Shiloh
A donation was made in memory of Shiloh on Mar 12, 2009.
The picture is of Shiloh (the black cat) and China Doll (so named because we thought she looked like a fine porcelain figurine). This starts back in 1997 when I happened to see someone in the bed of a pick up truck pull a grey cat out of the tool box and hurl her over the fence into a pasture two houses away from my home. I was unable to get a license number or I would have reported the cruelty.
Long story short, the following Monday the neighbors drove into our driveway and knocked on the door, holding a box with the grey cat and a solid white kitten. She asked if this was our cat, and I took her. They said that their dogs 'treed' her and at the base of the tree they found the kitten.
We put them in our bathroom and closed the door, providing as necessary, and 5 hours later there was a solid white brother. Of course, both kittens were seal point Siamese, their color showing up as they aged.
Again, long story short, the female kitten seemed 'slow' to develop emotionally, and to this day she is 'slow'. We love her to heaven, and cherish her slow ways. Her brother showed no sign of problems, however, he doted on his little sister. Until the day he got out of the house and had the misfortune to meet a car on the road. We couldn't help him. We mourned his loss, but his little China Doll was devastated.
Enter Shiloh. Even as a 6 to 8 month old kitten, he seemed to know she needed something. She latched onto him, and he accepted his role in her life. From that time to this, he has been there rain or shine, any time she needed him. He never turned her away that we know of. For the rest of his six years or so, we have called him her big brother, and he loved her as much as she loved him. He would give her his food, wait at the water bowl until she drank, and curl up with her, calming every fear.
We had the option of trying to extend his life for a month or two, maybe three we were told, but as he lay on the exam table (They provided a thick, luxurious towel), he lay his head down and sighed. We felt the process to extend his life sounded almost like torture, with IV fluids and a catheter into his bladder every day, plus extra efforts to make him eat food. He seemed ready to go, so we let him. We still weep. I am crying as I am trying to type with China Doll laying across both my arms between me and the keyboard. It was so unexpected.
Anyway, China has been looking for Shiloh for weeks now, and nothing seems to detour her. She has always been an indoor cat, never even wanting to go outside. Shiloh had excellent hunting skills, sometimes bringing his kill home for her to play with (we allowed this in the garage). It was SPECIAL because she believed she could hunt, too.
Too many stories, but the end is the same. She still goes to the front door and asks us to let him back in the house. He always went out the patio door, and came in the front, usually not being gone more than a half hour. Day after day, she asks us to let him in. We don't know what to do except provide tactile loving, hugging, clicking our tongues or kissing clicks. She liked to be held very tight.
It takes a special person to love animals so much that they make it their life choice to help them, which puts them directly in the path of much pain and suffering. Even though they are making them better, many animals will come to them in pain, some they can help, and some they can't do much for. This takes a lot of love for animals. I don't think I could handle that much emotion. They are truly special. We can not say enough about The Feline Clinic, the Doctors, the assistants, and the staff. They run a remarkable clinic.
Steve, Joan, and China Doll
Long story short, the following Monday the neighbors drove into our driveway and knocked on the door, holding a box with the grey cat and a solid white kitten. She asked if this was our cat, and I took her. They said that their dogs 'treed' her and at the base of the tree they found the kitten.
We put them in our bathroom and closed the door, providing as necessary, and 5 hours later there was a solid white brother. Of course, both kittens were seal point Siamese, their color showing up as they aged.
Again, long story short, the female kitten seemed 'slow' to develop emotionally, and to this day she is 'slow'. We love her to heaven, and cherish her slow ways. Her brother showed no sign of problems, however, he doted on his little sister. Until the day he got out of the house and had the misfortune to meet a car on the road. We couldn't help him. We mourned his loss, but his little China Doll was devastated.
Enter Shiloh. Even as a 6 to 8 month old kitten, he seemed to know she needed something. She latched onto him, and he accepted his role in her life. From that time to this, he has been there rain or shine, any time she needed him. He never turned her away that we know of. For the rest of his six years or so, we have called him her big brother, and he loved her as much as she loved him. He would give her his food, wait at the water bowl until she drank, and curl up with her, calming every fear.
We had the option of trying to extend his life for a month or two, maybe three we were told, but as he lay on the exam table (They provided a thick, luxurious towel), he lay his head down and sighed. We felt the process to extend his life sounded almost like torture, with IV fluids and a catheter into his bladder every day, plus extra efforts to make him eat food. He seemed ready to go, so we let him. We still weep. I am crying as I am trying to type with China Doll laying across both my arms between me and the keyboard. It was so unexpected.
Anyway, China has been looking for Shiloh for weeks now, and nothing seems to detour her. She has always been an indoor cat, never even wanting to go outside. Shiloh had excellent hunting skills, sometimes bringing his kill home for her to play with (we allowed this in the garage). It was SPECIAL because she believed she could hunt, too.
Too many stories, but the end is the same. She still goes to the front door and asks us to let him back in the house. He always went out the patio door, and came in the front, usually not being gone more than a half hour. Day after day, she asks us to let him in. We don't know what to do except provide tactile loving, hugging, clicking our tongues or kissing clicks. She liked to be held very tight.
It takes a special person to love animals so much that they make it their life choice to help them, which puts them directly in the path of much pain and suffering. Even though they are making them better, many animals will come to them in pain, some they can help, and some they can't do much for. This takes a lot of love for animals. I don't think I could handle that much emotion. They are truly special. We can not say enough about The Feline Clinic, the Doctors, the assistants, and the staff. They run a remarkable clinic.
Steve, Joan, and China Doll
