Miah

We are sorry to report that our beloved Miah passed away on Saturday February 20th. She seemed to be entirely healthy until this week, when she became listless and seemingly in some distress. A visit to the vet was inconclusive and we took her to Angell Memorial Hospital to see if she might have eaten something that had got caught in her digestive system. A doctor there noticed fluid around her lungs and suspected a heart problem. An echocardiogram revealed dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that is always fatal in cats unless brought on by a deficiency in taurine, an amino acid. As all commercial cat food has taurine, that was not a realistic possibility. We hoped that Miah's condition might improve and that she would be able to come home for at least a short time, but it was not to be. Despite medication and a heated and oxygen enriched cage, her blood pressure stayed very low and she became increasingly sluggish. Further medication might have been tried, but it was clear that that would extend her life by, at most, only a few days. So we decided to save her further distress and to let her go.

This was all a shock to us, especially as Miah was the athlete in the family, always running and jumping and investigating new things. The photo above was taken just last week, as Miah checked out the wrapping paper from Diane's Valentine's Day present.

She did not have a long life--she was about two months short of her third birthday when she died--but we think it was a happy one. She had no pain and no distress until the last few days of her life. She certainly got lots of love. We'll always remember her with a smile.

Now her sister, Sassy, rules the house, although we have pointed out to her that she is going to have to put up with a lot more loving.