by Karen Poehlein
MY SHELBY
I think we all have a pet at one time in our life that is truly special. I had a kitty that was so very very
special and her name was Shelby.
I got Shelby through my former vet. He was at a hog farm one day and saw the little cat and heard the
hateful old man cursing at her. The man said he did not want her so the vet took her back to his clinic
to try to find her a home. And that is where I entered into her life.
I have always been partial to calicoes and the vet knew it. So one day, I was at the clinic with one of
my other cats and the vet introduced the kitty and I and it was love at first for us both.
Shelby was a timid little thing, she was not at all demanding. Often time I would feel an oh-so-gentle
tug at my pants leg, and it would be Shelby, asking to get into my lap. She was so sweet and gentle.
After having her for a few weeks, I noticed a lump around one of her nipples. Immediately, I got an
appointment to take her in to be checked. When I took her for her appointment, the vet examined the
lump and her entire belly and began to laugh. I was puzzled at this, and asked what was so funny. "You
are gonna be a grandma!!" I was not thrilled at the news, but figured, oh well.
My hubby was even less thrilled when he found out Shelby was "with kitties" and wanted me to have
her spayed immediately, and abort the kittens. And I refused. I had done this once with a stray I took
in and it did not go well. Chloe recovered just fine physically, but for almost a year she was depressed,
very crabby and hateful. I can't help but believe animals can go through some of the emotions women
experience related to pregnancy.
Time marched on, and I watched Shelby carefully. I was concerned about her over all health. She had
not had solid nutrition while living on the hog farm. So I asked the vet to give Shelby some vitamins.
He made me up a batch of what he called "Kitty prenatal vitamins".
One morning, Shelby seemed to not be feeling well. I checked her over and she was not too warm,
suggesting a temperature, nose and eyes clear and I decided she must be having a pregnant blah day.
The next day she was still having the blahs and I made a mental note to take her to the vet if she was
not feeling better the next day.
The next day, Monday, Shelby was not feeling better and now, another of my cats was not feeling well.
So, I got an appointment for later that day to take both of them to the vet. I had to leave them at the vet,
because I had to be at work that afternoon. The vet promised he would call me at work and let me know
something as soon as he figured out what was going on with my 2 cats.
The vet called me that evening at work and told me it was distemper. I said, "that is impossible, they
have both been vaccinated." By this time, Shelby was spiking a very high temperature, it had shot up to
105.6 and she had began to abort her kittens. I was stuck at work and my heart was breaking for my
poor kitty. For any animal to suffer a miscarriage; it is very traumatic for them.
The other kitty I took in with Shelby was holding her own. Her temperature had stabilized and she was
resting comfortably. It was still a mystery how my 2 cats developed distemper after being vaccinated.
And to this day, we still don't know how this could have happened.
I went to the clinic everyday and spent time with Shelby. I took her favorite basket and soft blankets for
her to lie on. They could not get her to eat and I was taking different things trying to tempt her
appetite. I would sit on the floor and hold her, talking to her and telling her over and over how much I
loved her and how beautiful and wonderful she was. And praying like hell she would not die.
After Shelby had been there all week, the vet told me I could take her home. She still needed medicine
and lots of care but he thought she would be better off at home with me. And right here, I want to say
that man made a decision regarding my cat's life and he did not inform me of it. And to this day, I still
have hard feelings towards him. He had decided, if Shelby was to live, she was going to have to start
eating and drinking on her own. He did not tell me this. Otherwise I would have started forcing food
and water the minute I brought her home instead of waiting till the next day. He later admitted to me,
she should have had force feeding and fluids all the time she was sick.
I brought them home on Saturday and moved into the spare bedroom with them so I could be with them
constantly taking care of them and keep them away from the other cats. At this point, the vet suspected
Shelby and Muffin had contracted a strain of distemper that was resistant to the vaccine they had been
given. We really did not know what we were dealing with.
On Monday morning I could see Shelby was losing ground fast, so I started trying to get ahold of the
vet. I called and called and called and could not get through. It seemed one of the women who worked
for him sat on the phone for HOURS talking to girlfriends. The office had call waiting but she would
not take the calls, she would not get off the phone. (It was a new business and he did not have a large
clientele built up yet, giving the office ding-a-ling too many free hours to sit on the phone and gossip.)
I began calling and trying to find someone else to take Shelby into. Finally, I got a vet about 30
minutes away and he agreed to see her and told me to bring her in as soon as I could get there with
her.
When I got there with her, I was forced to wait 20 minutes, despite me bringing Shelby in as an
emergency, the vet was "busy" giving 2 dogs their yearly shots. I had Shelby out of her carrier and was
holding her. She began having trouble breathing and I told the vet office girl to go and get him, he had
to do something for her!! Finally, Shelby and I were ushered into an exam room and at approximately
3 minutes past noon, April 5, 1992, my Shelby was gone. I was holding her in my arms, just like you
hold a baby, and I literally saw the light go out in her eyes. That vet did nothing for her except to tell
me she was dead.
I don't remember the trip home. It felt like my heart was going to explode. I had identified so closely
with Shelby and her life. I know how it feels to be unwanted and abused. And I had also experienced 6
miscarriages in my life. I do not have any living children so my cats are my children.
After I arrived at home, the other vet I had been trying to get ahold of that morning, called me. And I
told him Shelby was gone. I also told him I had been trying to get ahold of him all morning and I
couldn't get through because that woman had been on the phone and would not take any incoming
calls.
I wrapped Shelby in a clean, fresh blanket and put her back into her basket, refusing to even consider
she was gone. I went outside and got down on my knees and screamed and cried to the Heavens. I
begged and pleaded and cried. I ranted and raved at God for taking my Shelby from me. "What in the
hell had she ever done to you God, that you felt you had to take her from me? Bring her back to me,
give me my Shelby back" I kept screaming and crying. It's a good thing I live out in the country,
otherwise someone would have probably called the guys with the rubber room to come and get me. It
took the rest of the day for me to be able to turn loose of her to be buried. I felt so alone and to think of
her out there in that cold ground was almost more than I could stand.
I had taken Shelby's collar off before burying her and was wearing it as a bracelet. I had to have
something of hers to hang onto. I had to work the next day, after she died, I was a cashier in a big
grocery store and it seemed like every other person who came through my line was buying cat food. At
times I would have to finish up with a customer's order and then walk away from my register to get
myself collected again. And it seemed like everyone noticed the collar I was wearing as a bracelet and
asked me about it. I went around for weeks on the verge of tears all the time and could not even begin
to discuss Shelby with anyone. I missed her so much.
I kept searching for answers, I read and reread everything I could find on distemper. And I know I was
driving my vet up the wall with my tearful phone calls, would it have made any difference if we had
tried this or that.
Finally one day he asked me, would it help if he could find me another cat who looked like Shelby. I
was very skeptable at this. Shelby was a dilute calico and there are no 2 calicoes who look alike, much
less 2 dilute calicoes. I told him fine, go ahead and try, but I really didn't expect to hear from him
again.
A few weeks later I got a phone call from the vet and he said he had found a cat and he would like for
me to come and have a look at her. I asked him if the cat looked like Shelby and he said he wanted me
to come and have a look and decide for myself. I went to see the cat, and when I looked in the cage at
her, IT WAS MY SHELBY!!!!!!!!
I asked him where he had found her and he said from a minister. She just weaned a litter of kittens and
when we counted back, it was right about the time Shelby would have been weaning her kittens. He
didn't even have to ask me twice if I wanted her. He told me later, this cat reminded him so much of
Shelby, but he didn't want to influence my decision.
The vet insisted on keeping her at the clinic to vaccinate her and give her the needed boosters before I
brought her home. So, I had him to go ahead and spay her while he had her there. I went everyday and
saw her and spent time with her.
When I brought "Shelby"home, she seemed to be familiar with a home she had never been in. She
would go and nap in all the same spots that had been Shelby's favorite nap spots.
In my heart I know it was my Shelby!!! She had been "given back to me." I think God saw this little
kitty and he saw how sick she was. And He saw me and how bad I was hurting over losing her. I would
have moved heaven and earth to have her back. And so He did it for me and returned her to me.
But, let me tell you, the Shelby I got back was the "new and improved" version. She is so sassy and
persnickety!! But, that probably came about in the first 5 minutes I had her home and she saw she had
me wrapped around 1 of her paws. I tell her she is so rotten she stinks. I love her dearly and wouldn't
trade her for a farm in Texas.
I think God does intercede in certain situations. And the Rainbow Bridge is such a wonderful poem.
The author has remained anonymous but whoever she is, I thank her from the bottom of my heart. To
think I will see my cats again someday is the only way I can deal with losing one of them. And I am
sure this is the way most animal lovers feel about their pets.