Farewell, Gatsbi

Gatsbi lived at Forty Paws for eleven years.  Ma and Pa found her feral mother and her siblings and brought them inside.  The mother became a barn cat, because she was simply too wild to accept a life indoors.  The other kittens all found forever homes with other people, but Gatsbi stayed at Forty Paws because she had neurological problems. The vet thought that she must have suffered brain or spinal cord damage shortly after she was born.  This meant that she could not jump and had trouble climbing.  She had diabetes, but that was well under control.  She adapted to the new house well and decided to live upstairs.  Then one day she became rather lethargic and had a very low temperature.  She was not eating or digesting well, either.  Off she went to the vet, who tried everything he could think of, but nothing would bring her temperature up to normal and she didn't seem to be enjoying life much any more.  Ma and Pa made the very hard decision to help her cross the Rainbow Bridge. The vet who treated her and her regular vet reviewed her case and decided that she probably had intestinal cancer.  She was quite a kitty and Ma and Pa are missing her terribly.

                                                      Gatsbi got sick and no one knew why.
                                                      To make her better the vet did try.
                                                                    He tried every way
                                                                    To get her to stay
                                                       But Gatsbi off to the Bridge did fly.

Gatsbi

Here is Gatsbi of Forty Paws showing off her awesome widebody.  Gatsbi was named as a little kitten and Maw and Paw thought she was a boy.  That's why her name ends in an "i" now.  She was born to a feral mother, but all the kittens were brought in as fosters at Forty Paws when they were very young, so none of them were really ever feral.  Their Mom was fixed and released in a barn to live, because she was so very feral.  The other kittens in the litter were all found forever homes with other people, but Maw and Paw kept Gatsbi because she has neurological issues.  The vet thinks that she suffered a minor spinal cord or brain injury when she was born.  She walks keeping one front paw straight, like a peg leg, and her head bobs when she eats or grooms.  Due to her leg problem, she can't jump very high.  Gatsbi really loves to eat and she got fat when all the catfood was on the floor and she could constantly help herself.  Now she gets diet cat food on the floor and all the other cats get their food on the counter, where she can't go.  This does not make her very happy, but she has lost two pounds on her diet so far.  This has helped her walk more easily and she can now fit through the cat flap into the backyard cat enclosure again.  These two things make her happy, so the diet is worth it.  Gatsbi doesn't like other cats for some reason.  She will growl at any cat who gets closer than three feet to her, even Bow, the Alpha cat.

                                     Gatsbi is the one who eats on the floor.
                                     That's so she gets her food and not any more.
                                                 Keep it quiet,
                                                 But she's on a diet,
                                     Which is something that she does not adore.