Rest in Peace Pepper

We adopted Pepper as a baby from a local rescue 16 years ago. Such a cute and fun, athletic sweetheart. She was a gray tabby with a tiny dot of brown on her nose. That dot took over her body. She grew into a beautiful brown tabby with gorgeous eyes. My daughter's bedroom was hers. She even chased the other cats out if they dared enter. After a while they stopped trying.

 

During this past Thanksgiving break she started walking with her right front paw upside down. I took her to the vet who said it wasn't broken but sprained, probably from landing wrong from a jump. A few days later her right back leg slid under her body when she tried to walk. Back to the vet who said she probably hurt it due to compensating for her front, right paw. Then her front, right paw swelled up the size of a golf ball. Back to the vet who said it was edema from walking on her foot wrong. It got wrapped up to keep it in proper position. A few days later the wrappings were removed, and she had licked her paw bald. Back to the vet who recommended I see a neurologist. I got an appointment for almost 2 weeks later. In the meantime, she lost her ability to walk. We put food and water in front of her which she appreciated. And we sat her in her litter box every few hours to take care of business. After full body x-rays and an EKG, we were told she had tumors on her spine and in her lungs. I brought her home for the rest of the family to say "Goodbye". I took some photos. That night, a day before Christmas Eve, she was panting quickly and couldn't move. As soon as the vet opened, I took her in to cross the rainbow bridge. She cried out as they took her down the hall. I couldn't do anything but sit in exam room and bawl my eyes out. It was a heart wrenching month for everyone. I wish we'd known in the beginning what was going on so we wouldn't have prolonged her suffering. Rest in Peace, Pepper. We will always love you!