My post was originally published on Beloved Cat - Grief & Support Group for loss of your beloved cat Facebook group on 3rd December 2025.
Imagine
twelve weeks in your life. Twelve weeks that would end up changing your
whole life for better and for worse. Not years, my friends, but only 12
exact weeks to spend with a cat, not just any kind of random cat, a
very special gifted — almost otherwordly — pretty cat with no known past
but you as her future. A precious present that destiny urgently placed
in your arms because you were The Chosen One for her, her fit, the
person meant to be her human, her Godsend. Your Now Precious Cat, your
one chance in a lifetime to get it right and keep it right for her, out
of an odd set of circumstances beyond your control. Twelve fast-paced
weeks of joyful wonder that come with a set of caveats. Out of the blue,
it would end abruptly with fate harshly taking back what destiny had
given you. And there is no getting back, no solace, only tears to cry
and past moments to relive on repeat in your mind. This is the tragic
story of 12 weeks in my life that happen to be the last 12 weeks of my
MINETTE KIARA's life.
One cartoonesque, long tall dainty bouncy Boop Oop A Doop
girly spirited calico cat with her tail always up and her footing light
and feminine, sashaying as if she were in heels. The deepest most
soulful speckled sandy eyes I have ever dived into, a Pacific Ocean of
alluring wisdom and calm mystery that were the windows to her soul, with
a twinkle of sunkissed gleam. She was brought to my doorstep by a young
tourist who had found her abandonned by a local bridge a few days prior
and helped her as much as he could but now holiday was over, he was
flying home. He had been told that I own a gaggle of cats of feral/
stray origin, so maybe I could add her on to my 'tribe'.
Yet
God was she different from what I was used to: social, friendly,
focused, poised, content, emotionnally intelligent, and so pretty. I
could nest her bony body in my arms without fear of being scratched or
hissed at, she was my instant cup of sunshine. I was spellbound by her
strong fortitude and intriguing beauty, I could only describe her as a
feline version of Betty Boop with the enigmatic, distinguished and
dignified grace of a Greta Garbo. My other (younger, impetuous) cats
never accepted Minette into their lair. Whenever they would get into a
frenzy and hiss at her as they whizzed past, she would look at them
stoically and shrug with that poised indifference that translated as «
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. »
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She
was supposed to be a senior cat according to vets but her physical
features and coat looked pretty youthful despite her thin frame and
musculature, and I remember how beautifully nice and clean her teeth and
mouth were during her medical check-up.
Our
first caveat was that Minette had very visible health issues (later
diagnosed through biopsy as squamous cell carcinomas spread around her
sun-worshipping body) and an unbeknownst underlying issue
(hyperthyroidism that would end up being diagnosed way too late by the
vets!) but I was intent on addressing all her health woes and get her on
the path to recovery no matter what. However I became obsessed with
(and blindsided by) her skin cancer and didn't look at the bigger
(holistic) picture, but neither did the vets! My obsession can only be
explained by the fact that my dad had died from skin cancer seven years
ago on that very same island, failed by doctors.
Our
second caveat is THE make-or-break caveat. We live on a Mediterranean
island (hours away from mainland) where veterinary 'care' is sketchy,
patchy and unreliable, and where I had already exhausted a number of
options with less-than-competent veterinarians for my pets along the
years. But this time would be different, we would place our trust in a
new vet with 'some oncology training' (whatever that really meant but
beggars can't be choosers). Minette underwent successful surgery on a
small abdominal skin tumour in early September. This filled me with hope
for her future! Then I was persuaded by that vet to book an
electrochemotherapy session for all her other tumours, a revolutionary
method with good results on skin carcinomas. Unfortunately my husband
(who is less of an animal lover than I am) urged me to pace ourselves a
bit longer (wait another 3-4 weeks) due to all the vet costs (and other
outgoings) but then something unexpected popped up and delayed me
further in my endeavours: business travel arrangements to Italy that my
husband insisted I should accompany him to. My heart sank. This delayed
Minette's electrochemo session to 4th November. These delays, I was
really annoyed about but knew my husband would have the last word so I
backed down for peace.
But
there is more to this. Already, around 10th October, a black spot had
suddenly appeared just underneath Minette's lower lip line (left side of
her mouth). I was hoping it would remain contained until dealt with
electrochemo but it aggressively started to grow by the day into a
raised, inflammed black sore of a carcinoma (sarcoma?). We left Minette
with my mum and when we came back one week later (2nd Nov) Minette's
chin sore had doubled in volume, with a distinctive putrid odor, sign of
infection. On the 4th, she underwent electrochemo under general
anaesthesia and the vet particularly insisted on the chin (that she had
scraped off and disinfected beforehand), our main concern. Minette was
also injected with Convenia (a two-week antibiotic treatment in one
shot) for her infected skin ulcer, plus NexGard combo flea treatment as
they found fleas when they shaved her lesions. All I could think of was a
potent cocktail mix of strong chemicals (with lots of adverse
reactions) for a lb5.4 featherweight kitty cat... Recovery was going to
be tough but I trusted that Minette's strong-willed nature and her
resilience to the adversity she had faced in life would help her get
over this.
For
the next 72 hours, she appeared to be in 'normal' recovery mode,
subdued but still present and reactive, drinking lots of water and
eating her wet food, sleeping and resting on her cushion outside on the
terrace (her favourite spot). I was monitoring her but wrongly assumed
that she had overcome the worst bits of the side-effects. Little did I
know, for she started going downhill on Friday morning. I found her next
to a pool of water she had drunk from her bowl but then regurgitated
out as she was unable to keep it down, which I thought was due to chemo
effects. She ate some of her paté (the last time she ever ate). The rest
of that day, she was really subdued and sleepy, not much reactive,
sometimes making weak sounds like she was in pain. I should have rung
the vets but I really believed we were going through a short rough spell
and she would pull through as drugs would start weaning off (as if!).
Minette
never pulled through. By the time I rang the emergency vet on Saturday
night (bearing in mind we live in the mountains and the closest vet is
over one hour's drive away), he casually assessed that she was having
the 'normal' side effects and her case was NO EMERGENCY! I was told in
no uncertain words we should wait till the morning for me to drive her
down when he opens the clinic (more like he couldn't be bothered to have
his Saturday night interrupted!). Minette's future that I had
envisioned bright and sunny suddenly narrowed down to her last strained
out moments of agony, laid out before my eyes. I watch her as her light
was flickering and I knew she would not survive a long car journey in
her current state. Three hours later, her magnetic gaze was already
staring into a void or into the afterworld. Lying down on that big floor
pillow, she suddenly straightened her neck, her big eyes wide open, and
her pupils dilated in a flash, turning black and staring ahead. Her
body went into a long series of silently orchestrated rigid leg spasms
as if she was stretching out and running as far away as she could from
this life that was shutting down. As I frantically called back that poor
shitty excuse of a vet, all that was left for me was to helplessly and
painfully witness my kitty cat's departure. My beautiful, sparkling,
Minette Kiara.
I
embraced everything that made you. I dived into your profound lingering
soulful eyes and bathed in your gaze and your aura for those 12 weeks
of bliss. You were and are one a kind, my loving Minette Kiara. You are
that old soul from my previous life whom I met again on this plane until
we are reunited again at that bridge, this time The Rainbow Bridge, 🌈 you my soulmate and spirit guide, my Godsend. I achingly love you and
heart-breakingly miss you. Thanks for being in my life, for this I feel
deeply honoured.💖
