Departed pets;

Our little lady Madonna aka Bábóg aka Mammy aka Puss Puss left us this evening. She was with us for exactly nine years and up to a few months ago, we thought we'd have her for a few more years at least, so it's a real blow.

She was adopted by my brother back in November 2009 (or rather she adopted him) and was a joyful presence ever since. We were a bit slow about neutering her and within a few months she had provided us with a litter of beautiful little kittens. :pac: Then we had to get her and all the kitttens neutered. That's her underneath her daughter Caramel, who thankfully is still with us, in the first photo.

To say she was loved is an understatement. She was the gentlest, warmest, most loving little creature you could think of, an absolute sweetheart. She'd follow me down the street, wait on the pillar at the front of the house, and then scamper down the street to welcome me home as walked home.

She was also very perky and sociable with passers by, who would regularly stop to pet her - especially our postman, who loved her.

Sadly back in September her hind legs started drooping. I first noticed something was wrong when I saw her trying to get down off a windowsill hind legs first, hanging onto the windowsill.

Over the next week or so her condition declined considerably - the middle of her back was drooping badly, and eventually she couldn't walk at all on her hind legs and was having trouble going to the toilet.

We thought of a few things - saddle thrombus, feline leukaemia, diabetes etc., but it was none of those things.

Not having pet insurance (you live and learn), the monetary cost of any possible treatment was daunting.

Bábóg then went into Barna Vets for a week, where she received excellent care. Leanne conducted blood tests on her and it became apparent that she was suffering from lymphoma, likely in or around the spine. Her glands on her neck had swollen up also.

At that point we were told the outlook was not good. We were offered the option of putting her to sleep, but in our visits to her while she was in Barna, she regained her strength somewhat after several days of intravenous fluids, and was still full of life and love. We decided that we had to give her a chance, and took up the option of going to UCD for a full examination.

Living in Galway (despite my obviously Dublin-centric user name), we had to collect her in Barna and drive up the motorway to Dublin with her. I was nervous of this, as her hind legs were still limp, but she was as good as gold on the journey up.

Pedro examined her and he was able to tell us straight up that the prognosis was not good, but that chemotherapy was an option - it might extend her life for a two or three months. Bábóg stayed in UCD for three days at the start of October, for chemo, before we drove back up to collect her and bring her back to the house, after 11 days away in all.

Pedro had said that she'd be able to regain some movement in her legs, but not full movement, and immediately we saw an improvement.

There was another day trip back to UCD the following Wednesday, and within a day or two of that she was walking quite freely. It felt like a miracle. She was back jumping up onto windowsills and beds and easily walking up the stairs.

After one more trip to UCD, we transferred the treatment to the Ark back down in Galway for convenience sake. During all that time Bábóg was in great form and we really appreciated the extra time with her. We knew it was in effect bonus time, but it was amazing to see her scampering around and wrestling on the ground with Caramel again.

Sadly about 10 days ago we noticed her back drooping again. Only last Wednesday she went in for her last regualr chemo session, but by Friday we had to take her back to the Ark and they told us it was pointless continuing the treatment.

Still, all duriing this time, she was comfortable and had a good quality of life, and continued to eat well. During the weekend however it became a mattter of when, not if. Her hind legs rapidly lost mobility and we knew the end was near. And still she was incredibly affectionate, lapping up the cuddles and licking me silly on the face and hair up to yesterday.

Last night and this morning she couldn't go to the toilet. We tried in vain to express her bladder, but her belly had become swollen and this evening she began to suffer. At that point we had to make the horrible decision to put her to sleep back in Barna. Even on her last journey there was still so much life in her head, she was looking up at the street lights as she travelled in the car, but her body had given up on her.

She will be immensely missed. Despite the considerable cost of all her treatment since September (well over 2k, probably closer to 3k) I'm so glad we gave her some extra time with us and to appreciate her fully.

Thanks to all the staff at Barna, UCD and Ark who were always very professional and empathetic.