Belle – Ragdoll of the Week

I adopted my beautiful Snow Belle from a breeder who was considering euthanasia because Snow had a tiny bump on her head. I knew that she still deserved a chance to have a loving home, even if it was for a short period of time.

My young daughters, aged 6 & 9 at the time, and I took a road trip to meet this little kitten. We drove for 3 hours, and once we arrived, our lives were forever changed in the most wonderful way!

We were welcomed into the breeder’s home and met a wee little kitten and her momma. Mom was lovely, and very sweet, but she was definitely over being a mom at this time. The wee little kitten was pretty devastated by this, but I knew that she would adjust just fine in our home. I felt the tiny bump in the middle of her head. I can only describe it as almost feeling like a hang nail or a hard skin tag. It certainly didn’t seem like it was a cause for much concern. We packed up our new, sweet kitten into her carrier. It was so big and she was so tiny!! She meowed quite a bit on the 3 hour drive home, but that was only to be expected.

A day after we adopted Snow, I took her to the vet to have her little bump checked out. He said it was nothing at all, but would snip it off when she was being spayed. (Once she was big enough to be spayed, the Dr removed the tiny bump, spayed her and also repaired an umbilical hernia that we hadn’t even known she had). She recovered completely and never had another issue with this bump again. Initially we kept her in a bedroom, but after a couple of weeks we allowed her come out and start exploring.

We also had a lovely rex rabbit. I was a bit concerned that our bunny, Kodak, would not tolerate our little Snow and could possibly injure her, but that wasn’t the case at all!! Brave little Snow approached Kodak with complete confidence, and Kodak adored her! They spent many hours playing, chasing one another, grooming each other, and lying together. Every morning when Kodak had breakfast, Snow would sit along side her and munch on hay. (She really didn’t eat it, but enjoyed chewing it) The two of them remained best friends until Kodak passed away at the age of 10.

Snow mourned along with my daughters and me. We decided that perhaps Snow would need a new friend, but she definitely had other ideas about that. She was most definitely not going to tolerate another kitten (she was about 6 years old now), and she let the kitten and us know that in no uncertain terms. But that was ok, as she was very devoted to her girls. She adored us, and we loved her with all of our hearts.

When Snow Belle was 12, she developed hyperthyroidism. She went on medication, but had an allergic reaction to it. She became very ill. It broke all of our hearts. She had to undergo an ultrasound, x-rays, and a procedure where a camera was inserted into her throat to access her intestinal wall. A biopsy was performed and she was diagnosed with pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease due to the reaction of the thyroid medication. Also, because she was a ragdoll, she had lots and lots of floof.

When she had the ultrasound, her belly was shaved. Once all the hair was removed, we could see that her abdominal area was covered in an allergic reaction rash. So, we did what we had to in order to get her healthy again. She underwent radioactive iodine therapy, which is injected as a single dose. This made her literally radioactive so she had to be quarantined in the hospital for 5 days. All went very well, but we had to make special adjustments with her diet so that we could keep the IBD and pancreatitis under control. About a year later, during her regular blood work, it was found that she no longer had IBD or pancreatitis!! All the inflammation was gone. Which meant that she still needed to eat her special diet, but we could also allow some yummy treats periodically.

Snow Belle was just the most loving, supportive (she always knew when one of us was upset and she would squish her body into ours to comfort us), funny and special girl that we could ever have had the honor of calling a part of our family. She turned 17 years old on August 6, 2019, and passed away suddenly in my arms on on August 9, 2019. There is still a hole in our hearts, although both of my daughters now live their own happy lives, and they both have cats who have their own special stories. As for me, well, up to now I still haven’t made the move yet to open my heart to another fur baby, but I know the perfect one is out there and we will find each other. Thanks for reading!!

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