Elsinore (a.k.a. "Ellie")
I adopted Elsinore from the Tree House Animal Foundation in October
2005. She was dumped on the front porch with another cat, Eduardo,
in late September, 2005. It was discovered she had an inoperable
cancerous tumor by her left ear, possibly metastisized from her
salivary gland. She was also hyper-thyroid. The vet felt maybe she
had a couple months to live. I loved her immediately, and decided
to take her home and love her as much as I could.
When I took her to my own vet clinic, they performed x-rays and
discovered at least two more tumors. Despite all this, she hung
in much longer than expected.
On the evening of February 26, 2006, Ellie took a rather dramatic
turn for the worse. Nerve damage, probably caused by the cancer
caused her to lose the use of her back legs. She was very weak,
but still would struggle to drag herself to the litter box and to
the food bowl, though it was obviously a huge effort just to adjust
her position. On February 27, my vet examined her. He ran his hands
down her spine, and she cringed, despite the pain medication she
was on. He also found her eyes unresponsive to light (so she may
have lost her sight) and her lymph nodes dramatically enlarged.
I was able to stay with her while they sedated her, then they helped
her across the bridge. She fought so hard to stay with us, even
struggling to stay awake despite the sedation. She was a very brave
soul, with a tremendous fighting spirit. I am very honored to have
known her and been allowed to live with her for four months.
Fly free, my dear Ellie Mae. Free of the body that could not keep
pace with your spirit. I will love you always, my sweet princess.
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