Beatrix Kiddo Andrew: 4/10/10 – 9/23/10

Beatrix Kiddo (aka Black Mamba, The Bride, etc)
Beatrix Potter
Bea
Bea Arthur
Bea-Bea
BB King
BeeBop
Justin Bieber
Beezie
Trixie
Kittenlicious

The nicknames went on and on. Anything as cute as Beatrix deserved an endless parade of nicknames.

My husband and I adopted Beatrix in July (read here). She was perfect in every way. Her vibrant classic tabby coat was as distinct as her personality.

Even as she struggled with FCV (Feline Calicivirus) and ended up spending a night at the pet hospital within the first week of her adoption, she charmed everyone; the veterinarians and hospital staff cooed over her vivid markings and sweet disposition. The receptionists always complimented her on her name and the vet techs all remarked how pleasant she was even when she had to do unpleasant things like x-rays and bloodwork.

Bryan did not take long to warm up to Bea. He was shocked by her disarming friendliness at first, but within a few weeks, they were napping together in their morning sunbeam.

Much to my dismay, they also formed a wake-up alliance and as a team, they were able to rouse me out of bed and into the kitchen to feed them at ungodly hours. Bryan had the muscle to jar me from my slumber; Beatrix’s methods, on the other hand, relied on her wit and dexterity. Within a few weeks, she was able to turn my iPod alarm clock on using her skilled kitten paws.

As with any new addition to a household, there was a certain amount of chaos in the Andrew abode for a few weeks after Bea’s arrival. I can remember waking up the first morning after we adopted her and feeling a little overwhelmed- I was sure of our choice to adopt her, but it was clear that life in our little apartment had changed. After caring for a sick kitten, I can only imagine how parents must feel after they have a baby.

The medication schedule that the pet hospital had administered to Beatrix was pretty intense- around the clock, I was dosing her with Chloramphenicol, Buprenex, and Metronidazole. I skipped a few weeks of photographing the Saratoga meet to care for her, but missing the country’s best racing to care for a kitten did not feel like a burden because she was in need.

Beatrix bloomed with good health after she kicked the Calici. Her increasingly nimble kitten feet took her all over the apartment, from the tiniest hiding spots to the tallest peaks. She honed her kitten-ninja skills every day, pouncing on toys, chattering at birds through the window, and leaping on Bryan’s constantly-wagging tail. And every night, the kitten ninja leapt into the bed and cuddled up for the night.

Our good times were achingly brief- little Bea got sick again within a few weeks. This time, she was diagnosed with Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), an incurable and fatal disease.

Reeling with the terrible news, I contacted the cat rescue to let them know. The director of the rescue had equally awful news for me- Acorn, little sister of Beatrix, had just died of the same disease a day ago. Apparently, the disease can be spread from a mother to her kittens and the disease can stay dormant for a few months before rearing its ugly head.

I’ve said goodbye to beloved pets before, and it always hurts, but there was something so terribly wrong with saying goodbye to such a young creature. While the loss of Alibar was devastating, he had lived a good, long life. Beatrix was just getting started. We thought she’d be in our lives for 15+ years and here she was, not even six months of age.

Even the decision of when to euthanize was horrid- her body was clearly failing her, but she was a kitten by appearance. This is one of the reasons I could not post about her passing on this blog until now. It stings every time I think of her.

My husband and I chose to say our final goodbye to her at home instead of bringing her back to the clinic. Pet Requiem treated Bea with dignity and compassion to the very end. Just as quickly as she had wriggled her way into our lives, little Beatrix had left us. It’s an incredible thing how something so small and so young can leave such a huge impression on the heart.