Dear Valued Friend,

North Shore Animal League America would like to take a moment to inform you of the passing of our adored feline friend, Lady Harmony.  

Beautiful Lady Harmony joined the Animal League’s Sponsor Program in 2008 at the age of 10 – 11 years old.  She was diagnosed with diabetes and required daily insulin shots twice a day as well as monthly check-ups. 

Animal League veterinarians suspected a previous history of urinary tract infections and possible pancreatitis.  In addition to the diabetes, they found bladder stones. Lady Harmony had a cystotomy operation to remove the stones and made a full recovery.

It wasn’t long before an associate of the Animal League’s Alex Lewyt Veterinary Medical Center fell in love with the onyx-colored cat and brought her home to foster.

Though Lady Harmony often felt shy around her feline foster siblings, there was one special kitten who stole her heart. Lady Harmony cared for this little kitten as a mother would and we believe that this special relationship helped Lady Harmony to find peace and solitude.

The Animal League is so grateful to all our Sponsors and to Lady Harmony’s foster mother for giving her the best quality of life possible. Without this unconditional love and devotion, we would not be able to give our special-needs pets the extraordinary care we so lovingly provide.

Though we will always miss Lady Harmony, we take solace in knowing that she had a wonderful loving home and that she was cherished. Our memories of her will melt our sadness and our affection for her will make us smile once again.

Sincerely,

The Sponsor Team

Beautiful lady indeed! Here’s Lady Harmony relaxing on her hot pink bed in the comfort of her loving foster care home. Thank you to her Sponsors for all their support!

Dear Sponsor Pet Parent,

Life is such a precious gift. Days go by so quickly and we are blessed with countless wonderful memories. Today we are celebrating the memory of a lovely little feline who was only with us for a short time, but who still made a tremendous impact in our lives and in our hearts.
On the evening of July 7, 2009, a few months after being diagnosed with a malignant cancer on his tongue, our sweet, charcoal cat, Napoleon, passed away. When Napoleon first came to the Animal League, it was apparent that he was once somebody’s pet. However, he had been living as a stray cat for more than a year. Napoleon had several conditions which included a heart murmur, chronic uveitis (inflammation of the middle layer of the eye) and tumors in both ears due to neglected ear infections. Luckily, Napoleon made his way to North Shore Animal League America where he was cared for and loved. Shortly thereafter, he was placed in a loving foster care home, where he lived out the rest of his very happy life.
Napoleon was a wonderful cat – loving and affectionate, personable and sweet. We feel grateful to be able to have given him the care he needed and the love he deserved.
The Animal League would like to extend our deepest sympathy to his foster family, his Sponsors and to all who were lucky enough to know him. Napoleon will be greatly missed but remembered forever.
The Sponsor Team

Dear Valued Friend,

There comes a time when we know we have to convey some news that will bring sadness. Though we dislike being the messenger of despair, we know it’s important to keep our dear friends informed of the animals we all care for so deeply. That is why we write to you today. It is with great sorrow in our hearts that we inform you of the passing of our beloved feline friend, Lady Grace.
Lady Grace was abandoned at North Shore Animal League America. She was adopted and returned in May 2005 due to her multiple health problems.  She was initially diagnosed with asthma. Shortly thereafter, upon further examination, it was discovered that Lady Grace also had diabetes and liver disease. Lady Grace was on an array of different medications for her conditions. Lady Grace lived at the Animal League for 6 months in the Surgery Ward before going to a wonderful foster care home with one of the Animal League’s veterinarians in November 2005.  Lady Grace could not have been in better or more loving, skilled hands.

Lady Grace passed away peacefully in her sleep on her favorite pillow. Her foster mother says that she seemed to be as content as one could be. We estimate that Lady Grace was between 12-14 years old, but can not be exactly sure.The Animal League is extremely saddened by the loss of our very special onyx kitty, who was known for giving her foster mother the sweetest kisses on her nose.

We extend our deepest sympathies to her Animal League Sponsor Program donors and especially to her foster mother, who cared for her so tenderly for the last three and half years.

At the Animal League, all her needs were met and she was able to live a good quality of life.A beautiful Lady indeed, she will be greatly missed.
The Sponsor Team

On Saturday, October 11, 2008 the world bid farewell to the beautiful and heroic Scarlett the cat. Scarlett did not only impact those who knew her, she touched the lives of countless people around the world.

On October 17th, at the “Crossroads of the World,” Times Square, NYC, Scarlett’s larger-than-life image illuminated the night on the world’s largest digital sign, the Reuters sign.

At 35 feet wide x 32.5 feet tall, viewers marveled and paid tribute to a cat who surpassed everyone’s imaginations and expectations.

The screen above Scarlett’s picture reads:

“Scarlett, the World-Famous Brave Mother Cat Who Survived a Fire and Saved Her Kittens, Passes Away”

We are happy to report that medically, Lady Harmony is doing well.  She is still a little scared of the other cats in her foster care home.  However, she has come to love one of the kittens.  She has taken on the job of the kitten’s mother and will groom her and let her lay on her bed with her.  It’s an endearing sight to see!  Lady Harmony remains on a special diet to manage her transient diabetes and she gets urine dips done twice a week just to make sure everything is normal. She enjoys being brushed by her foster mama and especially loves receiving belly rubs!

Napoleon had surgery on both ears.  Since both ear canals have been completely removed he is now completely deaf. That said, he is now much more comfortable without the masses (that were causing him some pain) and without the infection.  The biopsies of both ear canals did unfortunately come back as a type of cancer called ceruminous gland adenocarcinomas, but not entirely unexpected in light of the chronic history of ear disease prior to his arrival.  The surgical excision on both ears was complete with clean surgical margins (no tumor cells left behind), but due to the malignant nature of this disease his prognosis is still guarded.  He will have close monitoring in the future with chest x-rays and exams to ensure there are no new growths in the region of his ear canals.  He is on antibiotics, pain medication and eye lubrication to keep his tear production normal as he heals from the surgery. 

SPONSOR ME!

Lady Grace stopped eating and we were scared that she had a tumor in her mouth since that area in particular was very painful and swollen.   Because of her diabetes it was imperative that Grace regain a healthy appetitie quickly so that we could continue to give her her normal dose of insulin and not cause any disruption in her glucose regulation.  She was sent to a specialty hospital and examined by a veterinary dental specialist.  The good news was that Grace did not have a tumor — in fact the swellling of her left jaw was an abscess from an infected tooth root.  Grace was immediately put under anesthesia with top of the line monitoring of her respiration (due to her history of asthma) and had dental x-rays taken.  It appeared that more than one tooth was not very healthy and the veterinary dentist needed to remove 9 teeth!  Grace returned to her foster care home for post operative care and initially could only eat a special canned food that was good for both her diabetes and her dental extractions. 

Dear Friends,

I am heartbroken. On Saturday, October 11, 2008 we had to say goodbye to our beautiful, brave Scarlett. Her endless health battles had become too overwhelming for her. As most of you know, she was diagnosed with Lymphoma in June 2007. She did remarkably well with her medications. But there were other illnesses that made each day more of a struggle. Her heart murmur, thyroid, dental issues, and kidneys all contributed. It was the renal failure, however, that eventually took its toll. Scarlett’s decline was rapid. We knew there was no going back.

Scarlett had been hospitalized last week. When we took her home on Friday, she couldn’t stand. It wasn’t fair to let her suffer after all she’d been through. So we brought her back to the hospital where she went peacefully in my arms while my mother sang to her. Her Doctors were wonderfully caring and compassionate.

Although she had not been eating very much in her last week, either in the hospital or at home, she ate like the old, 19-pound Scarlett Friday morning! That’s a memory we’ll cherish.

Thank you all for all your good thoughts and wishes throughout this ordeal. Scarlett was a very special cat, and she will be missed by all the lives she touched.

Karen

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Dear Friend and Sponsor,  It is with great sympathy that we relay this latest news about our tiny Sponsor kitty, Bean. When a loved one passes, it is often very difficult to make sense of it all. We are left to grieve in their absence, and sometimes we feel compelled to ponder if we could have prevented their untimely passing in any way or what we could have done better. Bean joined the Animal League’s Sponsor Program in 2008. Sweet little Bean was a tiny domestic shorthair cat who weighed only 1 3/4 lbs. She was 8 months old when she came to North Shore Animal League America with her littermate, Jelly. Jelly was a full-sized kitten and did not have any medical conditions, so she was able to be placed for adoption right away. Bean, on the other hand, needed special care. Bean’s growth had been stunted, though we were unsure as to exactly why. In addition to being teeny, Bean had elevated liver valves. She required regular monitoring and regular examinations to further research her condition. Bean was medicated and on a special diet to get her weight up, and to aid in liver function. Sadly, in her last weeks, Bean’s condition worsened. Bean was not acting like herself and started showing signs of neurological disorder. She was more wobbly than usual and began having problems navigating her food bowl. While her appetite was ravenous, Bean was not able to eat enough to maintain her weight. Her health declined rapidly. Bean passed away before her first birthday. Our heart goes out to her wonderful foster mother and to all of her caring sponsors. Though Bean’s days were few, they were full – full of love and full of life. Sincerely,The Sponsor Team