the afternoon, and picked up supplies as I didn’t even have a litter box yet. I then panicked thinking someone would take her (or she would be put down) before I got back there! I called them first thing in the morning when they opened and said please hold her, I will be there at lunch to start the adoption papers. When I went there to get her, I found out she was also declawed (and found outdoors, out of town, defenseless!).
The first night, she hid under the coffee table but was affectionate. I pushed her into the covered litter box to show her where it was. Half an hour later she hadn’t come back so I went to find her, and she was laying in the litter. I realized the cage at the SPCA was just a litter box and a bit of room beside it and she must have thought she was in her “cage”. I almost bawled and coaxed her out, telling her that she could go anywhere, she was free
She was the best decision I ever made.Chyna was a torti fixed female adopted from the SPCA at 3-5 years of age on October 31st, 2002. She was an indoor only kitty who enjoyed watching the world outside from the windows and sitting in the sun that came through them. If curtains were closed she pushed her face between and worked her way behind so she could see. She was diagnosed with diabetes on Nov.30th, 2012 and then with CKD in Feb 2013. The poor girl also had arthritis, and food/scent allergies. But she was a mellow happy kitty, almost always purring unless she was mad or not feeling well. Before her arthritis got so bad, she used to meet me at the door when I got home from work and follow me from room to room. She wasn’t a very talky kitty (unless we were at the vet!) but would greet me with a meow when I walked in where she was, and sometimes would stretch one of her front paws out towards me as I walked towards her, reaching for me. If I left before she wanted me to, she would wrap both paws around my hand. I could walk into a room and talk to her while she was sleeping, and she would start to purr even while dozing.
Chyna was also a very good kitty. I had a lot to learn about having an indoor cat and she was happy to teach me. She of course tested what was and was not allowed and once she figured that out she rarely strayed. Unless she was trying to get her beans attention! She knew the main coffee table was off limits, but would sneak onto it if she wasn’t getting her proper attention! She did like to take a drink of water out of my frosty mug. And then look pleased when caught and jumped down right away.
She wasn’t allowed in the bed when I was sleeping, the first few nights I had her she tried to sleep on my feet but I took her off the bed. I was too scared I would roll over on her plus worried about hair on my pillow/allergies. Little did I know, that cat hair gets everywhere no matter your diligence. So after being kicked off, she would get on the nightstand and stare at me while I (tried) to sleep. Eventually I got used to it and just slept, but for awhile I could not, I could feel her watching me. Sometimes I would wake up with her leaning as far over as possible with her face in mine, whiskers tickling my nose. Or if the bean slept too long, she would run from one corner of the bed over the bean and to the other end, and be off before I could get her :lol: . By the time I wanted her there on the bed with me instead of just when I wasn’t there she was trained not to and no amount of placing her with me made her stay, she was like uh no I’m not allowed here when you are, I will be on the nightstand or the chair nearly sleeping and watching. She was so happy when my dad built her ramp last year and she could sleep at the top beside me when she wanted to
.I remember once in my old apartment her having a speed burst across the living room up on the counters, the fridge, and somehow she got on top of the cupboards by the ceiling. A few minutes later I heard “meoooow?”…and saw her sweet face looking down at me waiting for a rescue. So of course, I climbed up to get her. She liked to play the shower curtain game when younger, and paw at wherever my hand poked from the other side. She liked to wait for me while I went into the shower on the toilet lid or the counter. Chyna also liked to pretend to sharpen her front “claws” on the plastic ends of my bed, especially when I came home for the day and went to change clothes, it went thwap thwap thwap…I don’t know what it signified, but it was a routine for her and cute as a button. She liked routine as much as her bean. Things should be in their place and done on time, especially fuds. In the past year with her meals spaced apart at certain times in small meals for her CKD she would sometimes come looking for me half an hour or so before her next mini meal and sit in the same room, waiting patiently. Who needs a clock?
Chyna never was a cuddly pick me up or a lap cat, but she always liked to be nearby and come to pet herself wherever the hand/bean was to signal it was time for attention. If the petting went too long, a little bite was to signify that it was time to play with the hand that was her former petting tool. She was generous with hand kisses and loved ear and chin scritches, and when her cheeks were brushed. If you were using a pen or a nail file, beware, as she would (and did!
) swipe them from you as you used them. Sometimes I would come home or walk into a room that had random cupboard or closet doors wide open…I guess she was bored and wanted them open and then would leave, her job done. Although sometimes she was inside the opened area She used to like to sleep on the top of the couch I was on to keep an eye on me. She tolerated hugs and kisses wherever she was sleeping, and when picked up would sit quiet in my arms for a few seconds before demanding down. In the past year, she slowed down a lot of course and old age and such took their toll so she wasn’t as mobile so it was me seeking her out in the spare room. But she would always look at me happily and greet me, and most days, she would go to her testing spot while I set up the supplies, and purr. And she still made it up into her cat tree to sleep in the sun quite often, with help from her extra stairs and arthritis meds. I am grateful every day for the day I found this board. Without it, I know I would not have had the extra special last year and a half with my precious girl. We bonded more than I ever imagined cat_pet_icon . We had nine months in remission! If I thought I had loved her before, it was nothing compared to now. Her bravery and trust humbled me. Your support, knowledge, friendship, and answering my questions means the world to me. I’ve learned more about cats than I ever thought I would know. I’ve cried with many of you over your losses, and knew and dreaded the day that would come where the candle lit would be on my condo. It’s never enough time with our beautiful ones :cry: .
This was such a shock to me, to lose her so fast. I thought it would be slower. I am devastated and heart broken and my house is empty. Her life was my routine and I am lost, and she has taken a piece of my soul with her. I cherish every moment I had with Chyna, she was a very special, bursting with personality girl. I keep going to find her when I walk down the hall to the spare room that became her place to be the past few months and I can’t believe she is gone, I hear and see her everywhere. Even just now as I write her tribute, I went to start to get up to go check her.
But when I came back in the afternoon after the xrays/BW and the vet said her BP was bursting and showed me her tests with her kidneys off the charts and he thought she would maybe only make it another day and I could take her home for it if I wanted but she wouldn’t be able to move, I knew it was time to release her from her pain. There was no point in dragging out her suffering. I suspected with her not eating well the last week, and knew before that moment, but was hoping for a miracle when he said it was good she could still walk and wasn’t paralyzed before the tests were ran. I was hoping for a nerve pinch from constipation, or something she fell on, or the clot in the upper vein that may dissolve or whatever else he said as I was grieving ahead of time but trying to listen. As I said in her condo, I sat with her in the grieving room with my mom for awhile. Then they took her to give her sedation and brought her back to sit with me. I was sitting forward on the couch and Chyna was in her carrier set down beside me. Despite her weak back legs, she leaped out of the bottom half of the carrier and crawled behind me. I got up to turn around and kneel to pet and kiss her as she went to sleep. In true Chyna fashion, she decided to give me one last puke into the corner of the couch (stomach acid, I presume as she hadn't had her pills or eaten since morning, she hasn't puked for quite awhile at home). I stayed with her till she was asleep but I couldn't watch them do the final part. I wish I'd known before we left for the vet that was the last time I would hold her. She was too upset for cuddles at the vet until she was sedated. I feel terrible her last hours were spent there alone and getting tested.
I wish I would have stayed up all night the night before instead of napping between checking on her, if only I had known it was our last. When I saw her barely walking, I moved everything within a few feet of where she was and held her bowl of water, and spoon fed her. Sweet girl even hobbled to the litter box to go pee and poo, laying down in the litter to rest, in all her pain she still wouldn’t let me hold her up in the box or go on the towel or floor. I would never have been mad if she had. What a trooper.
Thank you so much for your comforting words and kind support and walking me through this difficult time :YMHUG: . Words are not enough to convey my gratitude. I will try to visit condos in the future to say hello, but the pain is so fresh right now. I saw many of you write in your condos to me yesterday, and I did not respond on your condo, but I did see and appreciate it. Some of you PM’d me and offered financial loans or help, donations to LLEF in her name, and emotional support and I am ever grateful and beyond touched. I still have to find the strength to sort through her things and return, donate, and get rid of things that won’t be needed anymore for possible future kitties. I have her pawprints in cement memorial on order. Maybe it sounds weird, but I wish I would have clipped a tiny bit of fur…I read about that in a pamphlet, but it’s too late now.
Give all your babies kisses from me, from one bean who just wants to give one more kiss to her gone ahead angel wings_cat . I used to sing to her that she was my sunshine. And yesterday it snowed and was terribly grey. She was my companion and dearest friend, and will be missed greatly. Fly free, sweet Chyna. I wish I would never have had to say goodbye. I will look for you in heaven, where you are free to run and jump like a kitten and you have no more disease or pain. Mama bean will always love you and hold you deep in her heart rb_icon .
