|
|
|
|
Prinni's Story
Touched By a Princess
I’m a cat sitter in Brooklyn, New York. One day back in late 1998, I
received a call from Jude at Muffin's Pet Connection asking if I would pet sit
for a diabetic cat. Since I am a
technician and highly experienced in medical pet sitting, I was happy to do
it. The job consisted of visiting with the cat twice a
day each week from Thursday through Sunday to feed her and administer insulin. Little did I know this job would change
my life forever! I visited with “Princess”
(otherwise known as
“Prinni”) as scheduled and after only a couple of months of caring for her,
we developed a strong bond. As the months
went by and I continued to watch
Prinni, I noticed her health was deteriorating. Besides having diabetes, she
was developing a breathing problem and severe intestinal problems. Her owner was
taking very good care of her, always bringing her to the vet and doing as much
as she could to help her, but Prinni’s illness was starting to
interfere with her owner’s work and school schedules and it was beginning to
take a toll on her. One day, I received a call from Prinni’s
owner saying that she was bringing her back to the shelter where she adopted
her. She
said the shelter promised her that they would care for Prinni until the
end. Right away, I panicked! I didn’t believe the shelter would
care for a sick cat the rest of its life.
The first thing I thought was “euthanasia,” not continual care. The next few days of my life were torture knowing that Prinni was going back to a life in a cage or possible death. I already had three cats and a very tolerant landlord and I just couldn’t bring another cat into my household. But out of desperation, I took the chance and told Prinni’s owner that I would take her. I already loved her as if she was my own and I just couldn’t let her go. Well, she was so pleased! We then made arrangements to meet and she brought Prinni to my house a couple of days later. As soon as I took Prinni in, I started her on
special foods and medications until her condition stabilized. Then one day in 2000, I noticed a lump in her
breast and the vet confirmed it was a carcinoma, one of the deadliest
cancers. He gave her less than two
years to live. That’s when my world
fell apart. I didn’t know how I was
going to live each day without my Prinni! I continued to administer her daily
medications for the months that followed consisting of a very strict
schedule. This limited my daily
activities, including vacations. My
life was literally at a standstill.
I wanted to make Prinni as comfortable as possible during her final
years. Well miraculously, due to
my efforts and perseverance, my girl lived three more years! She spent those years very comfortably
always sleeping next to me at night while placing her back paw on me for
security. So to further honor my kitty, the license plates on my car say “Prinni,” her pictures hang from my rear view mirror and her name is written in pink on the driver side door! So if you ever see "Prinni" in your travels, honk once in honor of my best friend! |
Prinni & Janice |
