When we make a match between one of our shelter animals and a family, we aim to give each animal a forever home where it can thrive. And that’s just what happened when a lovely couple walked into the BC SPCA Cowichan Community Animal Centre many years ago.
Read on for the lovely story of Kassi:
“She was Missy when we got her almost 17 years ago but we changed her name to Kassi, which almost sounded the same but seemed to suit her better. When we arrived at the shelter we found out this two-and-a-half-year-old calico cat had just picked up a virus and was in the isolation room at the shelter and on antibiotics.
We had just lost a beloved calico to cancer a few months before and were used to caring for a sick cat. I said to my husband as we peered into her cage at this poor congested cat lying there, “If she comes to the front of the cage we are taking her home.” Well, she must have heard that word “home” because the next thing we knew there she was pressing her little face against the bars. Shortly after that, we were on the ferry with a sneezy, skinny cat heading back to the mainland, antibiotics in hand. We never looked back!
Yes, she was like a slippery eel when we tried to pick her up at first and she slept in her crate with the door off. But slowly she decided the warmth of the bed was nicer, so she hopped up on the end of the bed one night and eventually graduated to sitting on our laps and in the past few years sleeping on my pillow or on top of us all night.
When our son arrived a year after we brought her home, she was so good around him and she would hang out with us most of the time. Eventually, our daughter joined the family and still, Kassi was right in there. She eventually hung out more with the kids as they learned to pet her nicely and play with her catnip mice and toys. She loved us and we loved her!
Sadly we just recently lost our beautiful girl. Osteoarthritis and kidney disease finally caught up with her at 19.4 years old. We were all there when the vet came to our home. It was the hardest thing to call them.
We don’t think she was in much pain at the end though. When she was dehydrated we gave her fluids and in the last week, when she was having some trouble walking we carried her to the litter box several times a day. She eventually lost her interest in most foods, except her favourite treats.
We had bought her a soft kitty hammock a few weeks before she started her final decline with a nice little blanket and put it over the heat vent and it was her favourite soft and warm little spot. We gave her some nice scratches and hung out with her as she had done so many times for us over the years.
Kassi was the best! We miss her horribly but have amazing memories and would adopt her again in a heartbeat if we had the chance. We hope she is at Rainbow Bridge and at peace now. Forever in our hearts!
Someday we will be ready to adopt another animal, likely a cat (or two) again, but now there are four of us that have to be ready to welcome them into our home and that may take a little time. There is no replacement for a best friend lost, but they all have so much to give in their own little way and we know that Kassi would want us to again help a shelter cat just like her someday.”
What a perfect description of a true family companion and of the difficult journey of saying goodbye to a beloved friend. You made that journey with such grace and dedication.
When the time is right, you know just where to find a kitty or two who would be happy to fill the open space in the hearts of such a loving family. Thank you for adopting Kassi and giving her such a good, long life.
Have you adopted an animal from the BC SPCA and want to share your joy with others? Submit your adoption story!
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