Category: celebrations

Happy Birthday, CatLiverShunt.org

Just a quick note to say Happy Birthday to us.  Our little support group – www.CatLiverShunt.org – is One Year Old today, and like any kitten, my, how we have grown!

From our very basic beginnings of an experiment in trying to provide real-time communication between shunt cat owners, and a group effort to assemble anecdotal information on caring for our shunt kitties, and through some growing pains, we have grown to include 62 members from around the globe, representing: Guam, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Spain,Scotland, England, the Netherlands, and 22 of the United States.

WoW!

Among other things, as a group, we have:

  • Assembled a data repository of 147 discussion topics pertaining to the care and comfort of our special kitties, and our shared sense of community.
  • Unearthed interesting tidbits previously un-noted in research papers on the condition (such as the changing eye colour).
  • Generated a wonderful list of the various types of food and treats.
  • Compared various medication and treatment options.
  • Analyzed differences in symptoms and how to recognize oncoming episodes.
  • Celebrated our cats’ successes and milestones, and mourned setbacks and losses.

Cat Daddy and I are so amazed and humbled by the warmth, camaraderie and overwhelming support we have seen on this site. We thank each of you for your efforts to share information, love and Hope to fellow owners. Special thank yous  to members who have made donations to help fund the site, and to our European Moderator.

And the true thanks goes to you – each of you – who have contributed and been a part of our group.  Knowing that there are others just like us -dealing with drool, sticky Lactulose and odd behaviors, juggling schedules, coordinating menus, fretting over treatment/surgery options,and, generally being totally smitten with your kitten – has been a lifesaver. 

Together, we have achieved what previously had never been attempted or accomplished. We are no longer alone!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Mylo Has Safely Returned Home!

Word just in – missing Mylo has made a safe return home!

He was located two streets over from his house, and a friend of the homeowner had seen his ad in the paper. He’s just returned from a vet check, has a few scratches and/or bites, and is down to 1.5 kg.  He’s hungry, but happy to be home.

It’s always cause for celebration when a missing pet returns home, and doubly so in the case of a special needs animal like a cat with a liver shunt.  Mylo, like so many of the shunt kitties, is on a special diet and feeding schedule, and has regular medicine.

Many thanks to everyone who supported Mylo and his mum during this frightening time.  As for me, I’m going to pop open a can of catnip to celebrate!

The “Eyes” of March

Well, well, well.

Happy Birthday, little New New!  Two years old today!

Who would have ever imagined that the scrawny, dirty, abandoned, runty, one pound kitty baby who was going to “die any day” would be celebrating his second birthday as a sleek, glossy, muscular, ten pound, brute of a little cat?

The past year has gone by in a blur of overall, excellent health for my little Pookie Bear.  A few bad days, but overall, a glorious journey of joy, Hope and celebration.  Every day that Newt shares with us is another gift, another miracle, another reason to celebrate the mystery of life, and the courage of the kitten with the heart of a lion.

Newt has brought untold joy and sadness to Cat Daddy and me. But isn’t that true of all love? The heart-singing joy of good days, the heartache over the bad days, and the reminder to celebrate each day to the fullest, and to cherish the treasure of time spent with those you love.

The 15th day of March, the Ides of March, a festival honouring the Roman god of war and battle – Mars.  Our little Newt has waged a ferocious battle against his portosystemic shunt and has proven to be a warrior of the highest caliber.  Defying the odds, confounding logic, and soldiering on – winning, day by day, the war against his liver shunt.

In the peaceful, easy days of his robust health and well-being, it is easy to relax one’s guard against the insidious, merciless, mercenary lurking beneath his robust exterior. But one look into his mystical, glowing copper eyes brings back the tragic reality of his constant, ongoing war against the disease.

Beware the Eyes of March, indeed. 

Happy Birthday, Shunt Cats!

A very happy birthday to Newt’s friends, and fellow shunt cats:

Peanut from New Hampshire – five years old on July 4th!  Peanut is an inoperable MVD shunt kitty.

Kal-El from Scotland turned one year old in March! 

PassePoil from Canada, who will be two years old this month.  PassePoil had his shunt surgically corrected in Jan ’09.

With each birthday is another celebration of life, and hope – hope for all shunt cats that they, too, can thrive and survive.

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday dear Kal-El, Peanut and PassePoil,

Happy BIrthday to you …

and many Meow!!!

Newt’s First Birthday

Well, well, well, my little Pookie Bear.  As near as we can figure, you are now ONE YEAR OLD!

After combing thru the shelter logs, and cross-referencing with your early vet records, it seems you were born sometime in mid-March, 2008. So we have decided that March 15th is the day we will celebrate your birthday – this special, first birthday, and all future birthdays that may come.

Through the last year, you have brought more tears, more laughter, more challenges, and, more victories than any other animal with whom we have shared our lives.  Consequently, you have enriched our lives in ways never before dreamed or imagined, and we have grown in ways that we never expected.

We sometimes ask you “Why are you here?” 

Is it to illustrate the frailty of life? The ability to overcome insurmountable odds? The way that traditional and holistic vet care can work together?

Or is it simply to love, and to be loved, for however long you are here?  Something so many of us seek and rarely find.

Whatever the reason for your presence, and for your survival against the odds, we are so very glad that you are here. You have so eloquently reminded us to cherish every moment spent with a loved one.

We love you, New New. 

Happy Birthday, and here’s to many, many more!

With love,
Mommy and Cat Daddy
 

  
 

A “Star” is Born

the best estimate of his inauspicious beginning

Shrouded in mystery, on or about this day in history, a star is born.

Nothing is known about the first three weeks of his life – his origins, his lineage, his history – just the best estimate of his inauspicious beginning here on Earth.

Welcome, Newt, and Happy BIrthday!