On March 8, 2023, I said my final goodbyes to the sweetest, most loving cat in the world, Maggie. Maggie spent her final hours laying contentedly swaddled in warm blankets outside listening to the trills, whistles, chirps and croaks of the birds waking up to the early morning sun, while she bathed in the warmth of the sun’s rays. Maggie was so relaxed and happy being in her favorite place on the patio. These were her last moments and they were good ones. When my veterinarian arrived, I brought Maggie inside. Still warm from the sun—the patio door wide open for her to still hear the birds, she seemed contented and peaceful. Lying on her favorite raised cat bed, I thanked her for all the unconditional love, companionship and friendship she shared so sweetly with me for the past 18 years. Through all the ups and downs of my life, Maggie was always there for me with her sweet love, the kindest eyes, and her loving paw that she would rest on my hand. While hearing my voice expressing my deepest gratitude for her, she quietly fell into a deep sleep and left us. Gone was the suffering, anxiety, pain and physical decline that she had been experiencing the weeks prior.
Maggie represents a coming toward the end of a major part of my life—rescuing abandoned, homeless, forgotten, and neglected cats for the past 25 years. We saved the unwanted, unadopted, disabled and handicapped, black, blind, feral, dumped, shy, frightened cats for over two decades. Thankfully, I still have three rescue cats from our original 20, who keep me excellent company. But so many wonderful, special souls have passed on. I always say, that I never set out to rescue cats, they just found us, “life chose us to became cat rescuers.” And sometimes life does that and we said “yes” to the call.
Maggie came from the Contra Costa Animal Shelter in Martinez in 2004, one of litter of abandoned kittens, taken from a feral mother from a rural farm location in East County. Too young to be adopted, she fell into the pervue of a cat rescue nonprofit to save her and release her from the animal shelter. Maggie, along with so many others dumped at the shelter only weeks old, became my foster cat to socialize and prepare for adoption when she was ready. She was spayed, vaccinated, de-flead and dewormed, and finally went up for adoption, but as often happens with black– and black and white cats, she was never adopted. Potential adopters always overlooked her at our adoption site—weekend after weekend—so we kept her. I’m so thankful that we did. Because we were the lucky ones for 18 years to be graced with the life of this beautiful soul.
Maggie eventually moved from our foster cottage, and joined the rest of our motley crew of rescue cats in our house. The sweet, endearing soul Maggie was, she was quickly befriended by many feline friends who took her under their wings, providing endless love and affection for her. Days were spent snuggling up in a pile of black and tuxedo cats that all blended together like a big cat quilt, providing warmth and companionship for each other. The crew of Angus, Pasha, Dusty, Angel, Red, Godiva, Marcel, Morgan and Maggie would bask in the sun together streaming through the picture window or pile up on the couch together watching Animal Planet. Over time, Maggie became the queen of our house—she was strong, wise, smart, set her boundaries, loved fearlessly, maintained her independence but also deeply comforted and loved her feline community. One by one, in more recent years, Maggie outlived each of her furry feline friends, for all but one—Morgan.
When I learned two years ago Maggie had chronic kidney disease (CKD), my heart sank a bit. I knew this difficult disease. I had become intimately familiar with it through two other CKD cats that had passed. So I closely tracked her blood tests four times a year, and when her blood creatine, BUN, SDMA, and phosphorus levels started rising, I put her on a lower phosphorous and protein diet. When she reached Stage 2 kidney disease, I learned that she had developed hyperthyroid disease as well. Having had two cats previously with CKD and hyperthyroid disease, I knew what the eventual outcome would be. The drug to treat hyperthyroid disease, Methimazole, was going to worsen and speed up her chronic kidney disease. There was no way out of this. Her hyperthyroid disease needed to be treated immediately as it causes high blood pressure, kidney failure, serious heart problems and heart failure, and can lead to blindness and retinal damage, if not treated. So for the past year, I have treated Maggie with transdermal Methimazole applied to her inner ear, morning and night. A blood test last December showed worsening CKD values, and increasing T4 hyperthyroid values. Very bad combination. These two diseases were working against each other, unfortunately.
Only a couple of months later, Maggie suddenly became incontinent. It was a Saturday night, and I had just gone to bed to read—but I noticed she was unusually restless, anxious, and her pupils were jet black with dilation. This had never happened before. She could not get comfortable and started pacing the house. Then it started abruptly—she became incontinent—on the bed, floor, her cat beds, she lost total control. I raced to get my pee-pad box out and put pee-pads everywhere, then contacted the emergency hospital. I was so alarmed by what I was seeing. Unfortunately, I received the worst news, the emergency hospital was full for the night and short one staff veterinarian, so I had to wait until morning. Trying to think fast, I checked my cat medicine cabinet and had an extra bottle of the antibiotic Zenequin, used for urinary tract infections. Thankfully, it worked! That night, Maggie rested, relaxed, calmed down and fell asleep. She indeed had a bladder infection. I thought that I was out of the darkness. But the underlying truth was that her kidneys were failing quickly. Another blood test in February showed that she had moved to Stage 3 kidney disease—I honestly thought I had more time with her, I was devastated.
A month later, Maggie became incontinent again. It wasn’t a bladder infection. This was a very bad sign and meant her kidneys were failing and we were near the end. She also had experienced several spikes of high blood pressure that had left her completely blind. It took her days to adjust to her new world of darkness. She walked alongside the walls, feeling them as she went, and she no longer could jump onto the bed where she loved to be every night and morning to cuddle with me and the other cats. So I held her for hours trying to comfort her and soothe her in this new and different world of no light and total darkness. On top of her blindness and incontinence, she was losing her mobility and was struggling to walk. Her new veterinarian came to my house and gave her a blood pressure test—confirming she had high blood pressure and could be treated with Amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker used for treat high blood pressure to prevent damage to the kidneys, eyes, and brain. But it was too late. This confluence of chronic diseases and sudden high blood pressure had worsened her kidney function, and caused fluids to build up in her body.
At this point, she was not in any pain, but her body was falling apart and her quality of life was fading rapidly. In only a few short months, the time had come to say goodbye to my beautiful Maggie. The unthinkable moment for a pet parent had arrived. All the signs were clear—she was losing control of her Rubenesque body that I had held so often, that had sweetly hugged my head at night, and had provided me so much comfort every day. Through all of it, Maggie’s spirit remained so loving, sweet, and hopeful, the bright light she had always been.
For three days, Maggie’s body lay in state, surrounded by candlelight and dried flowers, to honor her life, to pay tribute to her beautiful soul, and to pay our respects to one of the sweetest cats that ever lived in the world. Rest in peace my dearest kitty that gave so much to her human and animal companions, every day. We love you.
