Every week we look for interesting stories about cats and their owners. This week we spoke with Ana from The Netherlands (NL). Ana originally comes from Romania, but moved to The Netherlands (NL). She now lives there with her husband and her two Spanish black cats.
A hidden problem
Recently, Ana unfortunately had to say goodbye to their cat, Vlady. He passed away after a severe battle with pancreatitis. Unfortunately, pancreatitis is a difficult disease to diagnose in cats. The symptoms are not always clear and visible. Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when the pancreatic enzymes are activated within the pancreas. When this happens, the enzymes digest the pancreas itself.
How do you recognize this in your cat? Here are some of the most common signs to watch for. The signs of pancreatitis in cats tend to be vague. Some cats have only one or two of these symptoms.
They include:
- Lethargy
- Not eating
- Dehydration
- Fever or, more often, a low body temperature
- Vomiting (occurs in about 1/3 of cats with pancreatitis)
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Difficulty breathing (if the lungs are affected)
- Loss of coordination (if the brain is affected)
Black cat
Her other two cats, Loki and Kali, were adopted from a shelter. They were looking for two black cats because those are harder to adopt due to superstition and the idea that they wouldn't look good in photos. Initially, she thought she would bring home a boy and a girl. "We thought we would adopt a boy and a girl, but the boy turned out to be a girl on the day of the spaying. She had fooled everyone, so she was given the name of a trickster God," Ana says.
I told my cat that my heart was broken and she lay on my chest
The other cat did not respond to her given name, so they started trying a few others. "She meowed at 'Kali', so that's what we named her."
Comfort
The girls were not so sure about their new home at first. "They were quite shy and kept hiding. Fortunately, I became friends with Kali. I told her that my heart was broken and needed to be healed, and then she came purring onto my chest," Ana says. Ana had recently lost one of her beloved cats. It was as if Kali could feel her pain.
Family
Ana sees the cats as family, so she cannot name any disadvantages about her two black cats. "Okay, one disadvantage could be the veterinary costs, but in my opinion, it is worth it to save your family," says Ana. The cats also have their own cat tree, which they do appreciate for taking naps. But it is not their only place to sleep. "As I said, my cats are family members. They live in the house and are allowed to use the house just like we humans," so don't be surprised if you find a cat sleeping on the bed or in the sink!
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