He was just sitting and staring at her, which I thought was strange, and she was laying in the floor rolling around. I called her name as I walked closer. I looked, and she was panting, she started crying, and she was moving around oddly. I came to the horrible realization that she wasn't using her back legs & I went to get Josh from the front porch. I said, "I think there's something really wrong with Isis. She won't get up. She's either hurt or acting really weird. Please come look at her."
When we came back she had scooted somewhere else. She was still rolling, panting, & crying. As we got a good look at her we realized that her back legs were completely paralyzed. She was completely panicked and in pain. I was a crying mess at the point. Josh was saying, "I'm so sorry girl." She kept trying to get up, and get away from the pain, and she was so very confused. It was like an invisible hit and run, with no one to blame.
We called around for an emergency vet & got the general idea that she might have released a blood clot which caused the paralysis. The woman on the other side of the phone let me know that most cats don't come back from that. (My research a few days later showed me that Isis most likely suffered from heart disease, when into cardiac distress, and had a blood clot which lodged in the branch of her aorta which feeds the blood supply to the back legs; she had an aortic thromboembolism.) Josh & I came to terms with what was happening and tried to comfort her best we could.
We loved her too much to let her continue in that pain. Long story short, our precious Isis, after writing in pain, legs growing cold, left us forever. I miss her so much.
I appreciate the prayers of those of you who knew when it happened. I was inconsolable Tuesday and most of Wednesday. The shock of it happening so quickly, the horrible way she died, plus just the fact that I missed her had me so emotional & physically ill. I got to pet her to try to soothe her, and I got to love on her to try to say goodbye, but by the time the pain took over she wasn't our Isis anymore. We made sure Homer & Athena got close enough to see & hear her so they realized what was going on. They have adjusted well.
I told Josh yesterday that there is a sheer irony in the situation. Isis was such a pest, that now that she isn't her being a nuisance I miss her so much more.
Isis was a pest. Her claws were a little too long so she picked everything & had a tendency to accidentally scratch you on occasion (especially when she decided to knead you or bat you with her paw to let you know she wanted to be petted). When she wanted in a room with the door shut she would scratch incessantly at the door until acknowledged. She would steal socks, underwear, stuffed animals, or anything else she could lift, and carry it around in her mouth making the strangest noises (and she liked to do this at about bedtime). She drooled when she was happy. She didn't know how to sit beside you, but rather on you. She would use the litter box right after Josh changed it. She followed you everywhere....EVERYWHERE...in the house & outside. She would constantly rub on your legs no matter what you were doing, having a tendency to trip you up if you were not paying attention. She begged for table food (which she never got). She slept on the towels, causing us to have to wash & rewash the fur off of them. She was STUBBORN. If I woke up in the middle of the night, and she was crowding me, a simple nudge wasn't enough to move her. It would take two hands & a lift to somewhere else. She couldn't take no for an answer. She had an awful habit of getting into territory wars with Homer on the bed, and she'd take off out of the room across Josh (leaving scratches in her wake.)
Isis was quirky. She loved to sleep in the window & would practically climb the blinds in excitement if she was one of our own cats outside. She liked to stay in the bathroom when we took showers (We think she liked the humidity.) When getting out of the shower she would do her usual trying to rub against your legs, which would result in fur everywhere. She had a bear that she especially liked to carry around that we had to put up out of reach to keep her away from it. She was allowed to carry it during the daytime (We tried to soothe her by putting it near her before she died). No matter where that bear got tossed in the house, it would always end up back in the bathroom. We called her Mama Isis because she was always very protective of the other two cats. You could bug her to death by messing with her, but she would always come back immediately to be petted. She liked to be on you, but she didn't like to be picked up. She liked to be in control.
Isis was one of the most unconditionally loving cats I've known. Her being a quirky pest is what made her Isis. And that's what makes me miss her so much. I know that I'll never ever have a cat like her, and it will take a while to get over her. Because she was everywhere that I was, I think about her everywhere I look at home. A lot of her peskiness was what helped her be endearing.
I compiled some pictures of Isis to remember her as she was before her pain. I've come leaps and bounds since Tuesday night, and if it weren't for my wanting to blog about her so badly, I would have made it today without crying about her...(My poor husband. He's had a hormonal wife who gets way too emotional about her cats. And may I say he's been so incredibly sweet.)
Here's one of the 1st pictures I ever took of Isis. I had taken a trip up to the cabin on Valentine's Day 2008. Josh & I weren't engaged yet, but we were talking marriage. I wanted to take pictures of cats that would eventually be mine too. Isis was the most accepting of me at first. She was social by nature, so I spent the most time petting her. Which she loved.
Outside exploring. She never got far from the house unless following me or Josh.
Trying to figure out why I was taking a picture of her with my phone...
And then not caring...
Coming to see what I was up to outside. Taking pictures, of course.
Athena also follows around, so Isis thought she would say hello.
Slightly annoyed that I had the camera in her face yet again.
Under the shed resting after following me around while I picked berries.
Looking for berries herself...or maybe a bunny rabbit.
Putting up with my camera yet again.
Too comfortable to come over to ruin my shot, like she liked to do as well.
Sleeping later on.
On the front porch enjoying the good life.
Annoyed with Athena getting in her personal space.
Sleeping in one of her absolutely favorite places. If she wasn't on the love seat with me or Josh, wasn't on the bed with us, or wasn't eating, she was probably on one of the shelves on this rack. She also enjoyed the green futon she was sleeping on in a previous picture.
This was one of her "love me" poses. If she exposed her belly, it meant "Pet me!"
Giving me a happy face because I did pet her. She liked to set her chin on me while she purred. I just wasn't close enough.
Ready for her closeup? Look at the calico spots on her nose. :)
Starting to suffer from her weird ear curling skin cancer. It never got worse. I told Josh after she died that at least we didn't have to watch her ears fall off. We only did sunscreen for a few days because it seemed to make her sick.
Being quite daring one day! She was too curious for her own good.
The last time I had my camera out for photos. I went around taking pictures of weeds & wildflowers, and true to character she & Athena both came to join me.
Again, I've appreciated your prayers, and I appreciate them still. I can talk about her and think about her without tears now. Sorting through pictures, retelling what happened, and putting down her qualities were something I wanted to do as quickly as possible so I can remember her always. It was quite difficult, but now that I've done it I think I can put her a little farther out of my mind so that I can fondly remember her and not think of what happened. We love you Isis, and we will never forget you.
