Pat+Raja+Shadow (GA)
Member Since 2009
Dear Friends: My sweet Raja has joined her brother Shadow and all her buddies from this Forum at the Rainbow Bridge. She was 17 ½ years old and had lived 6 months past her brother’s passing. My heart is breaking as I am sure you can all understand. This final act of a Mama's love is so very hard to do but it is the loving way to help our furbabies in the end.... I am trying to focus on the good things and the fact that she didn't seem to suffer in the end. My heart is filled with gratitude to my Sweet Raja for the gift of her love and for this final and amazing adventure that I would like to share with you.
DH and I bought a house in Oregon, right next door to my DD. To go to the closing we tossed around different scenarios for our trip and for our Raja. Do we leave her here all alone for most of the day and have someone come in to give her shots twice each day? In the past when we went away Raja always had her brother Shadow with her. This time it was different and she would be all alone all day.
Do we fly out there for a week and then come home? There was really a lot to do with a new house. If we flew we could get someone to come in and give Raja shots twice each day.... That was a long way to go for such a short time though. Another thought was to drive there….packing the van and taking Raja with us….would she be okay with that? How would she make the long trip? So many questions…so many unknowns. We could stay for a month if she was WITH us. THAT was the most important thing ~~ that she was WITH us and not sitting in our apartment, wondering where we were all day. What to do….hmmmm… We decided that we would bring her with us…in spite of the unknowns!
I got blood work done and a check up at the vet’s. Her BUN and creatinine were worse. There was nothing that I could really do to help that situation…you know that I would have done ANYTHING to help her. She seemed fine though, in spite of the poor kidney numbers. Keep her hydrated and give her Azydyl (spell?) maybe but there wasn't much that I could do about her kidney situation at her age. No matter what I did, she would still be an elderly kitty with kidney disease….and diabetes on top of that!! :sad:
I bought a big kennel for the van. I bought a soft carrier to transport her in and out of hotels. I got all the food and diabetic supplies packed for her. She sat right behind us in the van and soon realized that we were NOT going to the vet office :lol: ….we were going somewhere far, far away. She was quiet as a mouse! She watched, waited, slept and said nothing. That is, until my DH made a turn. She screamed. She was quiet on the Interstate, but when he made a turn, she would yell at him! LOL. Our daughters yell at his driving too and the two of us got such a kick out of how she would scream at him too! I got a video of her doing that too! :mrgreen: With every turn she would scream her displeasure! :lol: On the Interstate she was totally happy and quiet!
Each night we would schlep all our belongings with the cat litter box and her supplies along with our own into the hotel room. She would look around. She would make herself comfortable after examining every nook and cranny in the place! She actually slept between us each night (which she did not do at home!) and seemed to enjoy the traveling life. I expected her to break into the Willie Nelson song each morning "On the road Again"! :lol: because if you know Raja, THAT doesn't even seem impossible!! LOL I was so happy that she was eating and adjusting so well to this traveling. We were so happy to have her with us!! What a great traveling companion she turned out to be. She was not a bit of trouble and was so good the whole time! It took us from Friday to Wednesday and the closing was on Thursday when we took possession of our new home!
When we go to the new house, things went smoothly and in no time we had a beautiful bed with a Tempurpedic mattress….she LOVED sleeping on the bed that was just like “home” after we vacated it and it was properly made each morning! She seemed to enjoy the house and had so many rooms to explore. She was doing SO great! She did her share of hiding (in an empty house that is quite a feat to hide but Raja managed to disappear at times! She was in a suitcase that was standing upright but the zipper was open at the bottom, unbeknownst to me. Four of us were calling her and searching everywhere! She suddenly appeared in the hallway "What are you all screaming about??" and a few days later i happened to notice her butt going inside this one suitcase so I discovered her trick :lol: She was SUCH a character!!)
We were there for about 5 weeks so she really settled in to life in Oregon!! The week we were due to leave, she began to change. Her muscles seemed to have given way and legs were wobbly, she stopped eating and just seemed to be failing quickly. I brought her to my DD’s vet and he gave her Cerenia and sub-Q fluids. She did not improve. We were due to leave and I knew that she was not going to be strong enough to make the trip back with us. I didn’t want to put her through any stress or discomfort. I could not ask any more from her than she had already given and i had to make that horrible decision. My heart broke as I brought her back to the vet. We stayed with her until the very end. DH and I sadly returned over the long 3.000 miles without our sweet Raja. We had only the memories of the trip out there. She was on our minds and in our tears with each hotel room and with each inch of our journey back to Florida. DD has laid Raja to rest next to all her other sweet ones that have passed…so she is there with them and that gives me some comfort in knowing that the new house she loved will always have her presence. This apartment back here in Florida still has so many years of memories of Raja and Shadow ….under the tree….running down the hallway…well, YOU know what it’s like… I can't believe how lonely and quiet it is here.
But...what a Trooper she was! When I think of how brave she was during this trip…and how she adjusted to each new experience….and how much fun we had with her….I just can’t keep from crying. I treasure each moment of her life….17 ½ years is a long time to be blessed with a beautiful kitty, don’t you think? I am thankful for the long years we had but YOU know that in your heart you always wish for about 50 more years to share. She put her trust in me and the FD treatment. For Raja, THAT was a BIG thing indeed! And I thank you all for all the help and support you gave the three of us. We certainly have a LOT of memories….so many tense FD moments shared and after those moments there followed some lighter times…many giggles and laughs as we all learned about our kitties and about FD. Thank you for your friendship and love…..and for all the information you passed on to me and for holding my hand so many times!! Hugs to all of you……
with love and thanks, Pat and Steve
DH and I bought a house in Oregon, right next door to my DD. To go to the closing we tossed around different scenarios for our trip and for our Raja. Do we leave her here all alone for most of the day and have someone come in to give her shots twice each day? In the past when we went away Raja always had her brother Shadow with her. This time it was different and she would be all alone all day.
Do we fly out there for a week and then come home? There was really a lot to do with a new house. If we flew we could get someone to come in and give Raja shots twice each day.... That was a long way to go for such a short time though. Another thought was to drive there….packing the van and taking Raja with us….would she be okay with that? How would she make the long trip? So many questions…so many unknowns. We could stay for a month if she was WITH us. THAT was the most important thing ~~ that she was WITH us and not sitting in our apartment, wondering where we were all day. What to do….hmmmm… We decided that we would bring her with us…in spite of the unknowns!
I got blood work done and a check up at the vet’s. Her BUN and creatinine were worse. There was nothing that I could really do to help that situation…you know that I would have done ANYTHING to help her. She seemed fine though, in spite of the poor kidney numbers. Keep her hydrated and give her Azydyl (spell?) maybe but there wasn't much that I could do about her kidney situation at her age. No matter what I did, she would still be an elderly kitty with kidney disease….and diabetes on top of that!! :sad:
I bought a big kennel for the van. I bought a soft carrier to transport her in and out of hotels. I got all the food and diabetic supplies packed for her. She sat right behind us in the van and soon realized that we were NOT going to the vet office :lol: ….we were going somewhere far, far away. She was quiet as a mouse! She watched, waited, slept and said nothing. That is, until my DH made a turn. She screamed. She was quiet on the Interstate, but when he made a turn, she would yell at him! LOL. Our daughters yell at his driving too and the two of us got such a kick out of how she would scream at him too! I got a video of her doing that too! :mrgreen: With every turn she would scream her displeasure! :lol: On the Interstate she was totally happy and quiet!
Each night we would schlep all our belongings with the cat litter box and her supplies along with our own into the hotel room. She would look around. She would make herself comfortable after examining every nook and cranny in the place! She actually slept between us each night (which she did not do at home!) and seemed to enjoy the traveling life. I expected her to break into the Willie Nelson song each morning "On the road Again"! :lol: because if you know Raja, THAT doesn't even seem impossible!! LOL I was so happy that she was eating and adjusting so well to this traveling. We were so happy to have her with us!! What a great traveling companion she turned out to be. She was not a bit of trouble and was so good the whole time! It took us from Friday to Wednesday and the closing was on Thursday when we took possession of our new home!
When we go to the new house, things went smoothly and in no time we had a beautiful bed with a Tempurpedic mattress….she LOVED sleeping on the bed that was just like “home” after we vacated it and it was properly made each morning! She seemed to enjoy the house and had so many rooms to explore. She was doing SO great! She did her share of hiding (in an empty house that is quite a feat to hide but Raja managed to disappear at times! She was in a suitcase that was standing upright but the zipper was open at the bottom, unbeknownst to me. Four of us were calling her and searching everywhere! She suddenly appeared in the hallway "What are you all screaming about??" and a few days later i happened to notice her butt going inside this one suitcase so I discovered her trick :lol: She was SUCH a character!!)
We were there for about 5 weeks so she really settled in to life in Oregon!! The week we were due to leave, she began to change. Her muscles seemed to have given way and legs were wobbly, she stopped eating and just seemed to be failing quickly. I brought her to my DD’s vet and he gave her Cerenia and sub-Q fluids. She did not improve. We were due to leave and I knew that she was not going to be strong enough to make the trip back with us. I didn’t want to put her through any stress or discomfort. I could not ask any more from her than she had already given and i had to make that horrible decision. My heart broke as I brought her back to the vet. We stayed with her until the very end. DH and I sadly returned over the long 3.000 miles without our sweet Raja. We had only the memories of the trip out there. She was on our minds and in our tears with each hotel room and with each inch of our journey back to Florida. DD has laid Raja to rest next to all her other sweet ones that have passed…so she is there with them and that gives me some comfort in knowing that the new house she loved will always have her presence. This apartment back here in Florida still has so many years of memories of Raja and Shadow ….under the tree….running down the hallway…well, YOU know what it’s like… I can't believe how lonely and quiet it is here.
But...what a Trooper she was! When I think of how brave she was during this trip…and how she adjusted to each new experience….and how much fun we had with her….I just can’t keep from crying. I treasure each moment of her life….17 ½ years is a long time to be blessed with a beautiful kitty, don’t you think? I am thankful for the long years we had but YOU know that in your heart you always wish for about 50 more years to share. She put her trust in me and the FD treatment. For Raja, THAT was a BIG thing indeed! And I thank you all for all the help and support you gave the three of us. We certainly have a LOT of memories….so many tense FD moments shared and after those moments there followed some lighter times…many giggles and laughs as we all learned about our kitties and about FD. Thank you for your friendship and love…..and for all the information you passed on to me and for holding my hand so many times!! Hugs to all of you……
with love and thanks, Pat and Steve
