Tabitha was brought to Hamilton Animal Control as a stray. She has been declawed, so if she was truly a stray, whoever owned her didn’t come to the shelter looking for her. Tabitha had been at the shelter for a month before we were finally able to rescue her.
During the month she was with us, Tabitha had issues with mobility and with her bowels. Along with this, she had not been eating well, despite different medications and special foods to help stimulate her appetite. We knew from x-rays that Tabitha had severe arthritis in her back and knees. Surgery was an option to help alleviate her arthritis pain, but no treatment we tried was helping with her tummy issues.
In discussions with our vets, we decided the best course of action would be to put her under anesthetic to inspect her abdominal area first to see what the issue might be, then the vet could continue with the surgery on her knees. We crossed our fingers and toes and hoped for the best.
When we got a call from the clinic while Tabitha was under, we knew it wouldn’t be good news.
There was a huge mass in Tabitha’s lower intestine that had absorbed some of the intestine, and that involved the lymph nodes. The mass was so large that it couldn’t be removed, or even dissected, which was what the vet would normally have done in a situation like this.
Tabitha must have been suffering for a long time with a mass this large in her abdomen. It’s no wonder she didn’t want to eat and couldn’t keep much food down.
After discussing it with the vet, it became clear that we were out of options to try to make Tabitha better, and we made the painful decision to end her suffering.

We’re so sorry Tabitha. We wish you hadn’t been abandoned by your previous owners when you needed them most. We are sad that you had to suffer the horrible effects of declawing, and the pain of the mass in your belly for so long.
We were so hoping we could make you feel better and find you a wonderful forever home.
Some comfort can be taken in remembering that you got loads of love and affection for your short time with us, but we’re so sorry we couldn’t help you.

We love you Tabitha. We’ll never forget your sweet face.