Cali was a furry little calico kitten adopted by a young 13-year-old girl when she was just 5 weeks old. Cali was the runt of the litter and was elated to have a new home. Her 13-year-old girl was her very best friend and seemed to need her emotional support as she went through many changes and crossed many obstacles in her teenage and young adult years. 

 

When Cali is 6 years old, the girl’s mother is ashamed at the lack of veterinary care she’s provided to her daughter’s cat and lies to the doctor when she ends up with a skin infection – saying she found her as a stray like this. Cali’s girl is worried at the vet’s office and concerned for her health. One of the veterinary technicians comforts the now 19-year-old girl and alleviates her concerns and tells her she’s going to be okay. 

 

When Cali is 8 years old, her girl is 21 and has started school to become a veterinary technician because she wants to make other pet owners feel as comforted as she once did. She learns the risks of not spaying and neutering animals such as uterine infections, many forms of cancers, as well as the importance of vaccines and annual exams. Cali becomes lethargic, loses her appetite, and begins to have discharge from her vulva. The girl is just six months into her vet tech program but knows this could potentially be a serious condition. Cali is rushed to the Animal Emergency Clinic in a city over an hour away, and after being assessed by the on-call veterinarian, it is determined that Cali has developed a pyometra due to not being spayed, which means her uterus is filling up with pus/purulent material and a life-threatening condition if not treated with an immediate spay. Cali is left overnight to have the surgical procedure and her girl worries about her all night until time for pick-up at 8:00 am. Cali makes it through the procedure with flying colors and recovers without complications. The girl graduates as a veterinary technician and begins working at the same emergency clinic that saved Cali’s life. 

 

Five years later, Cali is 13 and entering her geriatric years. She’s developed a lump on her side that could potentially be a fatty tumor or cyst. The girl takes her to the doctor, and he diagnoses it as mammary cancer and found a few smaller tumors, which is very aggressive and malignant in cats. The girl is devastated because she is still seeing the consequences of not having her furry friend spayed when she was young. It’s decided Cali will undergo surgery to remove the two affected mammary gland and additional small tumors. 

 

Two years later, Cali is 15, and at this point, her girl is 28 and has had her for more than half of her own life. Cali begins to slow down, sleep more, and eat less. The girl notices another tumor emerging on one of her mammary chains and takes Cali to work for a checkup. The cancer is progressing, but instead of putting Cali through a surgery she may not make it through, the girl and her veterinarian decide palliative care is the best decision at this point. They begin pain relief medications and appetite simulants and not long after, Cali begins to significantly decline. 

 

With Cali at the age of 15, she has lived a long and fulfilling life. The girl decides to make the most loving decision she can and say goodbye to Cali and end her pain and suffering. Cali crosses the rainbow bridge next to her girl who tells stories about her life surrounded by friends that will go on to take care of her the way Cali can no longer. She won’t be gone forever, just waiting on the other side of the rainbow bridge.