1978-1999
You were 21 years in this world,
15 of them in mine.
You can rest now, gentle, lovely kitten.
Your love lives inside of us
and touches those we smile upon.
CLICK TO SEE CHIBI
(skip story)
CLICK TO SEE CHIBI AT AGE
21 (next page)
CLICK TO SEE SHARON'S MENAGERIE
Chibi's Story
Chibi was born in 1978.
When she first saw me, she had just climbed
a tree
and was about to enter Masako's 2nd floor
window.
She (Chibi, not Masako) froze in terror at
the sight of
this strange, bearded "foreigner".
(We are--all of us humans--foreigners.)
Soon we became best friends though, and her
death
is very painful to write about today, November
28, 1999.
21 cat years. 104-107 people years!
She got sick in autumn of 1996-acute renal
failure,
and on November 26, 1996 she started a journey
that lasted just over three years.
They told us she would not live longer than
3-6 months,
but it has been 3 years. Three wonderful
years.
Chibi endured a daily regimen of
subcutaneous drips, pills, and less-than-delicious
low-protein catfood. Perhaps it was
her genes, or
perhaps it was the less than adequate treatment
she got
at her previous residence that toughened her.
Perhaps it was the love and care we gave her.
No doubt it was all three.
When I first began to live with her, my asthma
got worse,
but Masako said she would throw me
out of the house before she ever
got rid of Chibi, despite my
doctor's suggestion to do just that.
In time, Chibi was like desensitization therapy.
Physical or psychological, perhaps both.
But my asthma again became controlable.
And the three of us lived happily under one
roof.
I would like to think that Chibi brought out
something gentle in me, that she taught
me to treat others with kindness.
Sometimes I feel sad that many of us can
feel more tenderly to an animal like Chibi
than we can to our fellow humans. I
am
particularly sad when I hear how many
people consider the homeless to be of little
value, to be ignored or even despised.
But have you ever noticed that many homeless
people
in all their misery and poverty can still
find it
within themselves to take care of the cats
and
dogs that we more fortunate people
discard without a second thought?
I know Chibi would be angry if she knew I
was cruel to anyone, and I think the lesson
I learned
from her is that we MUST take care of one
another.
We must never feel that we are somehow above
or better
than others, be they animals or other people.
Chibi is like the rose in the Little Prince.
She is special because of the care and love
we gave her. And like the Little Prince,
we will continue to water the flower that
lives
on in our heart, though she has left
this earth,
her petals scattered to the wind.
CLICK TO SKIP THESE
PICTURES
AND READ THE REST
OF HER STORY
These are pictures of Chibi at the age of 18
(November 1996). She was diagnosed with chronic
renal failure and given 3-6 months to live.
The little shaved patches are where they attached
the electro-cardiogram wires I think.
Or it may be where they gave her an IV drip.
Chibi, despite her illness, was always a
strong cat. Perhaps her strength was nurtured
by
the sense that she was loved and being cared
for.
She is about 2.5 kilos in these pictures,
down
from a normal 3 kilos or more.
Her daily regimen included
special low-protein cat food and sub-cutaneous
infusions of Ringer's solution.
Plus anywhere from 3 to 10 medicines for
the kidneys and other organs:
the heart
the gall bladder
the liver
She often resisted the food (and both of
us surreptiously mixed in bits of things
she liked over the years to get her to eat
more
of the good stuff).
She developed a pattern:
First 5 mouthfuls: the bad-tasting good
stuff
Next 3 mouthfuls: same, topped with
good tasting bad-stuff
Next 3 mouthfuls: dessert (good tasting
bad stuff only)
In any case, she survived 3 more years to the age of 21.
She developed a bladder infection after 3 years
of treatment that had reversed most of the
symptoms of the renal failure. The
antibiotics they gave her were not working,
however, and soon she could not control where
she urinated. We took her to the hospital,
where
they found she had bladder cancer. Our
friends
Harry and Yuko and Akiko told us she
would be happier at home than in the hospital,
and so
her last three days were at home with us.
Chibi's body temperature got lower and lower,
and her eyes became glassy, but she still
appreciated the little
'kairo' hand warmers we placed under her
blanket. She stopped purring, but she
rested her weary
head in our hands. We knew the end was coming,
and she chose Sunday morning to exhibit
the first
sign that she wasn't going
to make it much longer. She vomited
several times a brownish fluid.
The doctor said the last thing she would probably
do is go into
convulsions, but we decided to end her life
while
she still had her dignity. We cremated
her on the same day
and now are living with her memories and the
many
kind thoughts many of you have
sent us in recent days.
In addition to the friends I mentioned above,
I would
like to mention Sharon, the Israeli
Vet for whom Chibi was her first Internet
patient.
More than anyone, Sharon
encouraged us to never give up.
Chibi wanted us to tell Sharon
how much
she loved her for helping to keep her alive
these past 3 years.
I would also mention Dr. Toru Mekyuria, who
was the first vet to alert us to Chibi's condition
and taught us how to administer Ringers solution
as well
as how to remove plague from Chibi's teeth
(a potential source of infection).
Dr. Kiguchi was the main doctor in charge
of Chibi for the last two years.