shadow

We don’t know Shadow’s actual birth date; we do know he was born in 1996. When he was about 9 weeks old, a girl dropped him by the woods behind the high school my son attended. She said her father was going to kill him if she didn’t get rid of him.

My son picked him up and carried him around in his backpack all day at school, when I picked up my son, he said we needed to talk as he unzipped his backpack. A small little black head popped out and the kitten climbed on my sons shoulders. My son liked to put him on his shoulders and walk around with him, as a result Shadow always liked to sit on your shoulder, sometimes jumping there when you didn't expect it. We brought him home.

We already had two cats that were 18 months old, but they soon accepted him and he became part of the family. It soon became apparent that he was different; he didn’t act like a normal cat, two more cats joined our family over the next two years and even though he was the smallest, he became the dominant cat. He learned his name quickly and always came when we called him.

He formed a special bond with us and interacted with us as if he was a person. You could play hide and seek with him, switching roles of who was chasing whom around the hallway and living room.

We love all of our other cats, but there was a special bond with him and he became our closest buddy. Shadow always greeted us when we came home rolling over to get attention. When we were sitting on the sofa he would run up on your lap, stretch his front paws on your chest, and butt your nose with his nose or the top of his head.
He would run up the tall cat tree if you stood near it, then roll around the top platform, then stick his head over the edge, looking down at you as if playing peek-a-boo for ten minutes at a time.

He was smaller than the other cats yet he was the Lion King. He kept everybody in their places. He refused to eat with the other cats who all ate together; he would only eat on top of the kitchen island above the other cats. He also wanted to eat little bits all day long. When you walked into the kitchen, he would run in and jump on to the island and talk to you, asking for his food which we kept hidden from the other cats. His voice and purr were very soft. Sometimes if he wanted his food he would find you, talk to you and lead you to the kitchen.

He would also get an attitude if reprimanded and then take it out (hit with his paw) on whichever cat was nearby as he walked away grumbling, yes, actually grumbling like a person would grumble under his breath.

He was very affectionate, usually wanting to sit on you or right next to you. Sometimes we would eat our lunch or dinner on a tray in the living room to watch the news, he would jump on the sofa, wanting to sit on our lap. When we wouldn’t let him, he would sit on the other end of the sofa with his back turned and when you talked to him he wouldn’t turn around until you put the tray down and let him sit on you.

On August 30th 2006 we had to make the hard decision of putting Shadow to sleep.

It has been very hard for us to accept what happened, very emotional and a shock because it happened so quickly.

Shadow hadn't been acting right for two days. He had been picking at his food (we thought he was just being fussy), then began lying on the floor in the kitchen instead of his usual places and we noticed he looked somewhat bulgy (he was always skinny). Sunday he ate very little. We called the Vet Monday morning. When we brought him in to the Vet, we thought perhaps he had a bladder problem, but we were surprised when she took an x-ray and saw a huge mass covering his intestines.

We took him an Animal Emergency Hospital, where he stayed overnight. The next morning we took him out of there and brought him to one the best animal hospitals in the region. The specialists there examined him, performed an ultra sound, showed us the x-rays and confirmed he had a huge carcinoma mass with internal bleeding. He said he could operate, but the operation would have been very invasive, and there was a less than 50% chance of him surviving the operation and if he survived, the complications could be very severe. They also said he would not survive overnight because he was bleeding internally and had blood in his lungs.

We tried our best to do everything we could to save him, but the prognosis was very bad.

It was very difficult to make the decision to end Shadow's life, it made was for Shadow’s sake, not ours. After we made the decision, the doctor said he could now tell us that if Shadow was his cat he would have done the same, and as Shadow’s advocate that is what should be done. We told the doctor we wanted to bring Shadow back to our Vet for his journey to heaven. He said that was fine and would call our Vet for us.

On the ride back we decided to stop at our home first so Shadow could be home again and spend time with him. I called the Vet to say we would be bringing him in before they close at 5:30 pm. They called back stating, if we would like, Dr. W**** offered to come to our home later on so we could spend some more time with shadow. When we brought Shadow in he used the litter box then came out and lay down by us. My husband was able to hold him for a while. After a while Shadow went upstairs on his favorite bed. My husband and I talked to him, rubbed his nose and head, which he always liked, and he purred as though he was content. Looking at his face and eyes, he looked fine, but the Vet's diagnosis told another story.

At approx. 7:45 p.m. Dr. W**** arrived. We talked briefly then went back upstairs to the bedroom. Dr. W**** talked to Shadow and petted him. Then as my husband and I were talking to him, rubbing his nose, his head and his back, telling him how much we loved him, Dr. W**** gently administered the injections to bring him peace. He appeared contented at the time and drifted off quickly.

One consolation during this whole ordeal was that the Dr. W”””” was so thoughtful and compassionate enough to come to our home. We appreciated it and we’re sure Shadow did too.

We are sure Shadow enjoyed the ten years he had with us, we just wish it had been longer.

We will never forget him and miss him very much.

Ann & Rich