Shadow's Story



Shadow was a tiny little feral cat whose mother abandoned her at birth. At this time in 1982 Michael and I were living in a house in Campbell, California. The neighborhood consisted of older houses on huge lots with big backyards. Most yards had a detached garage, barn or shed out back. Lots of room. Also lots of feral cats. At the time I was young and did not know much about feral cat populations or how to take care of them. So for the most part I just put out food, and water for them. I felt bad for them because they were so afraid of people.

I gave them weather names because they came in like a storm for the food and left just as quickly. Misty, Stormy, Foggy, Breezy, Rain, Windy, and The Captain. He was in charge of this cat society, and lets just say he lived up to his name.

One Saturday afternoon Michael and I were having a barbecue out back. Stormy went swiftly passing by, and stopped in the middle of the yard. I commented "she looks like she is going to have babies soon". As I said it out one plopped to the ground, she frantically ran off. We went inside really quickly to see if she would come back for it. Watching out the window and waiting for her return. She didn't come back. Meanwhile the little kitten was crying for help. I looked at Michael and said "we can't just leave it out there" So we brought it in cleaned her up got her warm and proceeded to try and give her drops of milk, not knowing what else to do. We did this through the night.

The next morning we went to an emergency vet so they could tell us how to take care of her. We came home with a tube feeder, bottles, and kitten milk replacement formula. They told us to feed her every couple of hours, potty her with a cotton ball, keep her warm, and give her lots of love.

I took her to work with me the next three weeks in a box on a heated bed, and she stayed in my desk drawer at work by day, and we snuck her in and out of the office. A few people knew but not the Boss. After a few weeks she was able to stay home, and I would go see her at lunch break, and then be back home in the evening. She went everywhere we did. She thought I was her mother.



So to me she was really my first child. She was great with people, and extremely intelligent. She never went outside unless on a leash and harness. About a year had past by, and I noticed she was starting to hold her head funny. I was pregnant with Justin at the time and had a difficult pregnancy and had been hospitalized many times. I thought perhaps she was just reacting to the upcoming new arrival. A week after Justin was born she was really sick, so we took her to the vet, and the news was not good. They were going to keep her and run some tests, and needed to do a kidney biopsy. She stayed for a week they were trying some different things to see if there was a cure. We visited her every couple of days, and she was so sad and depressed that the vet suggested we take her home, and continue her care there. She did not have long to live. But we felt it best for her to be where it was familiar to her, and with the people who loved her most.

I had to give her IV fluids every four hours, after a few days of this she still could not keep anything down and was truly suffering. As hard as it was I had to make a decision to let her go. Michael was away in Boston for his job it made this even more difficult. But she had earned her wings and was ready to be free. To this day I believe she is the guardian angel that watches over my son Justin.

Devon Rex by the Sea