We lost Winston to feline aortic thromboembolism (FATE), aka. Saddle Thrombus at 1:00am, March 25, 2024. Mary watched it happen and it was a horrible experience to watch an otherwise active, healthy cat be struck down and incapacitated within minutes right before your eyes. He completely lost the use of his back legs and was in obvious, severe pain. He showed absolutely no symptoms prior and had just been on the bed with me as I was falling asleep. Winston would have been 12 years July 4, 2024.

We rescued Winston and his brother Maxwell in 2012 from a caretaker in White Salmon WA after the owner gave up the kittens. Mom was a purebred Maine Coon who had escaped the confines of their home and became pregnant from an unknown source.

Winston was my cat, but he shared affection without hesitation with Mary. His favorite activity was laying on his back my chest as I rubbed his belly. He would then shift to the side and lay against my arm with his head against my shoulder. Purring a salivating with pure joy and love. Earlier that previous day (March 24th) we did just that as I watched motorsports on TV and we shared nap time.

And then about midnight FATE struck Winston down. We rushed him to Pacific Northwest Pet ER here in Vancouver and within minutes the told us what we had expected that we would have to put Winston down immediately.

With FATE there is little treatment they can do. It’s expensive and rarely will a cat survive treatment. As longtime feline owners quality of life is very important to us so the decision was obvious.

Many thanks to the staff and Dr. Buerhenn & Dr. King at Feline Medical Clinic, Vancouver WA for their contribution to WSU to make this all possible. The care and love they have show our kitties for over 30 years is second to none. And thanks, of course, to WSU for all you do.