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| Baby Chloe Trying Kitty Grass |
[Warning: This entry is long and sappy, but I needed
to write it.]
Chloe is the feisty, but sweet and friendly, calico cat that
my mom rescued from the streets of Kampala over a year ago and then came to
live with me in my apartment. Two weeks
ago – coinciding with my mom’s visit so that she could help with any follow-up
care – we took Chloe to a vet to be spayed.
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| Interns Enjoying the Kid-Free Slide during the Downpour |
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| Cold Kids Trying to Stay Warm |
Later that day, we had a memorable EMI Family Fun Day. It was like an office summer picnic, complete
with a potluck, burgers & dogs on the grill, a volleyball court, and a
giant inflatable water slide for the kids (and some adults). We thought we were located safely under the
roof of a large porch at the nearby international school, but just as we were
getting ready to eat, it started pouring…and I mean pouring! The 10-foot-wide porch proved inadequate, so
we all ran further inside to an open-air dining room. Everyone was bundled up, wrapping any and all
towels we could find around the cold, wet kids.
The rain was so heavy on the metal roof that you had to yell to someone
one foot away in order for them to hear you.
It was definitely the largest downpour we’ve had here all year. It was quite impressive! After the rain stopped, the kids ran out to
the soccer fields and played around in what was now one giant wading pool. While the adults may have been somewhat
miserable, some said it was the best day of their kids’ lives!
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| Happy Kids in the Flooded Field |
Chloe stayed at the vets for 4 days because they said she
was recovering somewhat slowly. We
brought her home on Wednesday morning, and she was miserable, filthy, weak, and
in pain. She just sat in her little bed
and didn’t move much for several days. My
mom helped me clean her up and force-feed her milk, and finally she started
drinking water voluntarily after a couple days.
I was definitely glad my mom was there to help.
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| Chatting around the Grill with Friends |
Meanwhile, the 4th of July came and went (we don’t
get it off work), but the Americans were determined to celebrate on the
weekend. The following Saturday, my
friend Rose held a cook-out at her place (which we’ve deemed the “party house” since
she actually has a yard). Once again we
had burgers & dogs on the grill, and this time we added homemade French fries,
ice cream sandwiches (from homemade cookies) and a red, white, and blue
cake! Around dark, we headed over to the
American Recreation Association where the US Embassy was putting on a 4th
of July celebration. We didn’t want to
pay to go inside, so we just sat outside across the street and watched the
fireworks. The fireworks show was short
but included some impressive bursts – and hey, the point is: we got to see
fireworks! We headed back to Rose’s
place to make S’mores and watch Harry and the Hendersons projected on her wall,
outside by the campfire. It was a really
fun evening! And I was so thankful for a
community of friends to celebrate with.
That night, Chloe ate some food voluntarily for the first
time, and after that she seemed to start getting a little better. She even started greeting us at the door
again when we came home. Unfortunately,
my mom left for the US the following Tuesday morning, and I left Chloe home by
herself all day long, so she started bothering her wound. I found the Elizabethan collar (those plastic
cone-shaped things for animals) that I had brought over from the US and put it
on her. Well, the next couple of days
were a series of visits from another vet and shots and treatments, and Chloe
taking off her collar again and making the wound worse, and I began to get more
and more anxious about her and how to make the best decisions about her
wellbeing. (It’s not really like in the US
where I would just take her to our animal clinic and trust that they would do
what was best for her.)
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| Chloe and Pooh, April 2011 |
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| Chloe and Pooh Reunite, July 2011 |
By the time my birthday rolled around on Thursday, she was
still in a lot of pain and seemed to be getting worse. I was anxious and stressed most of the day,
but tried to trust that God would help us get through this. And I felt blessed by a delicious Mississippi
Mud birthday cake and an amazing handmade pop-up birthday card from my office. I was supposed to go to Bible Study that
night, where we were going to have a birthday party for me. Unfortunately I got home to discover that
Chloe had removed her collar again and taken out all of her stitches, completely
undoing all previous healing. I finally
broke down crying because I was so overwhelmed with worry and not knowing what
to do. Sarah & Carey, who had
arrived to pick me up, kindly came in to support me and help me figure out what
to do. Finally the vet was able to come,
and Sarah & Carey helped me hold Chloe down while he re-tied one of her stitches. He said that the outer stitches would have to
wait. I was very grateful to have Sarah
& Carey there, and Rose, who came to join us later. We chatted and ate ice cream and cake. While it was not exactly the ideal birthday,
I very blessed by the gift of my 3 supportive friends.
Chloe was miserable that night, and I stayed home from work
on Friday to make sure she didn’t remove her collar again. Again, I was anxious all day as I continued
to worry about what would happen to my cat and how to make the best decisions
for her welfare. That afternoon (yes,
Friday the 13th), I called her original vet and told her what had
happened. She decided to come over, and
when she saw the wound, she said she needed stitches immediately. We once again went to work turning my kitchen
counter into a surgery table. (Fortunately,
Sarah & Carey were there again to help, because we were doing a pizza and
movie night at my house.) The vet gave
Chloe anesthesia, which I think was good because we definitely could not have
held her down while she sewed her up. By
the end of all the stitching, I was about to pass out, but I felt hopeful that
perhaps Chloe could start healing again and eventually recover.
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| Chloe Appreciating my Mom's Craft Purchases |
Chloe was still under the effects of the anesthesia when the
vet left, so I put her on the floor on a towel with another towel on top of her
to keep her warm, as the vet had instructed.
About halfway through Sixteen Candles, I checked on her and she seemed
non-responsive and I couldn’t really tell if she was breathing or had a heart
beat. We decided to just wait, since
there was nothing else to do, and see if she eventually woke up. By the end of the movie, I could tell that
she definitely wasn’t breathing and was completely unresponsive. I really couldn’t believe it, but I
eventually accepted that she was gone. I
think her weak body just couldn’t handle the anesthesia and the trauma, but
whatever it was, it was at least a somewhat peaceful way to go. I was once again very thankful that my 3
friends were there with me. We chatted
for a little while longer, and they left with my assurances that I would be
okay.
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| Chloe Became a Wiz at Climbing my Doors |
I’m definitely sad about it, but I’m not as devastated as I
could be. I think the whole time I’ve
had her, I’ve known that if I lost her, I would be okay, that I could move on. My life here is not about her – she was just
an added bonus. I just hated seeing her
suffer. Spaying a cat is supposed to be
a fairly routine procedure that they will heal from, but this one went terribly
wrong. As soon as I realized she was
gone, I actually felt a weight lifted. I
no longer had to worry about how much pain she was in or how long it would take
her to recover. I knew that she was a
last at peace. And I just have to trust
that God decided to take her at the right time – for her and for me.
I’ll miss her, but I’ll be okay. I am thankful for the 15 months that I had
with her. Although she could be a pest,
she was also affectionate and a good companion.
I’ll miss having her greet me at the door. I’ll miss having her crawl onto my lap while
I’m reading a book or working on my laptop.
I’ll miss seeing her chase flies around the room or scale the grates on
my doors to try to get to the geckos on the ceiling. I’ll miss having her greet all of my visitors
at the door and rub against their legs. I’ll
miss seeing her curled up and content on the couch. I may even miss her stealing my food while I’m
trying to cook or wrapping herself around my ankles and then biting them while
I’m washing dishes.
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| Contented Kitty, May 2012 |
I am thankful that she was released from her pain and
suffering. And the more I think about
it, I think perhaps God was releasing me as well – from the responsibility of
caring for her, to be free to make more flexible decisions with my life here. I never intended to have a cat in
Uganda. I think perhaps she was a little
angel who God sent down to comfort me and provide companionship at a time when
I was living on my own for the first time and still trying to build community,
as I was for a while the only single (non-intern) in our office. But now I have been blessed with a supportive
community and many wonderful friends here.
So perhaps her work here was done, and God took her home. Now she can help keep Heaven free from bats
and cockroaches. =)
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| Wonderful Friends to Celebrate my Birthday with Me! |
Yesterday I collected all her things to throw away or give
away, which felt cleansing. Today I start
a new life here – one without a cat. Last
night I went out to dinner with EMI friends for a truly wonderful birthday celebration
– yet another reminder of how God has blessed me with community here. And I don’t have to worry about my sweet
little Chloe anymore.
