Conference misery::feline_v1

    re: "We are not amused".. I just love it.. I used to have a poster
    that had that caption.. it was 2 Persians.. ( one black smoke
    and one smoked tortie.. who looked very familiar smirk grin..)
    and the look on their faces,.. they has that nose in the air,
    disdaiful stare.. and the caption said "WE ARE NOT AMUSED"..
    I got for Christmas one year. The person who gave it to me..
    signed the card.. MERRY CHRISTMAS.. from your POOKIE..
    Kate..

    
    	re: .0
    
    	I am absolutely hysterical!  Just what I needed.
    
    	While Audrey hasn't jumped into our food yet, she did
    	try and pull Cary's sandwich off the coffee table last
    	night.  The CAT solved that....
    
    	JJ
    

    .......We (Hubby & I) were in stitches laughing at the
    antics of one of my "boys".  I was soaking my feet,
    and he came over, looked into the water, and THEN proceeded
    to stick a foot completely in, up to the chest, searching
    the bottom of the foottub for who knows what.  Then, in
    goes the other foot, and the front half of "Casey" is now
    wading in my footbath!!!!!
    
    And they say cats don't like water...:-)
    
    Lynne

    
    Yeah, 
    
    Kittens, I remember...:-)  We got two at ONCE!!!! and it was
    agravating, frustrating, (No sleep!) wonderful fun!!!!!
    
    My two are old ladies now 5 1/2 YEARS!! (Have we really had them *THAT*
    long?!?!?!)  It makes me want to run our to get a kitten to cuddle and
    be bothered by!!!  (Now convincing Jerry that we *NEED* another cat,
    well, this could take a while......
    
    Feline Wishful,
    
    Sue & Panther (Who is very dignified sigh,) 
    	& Spot (Who is a real riot!!)
    

    I am in a permanent state of disgrace with Miss Moffet.  The rules of the
    game are varied and movable, but what ever they are I violate them
    almost every day.  She too used to be an ankle grabber--sweet when she
    was little, not so sweet when she grew meaningful claws.  Both my cats
    are middle aged now but Charlie has brought a touch of punk teenage
    cattenhood to the house.  
    
        "We are not amused.  Meaow!"  Another infraction of "the rules".  
    
    I am not fond of kittens in general but it is so nice to have Charlie 
    around, he just enjoys everything and doesn't judge.  (What idiot said 
    pets were non judmental--he didn't know cats that's for sure.)
      
    Enjoy your kittens,
    
    

the day before I began my vacation, I took Mandy in for a complete physical.
She just seemed a little frail to me....and she was very small for her age.
Dr. Lee heard something she didn't like in Mandy's chest and suggested tests.
The results of further testing showed Mandy had a heart that would not support
her growth any longer -- she was the product of a well-meaning, but uninformed
backyard breeder and her heart never grew up with her.  Her life expectancy was
a few more weeks at the outside.  These kittens seldom make it past 9 months
of age.  I felt it impossible to keep her any longer as I had grown to love
her so much in a few days -- knowing I was bound to lose her -- and not
knowing it would be a quick and painless exit for her -- I chose to put her
down before she and I suffered more.  I have never done anything so painful 
in my life.  I have offered cats and dogs at the end of their life a painless
exit when to keep them alive would have meant pain and suffering for them...
but it is so much harder to kill a baby just starting out.  

Now there is a Mandy-sized hole in our lives...Nicholas, in particular, misses
her and looks for her.

    I'm so sorry about Mandy.
    
    karen and the three
    

    Sorry to hear about Mandy :-(
    
    Lisa plus PR&F.

    Me too.  Condolences from the whole Putiput gang.  Mandy's name has
    been added to the Silver Lining Memorial List for Q2.
      Nancy

    So Sorry to hear about Mandy.  Such a young kitty that I'm sure
    touched your hearts.  May peace be with her and with you.
    
    Again my deepest condolences.
    
    Sandy (Tamba, Poco, Barkley, Chloe, and Anges)
    

    
    Love to Mandy and to you from all of us.  I'm sure you did the right
    thing, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with.
    
    Take care,
    
    Sandy, Smudge, Tas, Jenn, C.C. and Beau
    

    Dian-
    
    We're so sorry to hear about Mandy.....
    
    Michele & Nippa
    

    
    	So sorry to hear about Mandy.
    
    	JJ and her gang of four
    

    Dian, I am so sorry too.  The subject of heart disease in cats will
    always be of interest to me after what I went through with my Ragdolls.
    
    You did right by Mandy; watching them suffer is the most horrible part
    of the sickness.  If I could have noticed signs early on and acted on
    them I most likely would have made the same decision.  Take comfort in
    knowing that Mandy had more love and happiness with you than most cats
    have in a lifetime.
    
    If it isn't the wrong time to ask, would you please post what tests
    your vet did to discover the illness?  The vets out here told me that
    it is almost impossible to detect heart disease in a cursory
    examination, and the sickness doesn't really become apparent until it is
    too late.  Cats are very adept at compensating for their limitations
    and by the time any symptoms develop, the disease is critical.
    
    Thanks and hugs to you and your feline family,
    
    
    --Roberta
    

    We too are sorry to hear of Mandy's passing - It's so hard when it is
    one so young (not that it's ever easy).  Take care.
    
    Heather + Muffy, Oscar, Pandora + Cocoa

    We are also very sorry to hear about Mandi..!!! we send hugs and
    kisses..
     Kate, Happy, Preschie..

    we also send our condolences on the passing of mandy.  how quickly we
    can get attached to them!  take care...
    
    diane, stanley & stella
    

A cursory examination didn't "sound" right to Dr. Lee...and as I said, she
was small and very light...I felt she was frail...and she had begun to
sorta breathe heavy - I don't know what set me off, but I just didn't feel
comfortable about her health.  A subsequent set of X-RAYS clearly showed the
problem in Mandy's case.  She was on the edge of being terminal, a few more
weeks at most was the time estimate I was given.

I don't think this problem is noticable until the cat gets right to the edge
because the problem, as explained by Dr. Lee, is that Mandy's heart simply
didn't grow up with Mandy, eventually becoming too small to support her
needs.  I don't have the name of the condition right here, but I know that
the ragdolls you lost had the same condition....I recalled your cases when
she told me what was wrong.

In short, it isn't fixable, and isn't detectable until the problem is very
severe and the kitten is near death.  What set us up to see anything was
that for the first time since leaving her litter, Mandy had other cats to
play with -- she played and then began to show distress.

This is a heartbreaker condition, and is supposedly hereditary according to
my vet -- well, not guarenteed to be hereditary, but more likely to reoccur
in a breeding that has previously produced the condition.  I sent a message
back to the breeder with the people who gave Mandy to us, but I don't have
much hope...they sounded very much like this was a way to make some extra
money for the woman breeding and selling the kittens.  She probably won't
stop.

    Thanks, Dian.  I appreciate that info.
    
    Your vet is right, the signs do not become apparent until the cat is
    near death.  The condition is called cardiomyopathy, which takes on
    many forms.  Although it was painful for you, please count your
    blessings that you noticed her discomfort early.  It is so hearbreaking
    to see them suffer, and once you experience it you begin to panic each
    and every time one of your other cats does something out of character
    that aligns with the symptoms of cardio.
    
    Mandy was so lucky to have you in her final moments.  Another person
    probably would not have been so quick to act on their instincts and take
    her to the vet.  Mandy's time might have come, but the memories she
    left you are timeless.
    
    Take care and give the rest of your feline family extra hugs tonight.
    
    --Roberta
     

    
    Dian,
    
    So sorry to hear of Mandy's passing.  Sending big gentle hugs from New
    Hampshire.
    
    Feline Sad
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

Us, too.  We're so sorry..

Mary, Honey, Chauncey, Julie, Robin, Biff (and a player to be named later)

    Sending much sympathy,
    
    Linda, Misty, Cubby, Tweetie, Toby and Peanut