SHEBA
3/1/2015 – 11/2/2022
I met you through my volunteer work with Chesapeake Feline Association in Cecil County, Maryland. You were invited into my house as part of the foster care program. You were a 4 month old kitten and resided in a crate for the foster kittens, separate from my 7 year old cat, Katerina.
Once you came out of the crate to explore and play Katerina immediately decided you weren’t the correct scent so she began grooming you. You loved it! Mommy! You groomed her too, so you bonded. You played together and were immediately a part of the family. So much for finding a forever home other than mine.
Play time. You love the laser pen. You and Katerina had different hunting styles. You would chase (how we noticed your hip problem) Katerina would stalk. This meant I had to play with you in different areas or different times because your chasing would interrupt Katerina’s stalking.
You had your struggles with hip dysplasia and bladder health. When you raced around the house as a kitten you would wipe out (hip caused rear to fall and you would slide around corners). Needed prescription diet for bladder issues and regular chiropractic adjustments for the weak hip, but the personality! Ever the adventure seeker and comedian. If you did not see what you wanted you would speak. Sometimes I could not tell if you were speaking because you were in pain or were hungry. You would even ask to go outside because you did not want to use the litter box. My squirrel chaser and bird watcher, butterfly trap. You loved to lie outside in the sun on the ground or a lawn chair. I planted catnip around the yard and you knew all the spots.
Every October I would put you and Katerina in a pet stroller and wheel you to church for the Saint Francis blessing. You loved the stroller rides. Not a fan of car rides though. You would cry and scream if we had to go anywhere in a car.
As you aged you needed some pain management help from CBD oil or meloxicam for your weak hip. Pain did not stop you from scaling 6 foot vinyl fences and you had to be released from neighbor’s yards periodically. You could get in, but not out.
Your last years were spent in a house in New Jersey that had a nice sunny yard for you to bask in, and fences that were supposed to keep you safe but you had other ideas and scaled the fences regularly. You did not return from your last excursion. Katerina, Clark and I miss you terribly but are consoled by the knowledge that you lived life to the absolute fullest, and did not suffer.
In our hearts always Sheba. You were a wonderful, wonderful kitty.
