Long Overdue Update

Well, I haven’t posted in a very long time. The last time I did, my Sphynx cat Bea was doing better in terms of her digestive issues. She was 11, I’d had her for 4 months, and we lived in MA. After I wrote that post, her digestive issues returned, and in fact lasted for the first 2 years that I had her. Finally, after having several acupuncture treatments, that cleared up, and she used the litter box the majority of the time. What a relief.

But, at about the same time, Bea became ill. I had decided to move to Tucson, Arizona, and went to find a place for Bea and I to live. One of the reasons I wanted to move was to give Bea a warmer place to live for the winter. Hairless cats do not like the cold, and even though I kept the heat set higher than I would have for myself, I thought the southwest may suit Bea (as well as me) better. When I got back, Bea had lost weight. Blood tests showed her white blood count was very high. But treating that caused her to accumulate fluid in her lungs. Treating that brought her white blood count up high again. It seemed to be a vicious cycle. Her red blood count became very low. She was on 7 medications, luckily not all were daily, though some were twice a day. I gave her pills, transdermal cream and injections. She didn’t like that, but she was somewhat stable. There were many trips to the vet.

I was still planning on moving to Arizona, and made one more short trip to get the place ready for Bea and I. I bought a new litter box, got litter, food bowls and things like paper towels, some canned goods and such ready for our arrival, so I wouldn’t have to leave her in a strange place as soon as we got there to get supplies. I was going to drive across the country and rig up the back seat for her, so she would have easy access to litter box and water, and I’d only have to stop (other than at a motel at night) to feed her and clean the litter box.

On a night two weeks before we were scheduled to leave, Bea was sleeping in the kitchen, an odd place for her. Around 10:00 PM, she woke up and could not get up. It seemed she’d lost the use of her back legs. I lay Bea on the couch and called the animal hospital and waited for the vet on call to call me. She did shortly after, and said that it sounded like a blood clot, but if it was, Bea would be in a lot of pain, which she gave no indication of. I was advised to bring her in first thing in the morning at 7:30. If she got worse, I was to bring her to the nearby 24-hour emergency animal hospital. Then I called the wonderful animal communicator I’ve used for Bea and my prior two cats – Coryelle Kramer. I was able to get her and she connected with Bea to see what was going on. Coryelle told me that Bea had been looking forward to going with me to Arizona, and was mad that her body was letting her down. She said she had fulfilled her purpose, though, which was to get me to move to Arizona, where I belonged. Shortly after that Bea stopped breathing, only about 45 minutes since when she couldn’t get up. I couldn’t believe it. How could she be gone so quickly, with no warning?

I don’t know the cause of her death, my vet said she may have had bone cancer. It didn’t matter what the cause was, she was gone. My little hairless girl – Little Miss Bea – wasn’t going to get to see Arizona.

Two weeks later I drove from MA to AZ alone. Bea’s ashes, in a pretty blue urn, were next to me on the front seat the whole way. I miss my Bea, I always will.

I now have 2 new cats. It took a while for me to be ready to have another cat(s). I will introduce them to you next time.