Coll Writes

I can’t believe it’s been a month without our little Zobo Cat. It may sound silly, but we really miss her. We still have moments where we forget that she isn’t around – Alex will ask if she’s coming home soon, Jay has sworn that he’s felt her jump up on the bed several times, and I’ve had a tough time remembering that I can’t just throw extra water or an ice cube into her water bowl anymore. We just really miss her.

I realize that I didn’t explain what actually happened in between my post about Zoe being sick and my post that she had passed away, so here’s what happened. This post is long but will likely be my last-ever post about Zoe.

When I wrote my update, we had just started Zoe on steroids, anti-nausea meds, and an appetite stimulant. My friend Katie, who is a vet, came over the night of Thursday, July 15, and reassured me that it could take several days before she’d be feeling better. By the following day, Zoe was a bit more like herself. She was able to jump up on the counter, indicating she had more strength and energy than she’d previously had. I felt tentatively hopeful.

We were going to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, July 17, and debated what we should do with Zoe while we were gone. On one hand, she was starting to respond positively to the steroids and we didn’t want her to miss any doses. Also, the last time we’d been out-of-town was when she’d had that sharp decline and we didn’t want to lose any progress. On the other hand, we didn’t want to take her from her comfort zone. In the end, we decided to board her so she could have someone giving her the medicine and encouraging her to eat.

Whether that was a mistake or not, I’ll never know. When we picked her up on Monday morning, she was skinny and weak and it was clear that she hadn’t eaten very much. I had called the vet’s office to check on her on Sunday afternoon and they told me she was doing well, but she was not the same cat that we’d dropped off. I was devastated.

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Zoe Helen Glatfelter passed away peacefully in her mommy’s arms on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 as her daddy rubbed her head in the way that she always loved being pet. She was born in July 2008 in her paternal family’s backyard to the cat that Jay & Jack listeners affectionately knew as “Mommy Kitty.” In May 2009, her daddy brought her home to his apartment, and a family of three was formed.

Princess Zoe

She was a great kitty.

Zoe was playful and patient. She let her mommy dress her up in silly costumes and only complained a little bit. She was smart; she knew she only had to pose for the picture. She was a really good sport. Zoe put up with a lot of costumes over the years and her mommy is so grateful for it. She was buried with her princess hat.

Whenever her mommy left the house, she’d call out, “Goodbye Zoe, be a good kitty!” She was always a good kitty.

Baby Alex chasing Zoe.

Over the years, her family grew into a family of five. She was so shook by her brother Zachary’s arrival that she refused to come out of her parents’ bedroom or acknowledge his existence for weeks. Soon, they were getting along while respecting each other’s boundaries. When her brother Alex arrived, it was a game-changer. Alex loved Zoe and would crawl around the house looking for her. Once, she hid underneath the Pack ‘n’ Play to get some peace and quiet. This past Christmas, she hid in the Christmas tree. But she loved Alex back and would purr as he loved all over her. She was weak but perked up a little bit when her brothers arrived to say goodbye to her. She loved them and they loved her.

Saying goodbye

Daddy & Zoe napping on Mommy.

Zoe loved being around people. She was a lap kitty and would jump right on up there, whether you were ready for her to do so or not. We called her our puppy cat because she acted more like a dog than your stereotypical cat sometimes. She loved playing with the laser pointer and Nerf gun bullets and sitting on the power box of a laptop charger. She never minded guests and would greet anyone who came into the house, hoping for a head or chin rub. A guard cat, she was not.

Comforting Mommy after hernia surgery.

Zoe provided comfort through some really terrible times. She showed affection by nuzzling her head against your body, which her mommy always thought was her version of giving kisses. Zoe loved it when her mommy did the same back to her. She would purr so loudly. Her mommy nuzzled her head in her final moments yesterday and hopes it gave her comfort.

Busted!

She loved sitting in boxes and suitcases. Whenever the suitcase came out, she knew what that meant. She didn’t like when her family left for more than a day and would meow loudly at them when they got home.

Zoe was mischievous. If you left a cup of water out on the table or counter, she would jump up and try to sneak a sip out of it. It will take a while to break the habit of covering or moving water glasses against the toaster oven (the only spot safe). When her family left town for more than a day, her mommy would fill giant water glasses for her and leave them around the house to make sure she drank.

Napping with Mommy & Zachy

Zoe was affectionally nicknamed Zobo Cat, and yes, she had her own theme song.

Zoe loved sitting on her cat tower in her parents’ bedroom and looking out the window. She loved sleeping curled up in the sun against the living room windows. She jumped up on the couch and curled up for pets and snuggles with her parents at nighttime. Her daddy would give her her favorite head rub and she would purr loudly. She would jump up on the bed and sleep snuggled against her mommy all night long. Her mommy would sometimes wake up with Zach, Alex, and Zoe sleeping on her, each vying for their own spot and she’d have to take a minute to figure out who was where and keep Zoe from getting squished.

Nuzzling Mommy

Although Zoe struggled to jump up on furniture over the past few weeks, she somehow managed to get onto the bed on Tuesday night and her mommy was surprised to find her curled up, snuggled against her on Wednesday morning. It brings her peace knowing she got one last sleep with Zoe and she is eternally grateful for that memory.

Zoe’s family loved her and she loved her family. She will be missed.

Goodbye, Zoe. Be a good kitty.

National Pet Day 2021

I write this post with a bit of sadness. Our wonderful kitty, Zoe, has been having some health issues lately. Over the last month, she had started eating less and less, and when we were away in New York over the Fourth of July weekend, she stopped eating altogether. She looked terrible when we got back home. We took her to the vet; she was down to 7.5lbs. Zoe has always been a smaller cat, but never less than 9lbs, and she was clearly in distress.

After blood tests and ultrasounds, our vet has narrowed her condition down to either severe irritable bowel disease (IBD) or, more likely, GI lymphoma. She started steroids yesterday and if she responds well, she’ll hopefully have 1-3 years left.

My baby kitty girl. <3

This is a common disease for cats her age (13-years), so we are not going through anything unique. While trying to learn more information about Zoe’s diagnosis, I learned that my friend’s cat had to be put down from the same lymphoma less than 2 weeks ago. I had reached out to her to learn more about the diagnosis and she gave me that sad update along with the information that her kitty had lasted 1.5 years after diagnosis.

The bad? Zoe is so weak from not being able to eat that on Tuesday night, she tried to jump up onto the couch on two separate occasions and couldn’t do it. She fell both times and after the second time, she was limping around. I cried. The picture above is from after I picked her up and put her on the couch. She loves sitting on the couch next to us while we hang out or watch TV at night. After you pick her up, she’s so dizzy/nauseous/weak that you can’t put her back down on her feet; you have to lay her on her side or she’ll fall over. It’s so sad, and yup, I cried and worried a lot of the night.

The good? Zoe’s on a steroid treatment that a good friend who’s a vet (not Zoe’s) told me has been effective for cats that respond well to it. We gave her the first dosage last night and a second one this morning. My vet friend said it could take 24-48 hours to work, so fingers crossed that she takes well to it because as of this morning, she has barely eaten anything in the last 24-hours.

So that’s some of what’s going on right now. I’m worried about my Zobo Cat and preparing myself for the reality that Zoe may not be with us about 5-years earlier than I expected her not to be. I know that’s life, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

If anyone has had any experience with either disease in their cat, let me know, either good or bad. I’m an emotional person so being prepared with realistic expectations is good for me, haha. Thanks!