6/24/04:
     

7/9/04:
 

8/7/04:
 

4/05:

9/05:

4/06:

6/06:

12/18/06:

Snowball's story

On 6/24/04 a white cat with medium-length hair, gray tail and grey ears was sitting on our deck in Sterling, VA. She is very friendly and loves to be held and petted. She is declawed (front only), does not have a collar, and had a runny nose and eyes. She hung around our deck for several days so we decided to put a collar on her with a note that read "call (phone #) if this is your cat". We placed signs around the neighborhood that reads "Cat found (phone#)" with a picture of the cat. The cat hung around our deck for a few more days and no one called and the note was still on her collar. She was still having difficulty breathing so we took her to the vet on 7/3. The vet gave her several shots for her respiratory infection and prescribed antibiotics and antihistamines for us to give her twice daily. The vet performed a feline leukemia and FIV tests which were negative. The vet said the cat is about 4-5 years old, weighs 9 lbs, and is neutered. Since 7/3 we have been keeping the cat indoors in a locked bedroom (we have two other adult cats). We have named her Snowball.

7/11/04 update: we have kept Snowball in the house for 8 days now. Her respiratory infection is nearly gone and she looks much better. She cleans herself a lot and drinks lots of water (loves to drink out of the faucet!). She likes to sleep in the sink. After observing her behavior for a week, I think she is only 1-2 years old. She is very playful.

8/13/04 update: 5 weeks and no calls for her, I guess we're keeping her. She gets along well with our cat Homer but Ginger still hisses at her sometimes. She still has watery eyes and slightly runny nose but she doesn't wheeze anymore.

1/06 update: we took her to a new vet (now in CT) and after blood work, x-rays and an ultrasound, he determined she has a hyperthyroidism that is causing her constant illness. He gave us Tapazol pills to give her every day. She's lost a lot of weight, she's down to 5lbs 10oz. She seems to be deaf. This vet thinks Snowball is over 10 years old due.

3/06: She's gained some weight back and is feeling much better!

6/06: She's back to a healthy weight but still has watery eyes and runny nose.

12/30/06: A very sad day, we had Snowball euthanized today. She was lethargic and stopped eating and drinking last night. We took her to the vet this morning and they said she had kidney failure. We are so sad, she had become part of the family.
Rest in peace, Snowball, you will be missed.