The Miracle Cat - November 16, 2011

After a life-long struggle and two miraculous recoveries, we finally had to euthanize Jill's cat, Iris. Iris was the sweetest cat I have ever known although she was a major challenge to manage and she had a very strong stubborn streak. She was born into adversity and was discovered alone and lost in Washington Park at about 4 or 5 weeks old and taken to the city's animal shelter. Jill adopted her and brought her home. This was a very sad time at my house as Joanne had just died a few weeks previously and Jill and I were deep in grief and not functioning well. Iris helped us to get focused and served as a diversion when we really needed it. Although she seemed like a normal kitten she had a few quirks....like singing in the litter box and her funny way of walking.

Watson didn't know what to think at first but soon took her under his wing...and his paw...and tried to be a surrogate dad. He taught her how to be a cat and things that only a mom-cat could pass on to a kitten. She followed him around like his shadow. Sometimes they would get into spats that took a long time to settle. I had a squirt water bottle that I had to use to break up a few wrestling matches. Watson was so big that Iris would often start to scream whenever he approached and looked like he was going to use her as a toy. Nobody was ever hurt in these confrontations and Iris came out stronger through the experience. She eventually started initiating the wrestling matches so we decided it was just rough play.

Iris was a slow grower and didn't gain weight as fast as she should. We had to wait a while to get her spayed and declawed but she finally went to the vet and had the surgery done. She was never the same cat afterwards. She came home disoriented and depressed and apparently blind or at least mostly blind. We were never 100% certain that she was totally blind all of the time because it seemed that she had some vision...maybe could see dark and light or shadows at some times but she eventually gave up on seeing and became a functional blind cat. As she grew older it was amazing how she managed and people would not know she was blind unless we told them.

Iris had seen three Vets during her life and each one seemed to have their own theory but no one actually knew what her problem was. Not only was she blind but her funny way of walking as a kitten turned into a full-fledged hip dysfunction as an adult. As she grew she developed her own way of walking so that she was hunched up in the back and essentially walked on her hind toes and claws. Her hips seemed to be deformed as she grew older.

Jill and Iris moved into a two-story apartment for a year and then Jill bought her house which was also two-story. Iris memorized the layout of each place as well as my house so she was able to manage wherever she was. She was able to go up and down stairs and even able to jump up on the couch during her early adulthood. The stairs at her new house offered a challenge because they turned 90-degrees and she had to be very careful to hug the one wall so she didn't tumble around the tight corner....but she figured it out after a few hard falls.

Iris and Wormie #1

I can't go into all of the health problems she had but there were a couple times where we didn't think she would pull through and we were afraid we would have to put her down...but she struggled back. Her last two years were her happiest since she was the Queen of her house and seemed to have everything under control. That means she had things the way she wanted them....not the way Jill wanted them or even how a normal cat would want them. She was able to confine her toilet to the sun porch but often (and later, usually) didn't make it to the litter box.  Jill was patient most of the time but there were a few yelling matches and Iris could yell right back.  Iris would go anywhere she pleased but didn't like the basement when Jill would sweep her up and run downstairs during storm warnings. She had little hide and seek games with the TV and stereo cabinets and she adopted her little friend, Wormie, a knitted toy she would drag around from place to place.

She finally wore out at four and a half years old and went into a decline that she couldn't bounce back from. There had been other serious declines but her spirit was strong and she fought her way back. This time it was different and in her own way she told us she was done. She had a good life and maybe even a better life than some normal cats. At any rate she had the best life that she could have had given her limitations. We all learned a lot from her and she always kept her sweet disposition even up to the end.


Iris was a creature of habit, like most cats, and she had a set routine. She knew when Jill would be home from work or school and would wait in the middle of her rug when it was time for her to come home. Mornings started with Iris outside Jill's bedroom door -- sometimes impatiently waiting for her to get up. It didn't seem like much but sometimes those are the things that you miss the most.