It is with deep sorrow that I share the passing of our sweet Lily. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge some time early on June 15, 2017.
We don’t know exactly what happened. Lily seemed fine several days earlier, on the morning that I left to drive across the country with my children. My husband was at home taking care of the cats while we were gone and he noticed that Lily wasn’t acting right when he came home from work. She was unable to walk properly. Then, she peed on the floor and he knew something was seriously wrong.
He immediately called our vet and took her in that night. It didn’t take long for our vet to diagnose her with severe kidney failure. We have no idea what caused this. The vet said that when it comes on as quickly as it did with Lily that it’s usually from antifreeze poisoning or from eating a Lily plant. Lily is strictly an indoor cat and there’s no way she would have had access to antifreeze and we don’t have Lily flowers.
We were faced with two options: put Lily to sleep immediately or give her medical treatment and hope for the best. The first 24 hours passed and there was no change in Lily. We again had to decide if we would put her to sleep or give her another 24 hours. We opted to wait, hoping against hope for a miracle. That miracle didn’t come and Lily passed away on her own.
We think, along with our vet, that it was just bad genes that took her. She had glaucoma as a six month old kitten, then stomatitis at one year.
My entire family is heartbroken. I love all my cats but Lily was special. It wasn’t just because of all that we went through with her stomatitis. She was incredibly sweet and loving. Any time I came home she would run up to me to greet me and her tail would rise up to show her happiness. She would jump on my lap, then stand on my chest so she could rub her face on my face. When she ran, which was often, she would hop like a bunny with her tail arched, something I always wanted to record but never managed to do.
There will never be another Lily. She was our shooting star. This website is her legacy and I hope that it continues to help other cats find relief from the horrible disease of stomatitis.
I just came across this and am so sorry for your loss. I will still use this site for info for my cat. I lost one cat to diabetes but do not know anything about this disease. Bless you and again so sorry.
I am so sorry for your loss of your dear Lily. You will never forget her, the pain of the loss – the sadness you will always carry, but the crying bits get further and further apart. As time goes by, you can remember her more without falling into tears…
ALL of my cats- each and every one, who has lived past the age of ten years old or more- eventually passed on from kidney failure. It comes SUDDENLY. A cat will go down in days- they will get sudden weight loss, sometimes you may not even notice it, as it happens so fast. I suspect it may be something in the food or water that is causing this. My vet(s) all say it is extremely common, it was nothing I had done as an owner to cause this sad thing. I also find that it happens with long-haired cats more often than short-hairs! Why? I don’t know- perhaps there is a genetic pre-disposition in the cats carrying the long-haired gene. I try to feed them canned foods, and I do add water to the kibble at times. The pain of losing a great friend, it does not harden our hearts but makes them softer.
So sorry to hear of Lily’s passing.
Thankyou for being so thoughtful by sharing your story of Lilly. It is very helpful & informative.
I will also be using your suggestions. Hopefully it will never get to teeth removal.
Best wishes.
Amanda.
I found your website several yrs back when most of our rescued feral gang started to show symptoms of stomatitis, waS very desperate to find help and your page gave me some hope and direction..Our Jessie James very similar to your Lilly ..He was on antitbiotics for the stomatitis over and over again he developed mouth ulcers and his kidneys shut down…so i do believe it weakens them…It broke our heart to see him get so sick and to not ever feel well..for so long we kept treating him with hope in our heart…now we have lost 3..and our vet seems to think the rest all have it too..Just wanted you to know Grateful i felt to read your page on Lilly & how much hope your page gave me.. your Lilly was so Blessed with you , you never gave up on her , she knew she was loved so dearly….thank you
We have a baby we rescued; PAPA i,e, Big Handsome. We saved him from the streets at 4 yrs. At 5 yrs he was diagnosed with Feline Aids.We have fought with him through this along with the 8 other rescue babies. He became about 24 lbs, ie BIG HANDSOME and is a Russian Blu. Now he is close to 21, yes 21 years with Aids and active care and Love. He is now so sick from the virus he is about only 5 lbs. He is not in pain other than the stomatitis we seem to not be able to get controlled now. He fights daily to drink, eat little. We give him food in a syringe and he keeps fighting for life. He walks around, drinks water from his bowl, uses his box and Purrs for me to luv him and still demands respect from the other cats. as long as he does that we will fight with him.I wish someone knew how to control this stomatitis quicker and easier. I know his age is probably a factor.
David,
What an amazing story! You’ve done a wonderful job with your Big Handsome boy.
Rochelle
Your website has been so helpful with our recent experience with one of our cats, Opie, getting stomatitis. He is a rescue we took in over 5 years ago, and is about 9 now. He was scheduled for a dental at the end of May, and has had bad breath for a while. Then a little over a week ago he stopped eating, making loud crunching noises and drooling excessively, as well as gagging. The vet put him under, but didn’t see any obvious teeth problems or obstruction, just some inflammation and bleeding gums. His poor tongue is even getting redder now. We are force feeding him, and giving sub-Q IV fluids twice a day at home. The first half of the week we had the vet tube feed him twice a day. He is also on prednisolone and antibiotics. He is so depressed and uncomfortable. The vet will be pulling all of his teeth in a week from now on Thursday. We are hoping he can get him in sooner, waiting for that possible call every morning, but so far not. I hope waiting another week will not be too late. His blood work is perfect, but unfortunately he has Leukemia – which he must have had all along. I fear he will give up before his surgery appointment.
I’m so very sorry that Lily has passed. She must have felt that her work here was done, in helping you bring this website to the world. She was beautiful. Thank you, Lily. What you’ve gone through will help so many other kitties.
Thank you for your kind words.
I have just discovered your webpage, and was ready through all the sections when I found this one. I am so sorry for your loss. With sharing your story of Lilly I’m sure you have helped others. Thank you for that.
Thank you for your kind words. It is my hope that Lily’s legacy will be to continue helping other cats that suffer from this horrible disease.
Precious Lily went home on a crystal chariot, with my kitties driving, who I sent to bring her home. There is a Scripture verse that allows me to retroactively send a prayer back in time. Therefore, I prayed that my kitties would be there to pick up Lily up when she passed.
All Animals go to the Paradise Kingdom, a heaven made just for Animals. All of their dreams come true, and there are limitless activities for them to do.
Because my cat Blue Eyes is a somewhat wild driver, my other babies put in seat belts in the chariot, so when he did loop-de-loops, no one would fall out.
I have a ministry for Christ in the spiritual realm, but not in the physical realm. When my husband and I perform a job well done, Yeshua has given my pets in the Paradise Kingdom rewards, because rewarding them is rewarding me.
In fact, over the years, because they pick up so many Animals when they pass, Yeshua gave them a 2nd chariot. When I read about an Animal passing, I retroactively send the chariot to take them home. When Lily got there, Yeshua gave her a special gift, unique unto her.
I noticed she had one eye. Blue Eyes was blind while on earth. His reward was to experience all of the 5 senses through his eyes.
He looked at my kitty, Domino, and told her she tasted like chocolate. She sounded like the waves crashing on shore, and she felt like velvet. All of this he experienced through his sight. I image Lily too will receive a similar gift.
There is also a healing balm tree that Animals can take to soothe any memories of any pain they experienced while on earth. Lily won’t remember any of the pain. It is as if it never happened.
Know she is waiting for you to pick her up from my cottage, where she is living with my other babies. Don’t worry, she will be taken good care of by my kitties, dogs, birds, hamsters, and other various creatures.
In fact, my kitty, Tina, who was born without her back legs, has the ability to go faster than the speed of light. She takes other Animals with her, by their holding onto her, and takes them on trips through the universe, in a matter of seconds.
You’re on my prayer list, hoping God’s Holy Spirit can give you the inner belief that all of this is true.
All my love, and remember, your separation from your pets is only a temporary thing.
Thank you, this was beautifully written.
“…In fact, over the years, because they pick up so many Animals when they pass, Yeshua gave them a 2nd chariot. When I read about an Animal passing, I retroactively send the chariot to take them home. When Lily got there, Yeshua gave her a special gift, unique unto her.
I noticed she had one eye. Blue Eyes was blind while on earth. His reward was to experience all of the 5 senses through his eyes….”
this is so beautiful, and I am literally weeping as I write this, the tears dropping onto my keyboard as I type. You write beautifully and put such feeling into words. It is a gift. Utilize it! You’ve been given this talent by our Creator.
A loving GOD would never ban His creations out of His newly created Heaven, a loving God will provide us with all our wants, needs, and all the things that bring us love and happy memories. It is written that the lion shall lay down with the Lamb, and all things will be created anew- as they should be, “corrected and set to rights” that is, we shall have no corrupted DNA! The blind will see, the deaf hear, our bodies will be perfect as He intended, without the sin and sting of Death (that is, free from all things that eventually cause the evil one to win, such as scars, disease, mutations. Imagine a green Earth free from all things that cause pain and death. A new Earth where everything is fresh, clean and new again. No cat can be hurt or go hungry in the new Earth.
I am so very sorry to hear of Lily’s passing. Take comfort in knowing you did everything possible to help her and never gave up trying to find alternative ways to treat the stomatitis and other conditions she was plagued with. Thank you so much for putting together this website. The information you have given has been invaluable to me and many others who are struggling to help our cats with this horrible condition. I give my cat PlaqueOff and L-Lysine every day and it does seem to be helping. Also the information regarding the clinical trials at UC Davis have given me a tremendous amount of hope that there may finally be a cure for this condition, or at the very least, a viable alternative to other methods of treating it.
So sorry to hear of Lily’s passing. Came across your site recently after our 11 year old cat Snuggles was diagnosed with stomatitis. If you don’t mind me asking, how long was Lily on the PlaqueOff and Lysine before her passing? Snuggles had all of her teeth pulled a little over a month ago, but still has some inflammation and does this strange thing where when she stretches, wakes up, or sometimes just suddenly when nothing is going on, she jerks her mouth open and yelps. It’s almost like she gets a sharp pain or something. The vet has her on prednisolone, but I was thinking about trying the PlaqueOff and Lysine. Thank you so much for sharing your story- they truly are like our babies!
Ann Marie,
Thank you for your kind words. Lily was on Prednisolone, PlaqueOff, and Lysine for a year, then I weaned her off the Prednisolone. After that she was on just PlaqueOff and Lysine for between four and five years before she died, and I started the PlaqueOff after she had all her teeth removed. I hope this helps and that you find relief for Snuggles.
Sincerely,
Rochelle
May Lily have sanctuary and Joy on the other side. And, may God Bless you for caring for her as well as you did. My cat, Peter has stomatitis (full tooth extraction, steroids, etc.) Most recently I have read yours, and other articles about the Plaque-off and Lysine powder in the food. It seems to be working!!! Thank you for sharing Lily’s journey with everyone. I know she is missed, but she is still here. Trust and Faith.
Neil,
Thank you so much for your kind words. Lily was a very special cat and we miss her fiercely, but we still sense her presence. I truly believe that she came into our lives for several reasons, and this website is one of those reasons. I hope that what we went through with Lily, as well as all the other cat owners who have shared their stories on this site, will help you with Peter.
Sincerely,
Rochelle
i am so sorry for the loss of your cat i just wanted you to know what a big help this site has been to me and my danny boy a somo cat,teeth all removed he gets predisone got him to every 3 days also give him the l-lysine daily. he came from a shelter he was outside and abused for 8 yrs. shelter didnt know he had this problem when we realized what the problem was thy offered to take him bck but we said no. then he got herpes in eyes we couldnt get drops in at all shelter came took him bck, following week i got call danny took turn for worse wouldnt take any meds at all and just cried in his bed in his cage, vet thought he missed me, well i brought him home he took his meds (not eye) and got better still home with me thats where he will stay
Cyndi,
What a heartbreaking story! You are a good cat mom to take him back knowing what you are dealing with. I hope that you are able to get all his ailments under control.
Rochelle
this is rather late. I just saw the notice about Lilly. I have to say that no cat could have asked for a better owner, life, or caring existence.
Just the fact that you started this website has helped so many owners that are dealing with this awful problem. That said, many cats are getting help they otherwise would not have gotten. That is something to be said about Lilly’s memory.
Sherrell,
Thank you. I truly feel like this website is Lily’s legacy.
Rochelle
I am so sorry to hear of Lily’s passing. My deepest sympathies to you and your family.
Thank you.
There could not be a better tribute to Lily than this site. Sorry for your loss, but Lily was lucky to be loved so much. And for that you should be happy when you think of her and how much her life meant in terms of helping other cats fight this disease.
I am so sorry about your loss. Lily was such an inspiration as we faced stomatitis in our cat, Kia, in 2014. Your website helped us through the difficult time and decision of full extraction of her teeth. She is doing great. Without your site, we would not have known to get before and after X-rays.
We had to make the heart-breaking decision to let another of our cats, Kasia, cross over the Rainbow Bridge in March 2017. So many months later, we still listen for her special growl for her breakfast. I know that all of our beloved furbies are celebrating their lives in Heaven and watching and waiting for us.
May this website continue to be a tribute and celebration of Lily’s life with her wonderful, amazing family.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Please know her legacy lives on and has helped me, my son, and our stomatitis diagnosed kitty.
Thank you.
He is named after David Tennant. 🙂
I’m so sorry about Lily. By you sharing her story and teaching about stomatitis, she lives on in spirit. Thank you so much for this site. My Tennant was just diagnosed with stomatitis but I found your site a couple of weeks before. It helped that when the vet told me that I had an idea of what it was from here.
Lisa,
Thank you for your kind words. It makes me happy knowing that this site helped give you knowledge that you could use when you were talking with your vet. I hope that Tennant improves (is he named after David Tennant?).
Rochelle
I’m so sad to hear of your Lily’s passing. Losing her is understandably heartbreaking. She was so beautiful and such a love for you and your family. I, too, lost my Siberian, also named Lily, January 2, 2016, and don’t think I’ll ever quite get over her loss. Like yours, my Lily was the most special cat and I still miss her so much.
Linda,
Thank you for your kind words. We all still walk into the house and look for Lily to run up to us to greet us. We shall forever have cat shaped holes in our hearts.
Rochelle
Dear Rochelle:
I’m SO SO SORRY to hear that Lily is no longer physically with you.
I understand the pain and sorrow you and your family are feeling right now.
It NEVER gets easier losing one of your fur kids but when it happens so
unexpected, that’s really tough.
Please know that you will see Lily again….but right now your heart aches to see
Lily now. And you have to know that Lily LOVES YOU for all your special care and
love that you graced her life with.
Your website/forum for Lily’s stomatitis has been so much HELP to so many cat
owners. I thank Lily and you for that.
God Speed in Heaven Dear Lily…..
i can’t tell you how sorry i am to hear this, i’ve been following you for so long now and doing my best to point others your way. you and lily were my inspiration and education for my first bouts with this disease, scardy cat and otis were my first diagnosed, after giving in to scardy cat and allowing my vet to help him go i opted to let the rest of my guys go at home with me either holding them or close to them. i’m sure i’ve mentioned when my wife left a little over 2 yrs age she left me with 17 of our rescuses/pets/family, i have only 5 left now, they all lived a very full life and never wanted for anything i could give. my oldest, the mom of a few, left me just recently, one day she just got slow and started not making it to the litter box, within a week she was gone with me holding her, she was 20. i’ve helped my vet by researching different things i’ve heard of either from you or your readers, he uses some in his treatments, interferon was one of the first, he has a few he calls his but really belong to a couple of his oldest clients. i feel so blessed for finding your story years ago and also for having such a caring vet to help. i’m still treating one outside girl, annie, a feral that was scardy cats life long mate, over 10 years with not being able to touch her and now she demands back rubs every time i go around her, but on her terms. her and nickey, my last black guy, are my only two outside guys, he is the one that had a stroke and later on attacked and suffered a front broke leg. inside one huge female cancer survivor, took all of one ear inside to remove tumor, and lost most sight in that side eye, spoiled rotten. and my baby, minnie that thinks she is the queen of the house, and my wifes favorite, a pure white girl that hides from the others in the bedroom.
this made a very old man cry today, i’m going to miss hearing about lily, i’m sure she will be on lots of minds each day when we all go about treating our familys. one day when i get around to it i will have a shelf finished that will hold all my guys ashes and if its okay with you i will send you a picture of them all lined up the way they came to me. again im so sorry for the loss of Lily
I am so sorry for your loss of Lily. She sounded like such a sweet kitty and went through so much! She was soooo fortunate to have a family like yours to love her and pursue ways to relieve her pain. What a win-win situation.
I found your site because I help run a cat rescue and at least 50% of our dear kitties have stomatitis. Each one has been through so much, and it seems no one approach and meds are right for all.
Tomorrow morn when I go to the Sanctuary I will tell them about Lily, and I know they will all be sending sweet kitty wishes across the Rainbow Bridge to her. Thank you so much for what you did for Lily & all the other kitties that have been helped by this site.
Patricia,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m sure that your sharing of Lily’s story will bring kitty well wishes to her across the bridge.
Yes, I agree that that there is no one particular approach to stomatitis, which I’ve learned from the many comments on this site. I hope that you are able to find the right methods for your sanctuary cats.
Sincerely,
Rochelle
Thanks sooooo much for setting up this site. I recently found out that my Posie Patch has stomatitis. I am going to try your suggestions. Again, you are so very kind to do this.