HORRIBLE NEWS

We received word this morning that Flossy has died. For those of you who may remember, Flossy was a little all white female found starving, emaciated and very near death in a feral colony in the city's west end. We fostered her for 14 months in total, and during the course of that time she rallied back to blossom into a beautiful, dainty, precious little girl who despite her previous trials, grew to trust and love again.

Flossy's Mom is absolutely heartbroken, as are we. I've copied an excerpt of her Mom's email to me as well as sharing one of the last pictures of Flossy before the disease took over - she was SUCH a special little kitty and we are so shocked and saddened to know that after all she'd been through, her happiness on this side of veil was so shortlived.

There is comfort in knowing she was loved, so well cared for, and happy during the last few years of her life. Again, HUGE thank you's to "R", "J", and "H" who all had a hand in bringing her to safety and of course to "S" her Mom who loved and cared for her through her final days. To her furry friends Belle, Whispurr and Teddy who now miss her terribly, losing a friend is never easy.



I hope this note finds you well. I have started to write it so many times, but I just didn’t know what to say, so I kept putting off the writing of it. But it has been nagging me in the back of my mind that I need to let you know that our beautiful Flossy, our baby girl, has gone to kitty heaven.

I am heart broken. She developed squamous cell carcinoma, a very aggressive cancerous tumour in her mouth. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything we could do because of its location. Surgery to remove it would have required cutting away half of her jaw and I didn’t want to do that to her and the vet recommended against it. Because of the type of cancer it was and it’s aggression, unfortunately chemotherapy was not an option either. We did everything we could for her to keep her comfortable and happy until it was time to say good bye. I did not let her suffer. She was her beautiful, playful, happy Flossy self, right up until our final good-bye. She was ready when the time came, nuzzling into the vet’s hand, closing her eyes and going off to sleep. She was very peaceful. My vet was very touched saying she hadn’t seen anything quite like it before.

I syringe fed her for 3 months because there wasn’t anything else wrong other than it was difficult for her to eat on her own. She had a hard time picking up the food, with having no teeth other than her fangs, and then battling this big lump (the tumour) in her way. I was able to keep her healthy by using the syringe to redirect the food past the tumour to the back of her mouth where she was able to manage it quite fine. But eventually the cancer took over and wore her down. Her final 2 days when I noticed she wasn’t interested in playing any more and I looked deep in to her eyes, I knew it was time. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I bonded with Flossy more than any other pet I have had, or presently have, she was truly a very special baby girl. But for her, I knew I had to put my own feelings aside and say good bye. She was so special that even my vet had a soft spot for her, having tears in her eyes that last day as I openly wept.