The two cats who had been with Shawna’s portion of the Feline Funny Farm the longest (since 2005) crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2018.

Cara Mia

Cara Mia was a young adult (2-3 years old) when Shawna adopted her in 2005. She was a lovely calico with a demanding meow. Her name means “one joy” or “one delight” in Biblical Greek. She was a petite but solidly built lady, and an occasional lap-sitter.

In August 2016, Shawna noticed a lump while petting Cara Mia’s belly. Dr. T. at Gasow recommended seeing a veterinary oncologist before any surgery was performed. Tests revealed that Cara’s lymph nodes were affected, and surgery would not have been a good option. Instead, Shawna was given the option of enrolling Cara Mia in an experimental study of HempRx, with the medication provided at no charge. The only catch was required follow-up visits. Cara Mia joined the study, which lasted for about a year and one half until the use of the medication was stopped by the federal government. Shawna was able to find HempRx online, so Cara Mia remained on the medication but not as part of a study.

During this period, Cara Mia had surgery to remove the largest of the lumps in September 2017. Eventually, Cara Mia began to lose her appetite and a lot of weight. Even an appetite stimulant lost its effectiveness. When Cara Mia’s breathing began to be affected and the remaining lumps became uncomfortable, Shawna made the difficult decision to say goodbye. Cara Mia crossed the Rainbow Bridge in July 2018. Having her with us for nearly two years after her diagnosis was a miracle for which Shawna was very grateful.

Gobblin’ Goopuss

Adopted at the same time as Cara Mia was a friendly, talkative six-month-old black kitten Shawna named Gobblin’ Goopuss (shown in the photo). He was playful as well as purrsonable. He did have some bad habits: he picked on Cara Mia from time to time and later joined C. P. Pirate in harassing Allicat (aka Googlie Girl). He loved human attention and posed in all sorts of positions on the cat tree to get it.

Gobblin’ eventually developed hyperthyroidism, for which he got daily medication. Compounded cream applied to his inner ear might have worked, were it not for the fact that Rascal Spatz liked the taste of the cream. As a result, Shawna got tapazole tablets, crushed them, and mixed them into Gobblin’ Goopuss’s canned food once a day. Also in “middle age” Gobblin’ developed a rodent ulcer and, later, a growth on his chin; both of these required surgery.

In November 2018, Shawna noticed that his appetite was waning and his weight was noticeably less. Blood tests at the vet did not reveal the kidney problems Shawna expected; instead, the markers indicated cancer, probably lymphoma. On December 2, Mom made the difficult decision to allow Mr. Goopuss to join his friends on the far side of the Rainbow Bridge.