Kona's adoptive family sent the top left photo from home in happier days.
Her face in the bottom left photo shows a somber face when she first came back, having lost everything that mattered to her.
But she's a stoic old girl who responds gratefully to kindness.

Kona first came to us in 2007 with her feline friend when their family broke up. They were 10 years old and Kona, being a sensitive cat, took the loss hard. Still, she settled at the shelter and warmed up to us, proving to be quiet, gentle and loving. She and her outgoing pal were adopted together, a small miracle for a mature pair of cats. Quiet Kona bonded especially deeply with one person in her new home. It should have been a happy ending, but her favourite person fell ill and eventually passed away. Tender Kona was unhappy over the long periods of hospitalization that took her person away, and then the final loss. Her unhappiness was expressed as litter pan problems, the only way an animal can express such things. But this was more than her remaining person could handle. So Kona came back to the shelter while her more easygoing feline pal stayed in the home. Tenderhearted Kona was bereft all over again. Within a few weeks, she recovered her confidence and has become a friendly and undemanding resident at the shelter (although she clearly longs for the calm stability of a real home). As a rather timid 12-year-old with a sensitive nature, Kona is hard-to-place. We'll do our best to make her feel safe and loved.

Nov 8/09
    We're worried about Kona. She came down with a case of cat flu and we began medicating her. Kona has always been sensitive but she hated being medicated and she became less trustful of us. Shelter life isn't the easiest life for an animal who has memories of a beloved home and beloved person. Now it seemed to her to be harder.
    So far this was all predictable for us. We've never met a cat who enjoys being medicated. Once it's over, they forget. But Kona has recently become more withdrawn and distrustful. Our volunteer in charge of animal health is keeping an eye on her. She says, "I've put her on my list for a vet visit next week. Yesterday I tried to interact with her and she seemed afraid of the contact. Then I tried to clean her eye and she hissed. She's never done that with me before. I gave her some food but she seemed uninterested. She's been pretty good about eating recently. I noticed last month that when I was giving her meds she cried a couple of times when I put the syringe in her mouth. However, she never hissed or anything so I figured maybe her mouth was just a bit tender due to her URI. She seemed quite chipper while she was recovering from her URI. Something recently has changed. I will get her mouth/face checked to see if there is anything painful there."
    Other volunteers are able to cuddle with her. She does accept attention although she's suspicious of people's intentions at first. Once she knows you're not going to stick anything in her, she relaxes. We'll get her to the vet and rule out any physical problems. Kona is probably a cat who just needs a quiet home with a quiet person. How desperately she needs that! Once in a while, someone comes along who wants to offer a home to a sad case. Then next time someone like that comes in, we'll introduce them to Kona.

Nov 10/09
Kona had her vet appointment today. Although her teeth didn't look bad (they'd been scaled in July), we told the vet that something in there wasn't right. There was no mass or tumor visible, but when her right top canine was touched, she yelped. The vet figures that the root of that tooth is abscessed. So Kona will stay at the vet for now. Blood will be taken just to see if anything else is going on. On Thursday morning, she will go under to have that tooth removed. They will of course check everything else in there while they're at it. Hopefully Kona will be happier when she comes home to us.

Nov 12/09
We got the results on Kona. Her bloodwork is fine. They went in and removed that infected canine. The tooth came out easily but the bone and tissue under it is soft. The vet is worried it could be a tumour. She's biopsied the area and we should know early next week. Clinically, she's doing fine. The rest of her teeth were pretty good. She'll stay another day at the vet's. If it is cancer then it's a matter of supportive care -- pain meds and antibiotics. If Kona has cancer we will probably put her in foster care so she can spend the rest of her life in a real home.

 

Nov 18/09
Kona's biopsy results came back. It's melanoma. It's not uncommon but it's aggressive. So she will need palliative care for as long as she has good quality of life. We have a foster home with a lot of experience in palliative care for animals. This poor old girl has such a sensitive nature. It's likely that if she could have spent her life in a home she loved, she would not have succumbed to cancer so soon. We've seen other cases like this. Some animals (mostly older ones) arrive at the shelter, get their new-admission vet-check, and are apparently healthy. Then within months they succumb to illness, usually cancer. If it could be predicted, we might be able to warn their families that losing their home could be the beginning of a downhill slide. But many such animals thrive once they adjust to their loss. All we can do is be vigilant and respond as needed. Kona will be loved for the rest of her life. It's no substitute for what she's lost. But she'll be looked after for as long as life has value for her.
 
 
 

back to list of animals to sponsor