Hello from Cat Guardians! My name is Raven, and I have lived at the shelter for most of my life. I was found outside near the shelter as a stray kitty. The loving folks at Cat Guardians took me in and gave me a home. I am still a bit timid when it comes to my human companions. However, I get along well with all the other cats at the shelter, as I am very easy going. Currently, I am being sponsored by kind people, and I feel incredibly fortunate. Please consider sponsoring some of my other cat friends at the shelter. We all appreciate your support because it helps us to live our best lives!
Posted 3/19/2025 from Kathy:
Two weeks to the day that we lost our 17-year-old patriarch Elvis (to a debilitating blood clot), we lost our 15-year-old matriarch Raven to complications related to her thyroid condition. Some of you might be surprised to learn that Raven’s been with us since 2012 (when she was trapped in the next door neighbor’s yard as a feral cat). Until recently, Raven didn’t want to be touched, & she let us know that with her “anti-friendly” behavior! Then a couple years ago she was diagnosed as being hyperthyroid in need of daily Methimazole, which was possible to give her in some tasty food, so things went well until now. About 10 days ago her appetite appeared to decrease, so she’d been in a cage for observation, & while her appetite increased after some Mirataz was rubbed inside of her ear (something she never would’ve allowed before, so that right there was a sign that something wasn’t right).
It turned out that Raven lost her eyesight due to high blood pressure (stemming from thyroid/kidney issues), while high blood pressure can be controlled with medication, a look at the whole picture is what contributes to making the ultimate decision to let her go…😓
She’s had chronic diarrhea for several years now that wasn’t able to be controlled with proper medication & special food, plus her blindness, inability to groom herself, trouble with walking, & most likely kidney failure at this point were enough to warrant the humane decision, but the defining issue was the fact that she would need to be given subcutaneous fluids 3x weekly for her severe dehydration (caused by the chronic diarrhea), & I couldn’t bear the thought of having to force her to receive fluids only to give her a limited amount of time. The vet agreed that wouldn’t be “quality of life”, so the decision was made, & Raven went peacefully without any problems at all (& those of you who knew Raven know that’s not how she behaved, she was quite the feisty girl!) I knew the correct decision was made because prior to the procedure, Raven allowed me to kiss her on the head repeatedly, & I could feel her purring (just like Elvis had done two weeks prior!) They both left this world being shown lots of love.💗 And I thank all of YOU for the care & concern that you showed to them for so many years!💞
I apologize for rambling on, but it’s very emotional & devastating to lose 4 cats in the span of 2-1/2 weeks!😢 (Trixie to complications of diabetes, Elvis to a blood clot, Lilac to cancer & now Raven to thyroid/kidney issues). Volunteering at an animal shelter can be very happy & rewarding, but the realities are unbelievably heartbreaking!💔
Sincerely, Kathy
