Giselle, I was saddened to read that Pixie has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We love them, care for them and in the end let them go. Pixie sounds like a wonderful, brave little companion. You gave her the greatest gift you could and now she is happily romping in the green meadows chasing butterflies with all our Angels. Sharyl
--- On Fri, 5/15/09, G D <[email protected]> wrote: > From: G D <[email protected]> > Subject: [Felvtalk] Pixie is a fluffy orange angel > To: [email protected] > Date: Friday, May 15, 2009, 12:43 PM > > It is with profound sadness that I share that my sweet baby > Pixie Katzenellenbogan passed away yesterday evening. She > was euthanized by a gentle and sympathetic vet while I > stroked and talked to her. I told her she was deeply > loved. > > Yesterday I got second and third opinions from vets I felt > were genuinely interested in Pixie (unlike the apathetic > first vet) and it was terrible news all around (see the > bloodwork analysis below). In the last two days she > deteriorated quickly before my eyes despite the regimen of > syringe-administered diluted wet food prescribed by the > vet. Her breathing had become increasingly fast and > shallow (a vet explained she was gasping for oxygen due to > the anemia). She was crying out in > pain, even while lying still, too weak to stand up or walk, > and staring blankly. It was heartbreaking to > see her suffering. Things she once enjoyed held no > interest (favorite stinky foods, lying in a sunbeam, toys, > going out in the yard, being brushed). > > I emailed the lab results from Pixie's bloodwork to a > friend who's a vet in Canada and her analysis was: "There > are a couple of things on her bloodwork that are alarming. > First of all, she is very anemic (ie very low red blood > cell count). In conjunction > with what's going on with her high white blood cell count > and platelets though, > I'm less concerned about the anemia itself and more > concerned about an > actual leukemia (ie cancer). Her red blood cells and > platelets are both very low > which indicates that the bone marrow is likely diseased and > not > producing them properly. On top of that, according to > the written > interpretation at the bottom, the red blood cells and > platelets that do > exist are all showing signs of immaturity- this means that > they are not > sticking around in the bone marrow long enough to mature > completely > because something (ie the leukemia that is pumping out > cells) is taking > up space in the bone marrow. Besides the changes in her > CBC, some other parameters also point > towards this diagnosis: her calcium level is elevated > which is often > seen in association with cancer and her CPK is high which > might > indicate muscle wasting. Muscle wasting is often also > seen with > cancer." > > I thought yesterday was hard (choosing to end Pixie's > suffering & helping her cross over) but today is even > worse. Waking up with > no Pixie at the foot of the bed, no Pixie meowing for her > tuna, no > Pixie > scampering down the stairs. Seeing her things everywhere -- > food > bowls, toys, blankets, cat grass, scratching mats, the > armchair she shredded, a brush full of orange > fur -- is devastating. HOW can I possibly live here without > her? > > > > Pixie was born in South Philadelphia in spring 2005, > rescued from the > streets during a snowstorm in February 2006, and came into > my life in > March 2006. She was a feisty little champ like Rocky. Pixie > became a > Dutch cat in August 2006 when we moved to the Netherlands > (her > permanent & final home), flying Northwest so I could > bring her in > the cabin, tucking her carrier under the seat in front of > me, and carrying a > pop-up make-shift litterbox, food, water, vet documents, > and Rescue > Remedy. > > She was the perfect companion. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail® goes with you. > http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Mobile?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Mobile1_052009 > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
