Dustina, 19 years old died at the Hartman Animal Hospital today at 11:45PM.
I've had her since the day she was born.
Her mother, Jesse/Jezze was my first cat. Jesse was a black Bombay pure breed. But she was almost in retirement from showing. She was also a breeder. She lived up the street from me and even had her own room which she was always in and the door was always closed. Well the people had a baby so it seemed they paid more attention to the baby than to Jesse. They had a babysitter who sometimes accidentally let Jesse out (her full name was The Jezebel of Conway) and every single time she got out she came to my house. Then she ended up pregnant by a male cat (or more) from the neighborhood one of the times she got out. The people then talked to me about keeping her because they weren't even going into cat showing anymore since they had that baby. I was ecstatic but my parents weren't at the time. My mom then was highly allergic to cats (only later we found out it was their claws and not all of the cat). So after Jesse had those babies, somehow that room door and the front door were left open (I think they were moving in some new furniture) and Jesse, one by one brought all of her babies down to my house. It was then the people up the street said I could have her because they were tired of her always leaving. My parents (especially my mom when she saw the kittens) relented and I got to keep Jesse and the babies. We successfully gave all those kittens away and it wasn't long before she was pregnant again. My parents told her I had to get her fixed but I couldn't afford it at the time since I was 12 and the job I was doing didn't pay but about $5 daily. She lost the babies, I saw her have the miscarriage and it saddened me. I decided to get her fixed as soon as possible but she got pregnant again. This was the litter Dustina was in. She had the kittens in a hamper that was in the newest addition to the house, my parents new bedroom right next to the new bathroom.
I instantly fell in love with Dustina. At first though she was thought to be a male. So I named her Dusty. Then she ended up pregnant (her sister Dotty did as well). So I wondered about her name thinking of many ways to change Dusty into a female name and ended up with Dustina. Dotty and Dustina had their babies around the same time. It was so cute because they would take turns with all the kittens, babysitting the other kittens when the other mother was gone and so on. We soon gave all of Dustina's siblings including Dotty and her kittens to a farmer who needed them for mousing (they were all good mousers). So Jesse and Dustina and Dustina's babies were left. I wanted to keep Dustina's baby, Dara but a three year old little girl fell in love with the kitten so she went with the little girl. Now I wished I had kept her but I hear Dara is doing quite well and they kept that name since it was easy for the little girl to pronounce. Dustina's baby, Smokey lives next door, he's almost 18 years old himself. I had already gotten Jesse fixed so after these babies of Dustina I got her fixed.
I was notorious about bringing in strays whether it was birds, dogs, cats, opussoms, squirrels, whatever. If they were lost or injured, I'd bring them in and nurse them back to health then let them go if they were wild or give them away to a good home if domesticated. Well, there was this cute petite fluffy white female cat I named Prissy who was in the park and looked all lost. She was so dirty, I gave her a bath and she didn't care. She was very sweet. But I didn't know it until it was too late that she had Distemper. By this time Jesse had been killed when a car ran over her and the owner of the car buried her. I didn't find this out until a week later. So I had Dustina and what was left her of her kittens. The Distemper killed three of the kittens. Smokey and Dara were given away thus saved. It got Dustina so I rushed her to the vet we had been using for years by then. They immediately put her on IVs full of pain meds and antibiotics. I visited her daily and even cleaned her and the cage each time I was there. Within a week she was healthy again. The vet couldn't believe it and said he'd never seen a cat who pulled through from the brink of death like she did and he thought it was all because of her love for me and my love for her.
She's been a healthy and happy cat ever since that incident. Now here's the tough decision (and I've been crying over it for a few days now) is having to put her to sleep. See she's eating well and drinking well but she's not able to get around at all. She's already had authoritis for a few years now. I massage her daily like the vet showed me how when I first found out. But now she's somehow has injured her back right leg and isn't able to get around by herself. I've got to put her on the floor then pick her up, I've got to carry her to the food and bring her back to this room (the computer room, she won't live anywhere else in the house because of the other cats). It's not that I mind picking her up, putting her down, and carrying her back and forth. It's not that at all. It's because she's in so much pain when she moves. She makes this squeaking sound each time and squints her eyes, I could tell it hurt her.
I've had her since the day she was born.
Her mother, Jesse/Jezze was my first cat. Jesse was a black Bombay pure breed. But she was almost in retirement from showing. She was also a breeder. She lived up the street from me and even had her own room which she was always in and the door was always closed. Well the people had a baby so it seemed they paid more attention to the baby than to Jesse. They had a babysitter who sometimes accidentally let Jesse out (her full name was The Jezebel of Conway) and every single time she got out she came to my house. Then she ended up pregnant by a male cat (or more) from the neighborhood one of the times she got out. The people then talked to me about keeping her because they weren't even going into cat showing anymore since they had that baby. I was ecstatic but my parents weren't at the time. My mom then was highly allergic to cats (only later we found out it was their claws and not all of the cat). So after Jesse had those babies, somehow that room door and the front door were left open (I think they were moving in some new furniture) and Jesse, one by one brought all of her babies down to my house. It was then the people up the street said I could have her because they were tired of her always leaving. My parents (especially my mom when she saw the kittens) relented and I got to keep Jesse and the babies. We successfully gave all those kittens away and it wasn't long before she was pregnant again. My parents told her I had to get her fixed but I couldn't afford it at the time since I was 12 and the job I was doing didn't pay but about $5 daily. She lost the babies, I saw her have the miscarriage and it saddened me. I decided to get her fixed as soon as possible but she got pregnant again. This was the litter Dustina was in. She had the kittens in a hamper that was in the newest addition to the house, my parents new bedroom right next to the new bathroom.
I instantly fell in love with Dustina. At first though she was thought to be a male. So I named her Dusty. Then she ended up pregnant (her sister Dotty did as well). So I wondered about her name thinking of many ways to change Dusty into a female name and ended up with Dustina. Dotty and Dustina had their babies around the same time. It was so cute because they would take turns with all the kittens, babysitting the other kittens when the other mother was gone and so on. We soon gave all of Dustina's siblings including Dotty and her kittens to a farmer who needed them for mousing (they were all good mousers). So Jesse and Dustina and Dustina's babies were left. I wanted to keep Dustina's baby, Dara but a three year old little girl fell in love with the kitten so she went with the little girl. Now I wished I had kept her but I hear Dara is doing quite well and they kept that name since it was easy for the little girl to pronounce. Dustina's baby, Smokey lives next door, he's almost 18 years old himself. I had already gotten Jesse fixed so after these babies of Dustina I got her fixed.
I was notorious about bringing in strays whether it was birds, dogs, cats, opussoms, squirrels, whatever. If they were lost or injured, I'd bring them in and nurse them back to health then let them go if they were wild or give them away to a good home if domesticated. Well, there was this cute petite fluffy white female cat I named Prissy who was in the park and looked all lost. She was so dirty, I gave her a bath and she didn't care. She was very sweet. But I didn't know it until it was too late that she had Distemper. By this time Jesse had been killed when a car ran over her and the owner of the car buried her. I didn't find this out until a week later. So I had Dustina and what was left her of her kittens. The Distemper killed three of the kittens. Smokey and Dara were given away thus saved. It got Dustina so I rushed her to the vet we had been using for years by then. They immediately put her on IVs full of pain meds and antibiotics. I visited her daily and even cleaned her and the cage each time I was there. Within a week she was healthy again. The vet couldn't believe it and said he'd never seen a cat who pulled through from the brink of death like she did and he thought it was all because of her love for me and my love for her.
She's been a healthy and happy cat ever since that incident. Now here's the tough decision (and I've been crying over it for a few days now) is having to put her to sleep. See she's eating well and drinking well but she's not able to get around at all. She's already had authoritis for a few years now. I massage her daily like the vet showed me how when I first found out. But now she's somehow has injured her back right leg and isn't able to get around by herself. I've got to put her on the floor then pick her up, I've got to carry her to the food and bring her back to this room (the computer room, she won't live anywhere else in the house because of the other cats). It's not that I mind picking her up, putting her down, and carrying her back and forth. It's not that at all. It's because she's in so much pain when she moves. She makes this squeaking sound each time and squints her eyes, I could tell it hurt her.
Dustina, 19 years old died at the Hartman Animal Hospital today at 11:45PM.
I've had her since the day she was born.
Her mother, Jesse/Jezze was my first cat. Jesse was a black Bombay pure breed. But she was almost in retirement from showing. She was also a breeder. She lived up the street from me and even had her own room which she was always in and the door was always closed. Well the people had a baby so it seemed they paid more attention to the baby than to Jesse. They had a babysitter who sometimes accidentally let Jesse out (her full name was The Jezebel of Conway) and every single time she got out she came to my house. Then she ended up pregnant by a male cat (or more) from the neighborhood one of the times she got out. The people then talked to me about keeping her because they weren't even going into cat showing anymore since they had that baby. I was ecstatic but my parents weren't at the time. My mom then was highly allergic to cats (only later we found out it was their claws and not all of the cat). So after Jesse had those babies, somehow that room door and the front door were left open (I think they were moving in some new furniture) and Jesse, one by one brought all of her babies down to my house. It was then the people up the street said I could have her because they were tired of her always leaving. My parents (especially my mom when she saw the kittens) relented and I got to keep Jesse and the babies. We successfully gave all those kittens away and it wasn't long before she was pregnant again. My parents told her I had to get her fixed but I couldn't afford it at the time since I was 12 and the job I was doing didn't pay but about $5 daily. She lost the babies, I saw her have the miscarriage and it saddened me. I decided to get her fixed as soon as possible but she got pregnant again. This was the litter Dustina was in. She had the kittens in a hamper that was in the newest addition to the house, my parents new bedroom right next to the new bathroom.
I instantly fell in love with Dustina. At first though she was thought to be a male. So I named her Dusty. Then she ended up pregnant (her sister Dotty did as well). So I wondered about her name thinking of many ways to change Dusty into a female name and ended up with Dustina. Dotty and Dustina had their babies around the same time. It was so cute because they would take turns with all the kittens, babysitting the other kittens when the other mother was gone and so on. We soon gave all of Dustina's siblings including Dotty and her kittens to a farmer who needed them for mousing (they were all good mousers). So Jesse and Dustina and Dustina's babies were left. I wanted to keep Dustina's baby, Dara but a three year old little girl fell in love with the kitten so she went with the little girl. Now I wished I had kept her but I hear Dara is doing quite well and they kept that name since it was easy for the little girl to pronounce. Dustina's baby, Smokey lives next door, he's almost 18 years old himself. I had already gotten Jesse fixed so after these babies of Dustina I got her fixed.
I was notorious about bringing in strays whether it was birds, dogs, cats, opussoms, squirrels, whatever. If they were lost or injured, I'd bring them in and nurse them back to health then let them go if they were wild or give them away to a good home if domesticated. Well, there was this cute petite fluffy white female cat I named Prissy who was in the park and looked all lost. She was so dirty, I gave her a bath and she didn't care. She was very sweet. But I didn't know it until it was too late that she had Distemper. By this time Jesse had been killed when a car ran over her and the owner of the car buried her. I didn't find this out until a week later. So I had Dustina and what was left her of her kittens. The Distemper killed three of the kittens. Smokey and Dara were given away thus saved. It got Dustina so I rushed her to the vet we had been using for years by then. They immediately put her on IVs full of pain meds and antibiotics. I visited her daily and even cleaned her and the cage each time I was there. Within a week she was healthy again. The vet couldn't believe it and said he'd never seen a cat who pulled through from the brink of death like she did and he thought it was all because of her love for me and my love for her.
She's been a healthy and happy cat ever since that incident. Now here's the tough decision (and I've been crying over it for a few days now) is having to put her to sleep. See she's eating well and drinking well but she's not able to get around at all. She's already had authoritis for a few years now. I massage her daily like the vet showed me how when I first found out. But now she's somehow has injured her back right leg and isn't able to get around by herself. I've got to put her on the floor then pick her up, I've got to carry her to the food and bring her back to this room (the computer room, she won't live anywhere else in the house because of the other cats). It's not that I mind picking her up, putting her down, and carrying her back and forth. It's not that at all. It's because she's in so much pain when she moves. She makes this squeaking sound each time and squints her eyes, I could tell it hurt her.
I've had her since the day she was born.
Her mother, Jesse/Jezze was my first cat. Jesse was a black Bombay pure breed. But she was almost in retirement from showing. She was also a breeder. She lived up the street from me and even had her own room which she was always in and the door was always closed. Well the people had a baby so it seemed they paid more attention to the baby than to Jesse. They had a babysitter who sometimes accidentally let Jesse out (her full name was The Jezebel of Conway) and every single time she got out she came to my house. Then she ended up pregnant by a male cat (or more) from the neighborhood one of the times she got out. The people then talked to me about keeping her because they weren't even going into cat showing anymore since they had that baby. I was ecstatic but my parents weren't at the time. My mom then was highly allergic to cats (only later we found out it was their claws and not all of the cat). So after Jesse had those babies, somehow that room door and the front door were left open (I think they were moving in some new furniture) and Jesse, one by one brought all of her babies down to my house. It was then the people up the street said I could have her because they were tired of her always leaving. My parents (especially my mom when she saw the kittens) relented and I got to keep Jesse and the babies. We successfully gave all those kittens away and it wasn't long before she was pregnant again. My parents told her I had to get her fixed but I couldn't afford it at the time since I was 12 and the job I was doing didn't pay but about $5 daily. She lost the babies, I saw her have the miscarriage and it saddened me. I decided to get her fixed as soon as possible but she got pregnant again. This was the litter Dustina was in. She had the kittens in a hamper that was in the newest addition to the house, my parents new bedroom right next to the new bathroom.
I instantly fell in love with Dustina. At first though she was thought to be a male. So I named her Dusty. Then she ended up pregnant (her sister Dotty did as well). So I wondered about her name thinking of many ways to change Dusty into a female name and ended up with Dustina. Dotty and Dustina had their babies around the same time. It was so cute because they would take turns with all the kittens, babysitting the other kittens when the other mother was gone and so on. We soon gave all of Dustina's siblings including Dotty and her kittens to a farmer who needed them for mousing (they were all good mousers). So Jesse and Dustina and Dustina's babies were left. I wanted to keep Dustina's baby, Dara but a three year old little girl fell in love with the kitten so she went with the little girl. Now I wished I had kept her but I hear Dara is doing quite well and they kept that name since it was easy for the little girl to pronounce. Dustina's baby, Smokey lives next door, he's almost 18 years old himself. I had already gotten Jesse fixed so after these babies of Dustina I got her fixed.
I was notorious about bringing in strays whether it was birds, dogs, cats, opussoms, squirrels, whatever. If they were lost or injured, I'd bring them in and nurse them back to health then let them go if they were wild or give them away to a good home if domesticated. Well, there was this cute petite fluffy white female cat I named Prissy who was in the park and looked all lost. She was so dirty, I gave her a bath and she didn't care. She was very sweet. But I didn't know it until it was too late that she had Distemper. By this time Jesse had been killed when a car ran over her and the owner of the car buried her. I didn't find this out until a week later. So I had Dustina and what was left her of her kittens. The Distemper killed three of the kittens. Smokey and Dara were given away thus saved. It got Dustina so I rushed her to the vet we had been using for years by then. They immediately put her on IVs full of pain meds and antibiotics. I visited her daily and even cleaned her and the cage each time I was there. Within a week she was healthy again. The vet couldn't believe it and said he'd never seen a cat who pulled through from the brink of death like she did and he thought it was all because of her love for me and my love for her.
She's been a healthy and happy cat ever since that incident. Now here's the tough decision (and I've been crying over it for a few days now) is having to put her to sleep. See she's eating well and drinking well but she's not able to get around at all. She's already had authoritis for a few years now. I massage her daily like the vet showed me how when I first found out. But now she's somehow has injured her back right leg and isn't able to get around by herself. I've got to put her on the floor then pick her up, I've got to carry her to the food and bring her back to this room (the computer room, she won't live anywhere else in the house because of the other cats). It's not that I mind picking her up, putting her down, and carrying her back and forth. It's not that at all. It's because she's in so much pain when she moves. She makes this squeaking sound each time and squints her eyes, I could tell it hurt her.
