Wallflower
A donation was made in memory of Wallflower by Doctors and Staff of the Elliott Bay Animal Hospital on Jan 20, 2011.
WALLFOWER (birth date unknown, died January 2, 2011)
We don’t even know how old Wallflower was when we rescued her in the 1990s. We’d been feeding what we believed to be a feral cat living in the walls of a nearby, abandoned shop building. Imagine my surprise when after a few days she jumped into my lap and wanted to be petted.
It was then that we saw that her back was covered with abscesses and that they were infected. We took her to Elliott Bay Animal Hospital where we learned that not only did she have an infection from the bites on her back but she had been de-clawed and spayed as well. At one time she was somebody’s pet and how she ended up in that building remains a mystery.
Dr. Coe (Elliott Bay Animal Hospital) believed she was somewhere between 4-6 years old. She remained at the hospital for 5-6 days after her back was shaved and her abscesses drained. Since she was de-clawed we took her home with us – obviously because she had no way to defend herself and even if she hadn’t been de-clawed, it was a neighborhood with a lot of traffic so we kept our cats inside.
She was a geriatric cat and we estimate she was somewhere between 15-19 years of age when she died. She was an affectionate cat with a cranky nature at times. She did not like to be picked up but could never get enough chin rubs. The last year or so she slept in my arms most nights and I was lulled to sleep with her purrs and she was lulled to sleep with my snores.
I learned a lot from Wallflower as I have from other cats I have known. Since she was old and cranky (like me) she taught me patience and compassion. She died in my arms on the way to the vet – that was a terrible experience but I also learned that it is as hard to die as it is hard to be born, that death is “birth” in reverse and I believe that she will return as a kitten or a butterfly – maybe not here but somewhere beautiful.
Thank you for establishing a memorial for our loved ones,
Karen S.
We don’t even know how old Wallflower was when we rescued her in the 1990s. We’d been feeding what we believed to be a feral cat living in the walls of a nearby, abandoned shop building. Imagine my surprise when after a few days she jumped into my lap and wanted to be petted.
It was then that we saw that her back was covered with abscesses and that they were infected. We took her to Elliott Bay Animal Hospital where we learned that not only did she have an infection from the bites on her back but she had been de-clawed and spayed as well. At one time she was somebody’s pet and how she ended up in that building remains a mystery.
Dr. Coe (Elliott Bay Animal Hospital) believed she was somewhere between 4-6 years old. She remained at the hospital for 5-6 days after her back was shaved and her abscesses drained. Since she was de-clawed we took her home with us – obviously because she had no way to defend herself and even if she hadn’t been de-clawed, it was a neighborhood with a lot of traffic so we kept our cats inside.
She was a geriatric cat and we estimate she was somewhere between 15-19 years of age when she died. She was an affectionate cat with a cranky nature at times. She did not like to be picked up but could never get enough chin rubs. The last year or so she slept in my arms most nights and I was lulled to sleep with her purrs and she was lulled to sleep with my snores.
I learned a lot from Wallflower as I have from other cats I have known. Since she was old and cranky (like me) she taught me patience and compassion. She died in my arms on the way to the vet – that was a terrible experience but I also learned that it is as hard to die as it is hard to be born, that death is “birth” in reverse and I believe that she will return as a kitten or a butterfly – maybe not here but somewhere beautiful.
Thank you for establishing a memorial for our loved ones,
Karen S.
