Thanks to all who have responded for all your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. It has been a rough week for Joe and me as we made a very difficult decision to put Patty down last night. I wanted to share an exclusive entry about the life of Patty.
In the Fall of 1995, I was thinking about getting a kitten. On New Year's Eve, I was off that day doing some window shopping in a local mall. I always loved going in the pet store just to check out all the animals. I remember looking at this adorable beagle, but I couldn't have a dog as I was living in a one bedroom apartment at the time. I always grew up with dogs as my family had a huge yard. I strolled over to the cat's section. There were three cats left: two kittens and a big Tabby cat. As I strolled over to the last cubicle, there she was -- an adorable little black and white kitten. She was napping. What can I say -- it was love at first sight! I had to have her. I've been trying to find some kitten pictures of Patty. I know they're stored somewhere but can't find them. This is the one that I have in my living room. She was two months old in this picture.
Patty - two months old
When I first brought her home, I had no idea on what I was going to call her, so Patty was just "Kitty" for a little while. My neighbor's female cat was Maggie, so I got the idea to have my kitten's name to be a cute little girl's name. One day, I was watching TV as she was sitting on my shoulder. She used to do this a lot when she was a kitten. Then came this commercial for York Peppermint Pattie - Get the Sensation! So, I loved it so much that I thought it was perfect. So from then on, Patty's official name was Peppermint Patty.
Of course, she had a lot of other cute nicknames that Joe and I gave her over the years: Precious, Sweetness, First-Born, Patricia, Trisha, Miss Phantom of the Opera, Patty Ann, Black & White Cookie, etc.
About nine months later, Patty met her kid brother, Sammy. Patty hated Sammy with a purple passion. I got Sammy through a friend at work. I was going to get another female cat but was told that it's not a good idea to have two female cats in one house. So, I decided to take the male kitten. Sammy's first impression of Patty was that he liked her and wanted to play with her, but Patty did not want anything to do with Sammy. Sammy was used to being around other cats while Patty was not.
Patty & Sammy - September, 1996
For about three weeks, Patty still hated Sammy. Until one day as I was getting ready for work, I opened my bedroom door and Sammy darted out and looked for Patty to play with. Patty flipped out. I look back on it now and I laugh. Picture if you will a little cat chasing a big cat behind the coffee table, behind the chair, behind the sofa, behind the TV set. The whole time, I'm freaking out saying - Sammy stop! She doesn't like you yet. I can't believe nothing was broken. Patty hissed and darted back into the bedroom. I shut it and that was the end of the chase. Later that night, Sammy was on my lap watching TV with me. Patty was across the room still having a hissy fit. Sammy got up to use the litter box. Patty followed him as I looked to see what she would do. At this point, I didn't trust Patty as I thought she would hurt him. Patty went around the other side of the toliet and she's growling and hissing at Sammy as he stood there helpless in the litter box just taking care of business. I finally said, "Patty, he's not going anywhere. He's part of this family now. GET OVER IT!" Finally, she gave in and licked his face and were best chums ever since.
Patty & Sammy - best chums!
Patty and Sammy were night and day. Patty was the serious, laid back one, and Sammy is the goofball and nervous one. Sammy is always getting into mischief somehow. He is 13 and still thinks he's a kitten. By the way, I named him Sammy after the Red Rocker, Sammy Hagar because he can't drive 55! I'm surprised that Sammy has never experienced a concussion for the way he runs around the house full of speed. I can see still him dangling on the skirt of one of my little nightstands that he accidentally knocked over. He took off and hid because he knew he was in big trouble. Patty watched him as he hid under the bed. She had this look on her as if to say, "Yeah, you're an idiot. Mom, I seriously wish you would get rid of him!"
When Patty met Joe when we were dating, she loved him off the bat. He always gave her lots of attention. Usually at night when we were watching TV in bed, we would get a visit from Patty. She would wait for Joe to lay down on the bed and then two second later, she would jump right on him demanding her rubs. If Joe was in the bedroom and he wasn't laying down, she would constantly "meow" at him telling him --"Lay down, I want my rubs please!" So, she was definitely a Daddy's girl.
Patty and Sammy were notorious for playing at nighttime. Let me tell you, even though Sammy is a bigger cat, don't let size fool you. Patty never took his crap. She always won when they wrestled. As usual, the female cat was domineering as she showed him who was in charge. Sammy is the typical kid brother who is a tease. He would tease Patty sometimes, and I can see it now in my mind as I type this and am laughing. Patty would just look at him as if to say say, "Keep it up idiot, you'll regret it!" Finally, Patty got the best of him when she chased him, wrestled him to the rug and showed him to not mess with her. Sammy would sometimes come running to me to rescue him, but I would take Patty's side on this one. I would tell him that you got what you deserved; stop teasing your sister.
Three years ago, Joe and I were finally blessed with Alivia. Sammy hid the first week. He didn't know what Alivia was but as far as he was concerned, he hid when she was around. Patty was very jealous, which is common behavior for cats. One night, as I was stroking Patty while watching TV, she bit my finger. She was hurt but I continued to love her and spend as much time with her when I could. Eventually, Patty grew to love Alivia as she always allowed Alivia to hold her without fussing.
Patty & Livy - last week
Fast forward to the present. About a couple weeks ago, I started to see a big change in Patty's appetite. Joe thought it was because I bought new water and food bowls, but she was still drinking water, just no food. She started to lose weight. I saw it in her face and stomach. I decided to get her back to the vet. She just had a check-up last month, and everything was fine with her and Sammy. The emergency vet on-call told me that they were going to run lab tests and then came back to tell me the results. She told me that Patty had a very high calcium count and was very suspicious of lymphoma of the stomach and/or intestines. She referred me to a vet specialist who specializes in internal medicine. We went up last Saturday, and she first did an x-ray of her chest cavity and took some fluid out. Her chest looked bad. It had a lot of fluid around her heart. Also, Patty has suffered with a heart murmur most of her life. The test results were going to take a few days to get results back, and she prescribed an appetite stimulant and pumped her with fluids.
Meanwhile, on Monday night, I had to rush Patty back to the animal hospital as she was not accepting the appetite stimulant. She would foam along the mouth and spit it out. She was also not drinking anymore and had difficulty breathing on her own as her chest would expand immensely with her mouth partially opened. So I had to get Patty pumped with more fluids and also talked to the emergency vet on the phone who treated her on Saturday and was off on Monday but still took the time to speak with me and the emergency vet on-call who was now treating Patty. An abnormality was found in her chest fluid but more diagnostic tests would have to be done, including a biopsy where they would have to open Patty up to confirm whether it was lymphoma or Feline Infectious Peritonitis ("FIP"). FIP is a non-curable viral disease which is very difficult to diagnose when the cat is still alive. That's when the vet told me then while it goes back to me on what steps need to be done, she said that it's going to get nastier, nastier and nastier as the testing continues. Plus, a feeding tube would definitely had to be inserted then and said she would do it. I opted not to have the feeding tube and wanted to take Patty home and make her comfortable and also to speak with Joe.
Joe didn't want to quit on Patty. He didn't care about the money. He wanted to continue the diagnostic testing. On Tuesday, Patty's condition worsed as she got a bad cold and green mucous was coming from both her nostrils which caused a bad odor. I continued to clean Patty and give her water but she refused. Patty was trying to get out of the house on Tuesday and all day yesterday. She was also sitting on the wood where we currently have part of the rug ripped up as we will putting down new rugs soon. As I put her back on her bed, she kept getting up and putting herself back on the wood or would stand in the corner as if to say, "I'm not worthy." I kept cleaning her mouth which she hated and stroking her and gave lots of love and knew in my heart that it was time to let her go.
Later that night when Joe came home, I told him what was going on with Patty and how her condition was worsening. Patty had an appointment yesterday afternoon to continue the diagnostic testing. I told Joe that we need to make a decision now and that I don't think it's going to get any better. Based on Patty's behavior, I could tell that she was ready. We finally made that tough decision as I cancelled her appointment for the diagnostic testing and then scheduled to have her put down.
Final Moments. Very sad, so please stop reading if you can't bear it. I won't be offended.When we brought her in last night, the vet assistant asked us if we wanted to be present when they put Patty down. We, of course, said yes. I didn't want Patty to be alone with people she didn't know. The vet assistant took her to have the catheter put in her. Meanwhile, Joe and I were looking at the catalog for erns or boxes to have her remains put in. We chose a cherrywood small box that has a insert to put a picture in of her. We also received an inked paw print of Patty that has space to insert a picture which I will do plus have it framed.
When the emergency on-call vet came back, she told us that Patty was struggling when they put the catheter in her. So much, she almost passed away. I truly think that Patty was just frustrated that she must've been thinking - "What are you doing to me now? Let me be!" When they brought her back in, she looked like she already passed. Her pupils were fully dilated and not moving at all. The vet checked her heartbeat and advised that Patty still had a heartbeat, but it was sporadic. She said that while Patty was still here, she wasn't mentally. The vet asked if we wanted to talk more before she injected Patty. We said "no" as we did not want her to suffer anymore. As Joe and I held each other, we watched Patty be put down. The vet waited another minute as she checked her heartbeat and told us she had passed.
The vet allowed more time with her before they took her. I've heard that hearing is the last to go. So I leaned into her ear and told her that I loved her very much and thanked her for bringing so much love and joy into my life. While I will miss stroking her fur and giving her hugs and kisses, I know I made the right choice for her. Patty will always be in my heart forever. Rest in peace my first born!
Peppermint Patty
Born: November, 1995
With God: August 12, 2009
Patty is survived by her parents, Joe and Nancy, her brother, Sammy and sister, Alivia.
Special thanks for all the love and support from my family and friends during this difficult time, especially Jude, Deb and to Nicole, my local Lep buddy. Nicole has been with me from the beginning of Patty's illness. Nicole, thanks so much for your constant support. Also, special thanks to my friend, Terry for all her wisdom she has given me this past week.
If any of you know me very well, you know that Peachy can't deal with mice. I can deal with roaches, crickets, or bugs but not mice.
