We're heartbroken that we had to say goodbye to our Little Leah. She was the absolute sweetest of cats, our little baby girl.

In June of 2021, we had taken Leah and Sammie to the vet for the annual wellness exam and vaccines. It was then that we learned Leah had a heart murmur. An echocardiogram revealed that she had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There were minimal clinical signs for concern at this time with the only sign being limited activity tolerance, so the vet did not believe she needed to be medicated. 

The disease progressed quickly and a couple of days leading up to her passing, she had begun to stumble when we would put her down after picking her up. It appeared as though the elevation change with picking her up and putting her down was causing her to become dizzy, likely due to changes in her blood pressure. 

The first time we saw her stumble, we didn't think much of it. She had always been an awkward cat that lacked gracefulness. We had first thought it was a rare side effect of the CBD oil we had recently started giving her on the days of our travels to help reduce her stress. We figured we would just stop giving it to her and the side effects should wear off within 24 hours. 

After 36 hours following the last dose we had given her, the stumbling continued and it was occurring more frequently. The day of her passing, she had stumbled 3 times, with the last stagger being the most concerning as a puddle of drool came out of her mouth. We brought her to the nearest emergency vet hospital, but it was an hour and a half drive from where we were located.

We thought they were going to tell us it was a toxicity issue from the CBD oil. When we arrived at the hospital and explained the situation, the staff even thought that was the case at first since she showed no other signs of heart failure.

They brought her inside and put her in an oxygen chamber as a precaution in case her heart was the cause of the stumbling. An ultrasound showed that there was fluid surrounding her heart which was impacting the ability for the heart to pump adequately.

The stress and fear of being at the animal hospital was too great for her heart. 

Despite the supplemental oxygen, she started open mouth breathing and her gums started to turn blue. Once this started, they recommended we end her suffering as the treatments they could try would likely not work and on the small chance they were successful, she would go through this again as they could not correct the underlying condition.

We were caught off guard by this sudden, unexpected news. We couldn't believe what was happening and we didn't want to think that our time with our little girl was about to end. We weren't prepared for this moment.

The sound of Leah crying gave us both the answer. We knew we couldn't let her suffer any longer. She didn't deserve to be in pain.

I held her in my arms and whispered “We love you” over and over again so that those would be the last words she heard while Ryan held us both close to him.

It was the hardest moment, but at least now she can rest in peace.

You were taken too soon, Leah, but we are so incredibly thankful for the time we had with you. The amount of love and happiness you gave us is truly immeasurable. Your sister, daddy and I will miss you, but we will treasure the memories we have of you. We love you more than you will ever know.

"Some angels don’t have wings, sometimes they have whiskers."

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there." 

                                                                                                                                                                      - Amy Li

“Where there is family, there is love.”

“Family is the heart of a home.”

“Time passes and we may be apart. But cousins always stay close at heart.”

"When you touch someone's heart they are never alone again, part of your heart is always with them."

Leah loved to hide in small places such as drawers and closets. 

She loved sleeping on the middle shelf in the bathroom. Whenever someone went to the bathroom, she would stare at them until they got out of her room.

When we moved into the RV, we had started putting our clothes in the closets, but she quickly claimed a spot for herself. We gave her the shelf she liked, but that led her to believe she could claim more spots. She continued to try to take over the closets.

She would also help me pick out my clothes in the morning. Whenever I opened the closet door, she would instantly come over to get into the closet. We cleared out a shelf for her but she always insisted on sleeping on the shelves that held my clothes. I would have to take her off the shelf and put her on the empty one, but she would fight me and grab my clothes. Sometimes I just wore whatever she pulled out.

Leah enjoyed watching cartoons. 

Sometimes TV shows were a bad influence on her.

Whenever we wanted to give Leah attention she would instantly run into the bedroom, run around the bed and jump up on the far side of the bed. It was her routine whenever she wanted attention. The bedroom was her favorite place in the house.

She loved helping us make the bed.

Leah was constantly purring. Even when she was annoyed with us bugging her or if we were giving her a bath or brushing her hair, she would continue to purr. Once we were finished, she wouldn't even run away. She would stay right there and lay down either on top of us or next to us.

We could bug her all we wanted and she didn’t care. We would hold her like a baby and give her hugs and kisses, trying to annoy her. A normal cat would have gotten upset and ran away the second we let them go (or more accurately, they would have forced us to let go), but Leah was not a normal cat. She would start purring while we annoyed her and once we let go of her so she could run free, she would just lay down with us. She loved our cuddles and having her belly rubbed.

We started training Leah and Sammie to become comfortable going outside on their leashes. Every time we took them outside, Sammie would start sunbathing while Leah would immediately walk back to the house. Leah preferred staying inside, watching the outdoor world through the window.

Leah would always comes when we called her name (Leah or Kitty). She was like a little dog. It saved her life one time. As I was walking into our first apartment building on Huntington Ave in Boston, the crate they were in broke open and both cats got out. Sammie ran into the building, but Leah ran outside. She was running toward traffic and my dad was about to jump in front of the cars to stop them. I called “Leah!” and she instantly stopped and stared at me. I was able to slowly make my way over to her to avoid spooking her. I picked her up and got her into the building as quickly as I could. Mom had gone after Sammie in the building, but the back door was open and Sammie almost ran out the back. Luckily, she took the back staircase instead and mom was able to grab her.

Leah had a very specific nightly routine. She would always join me in bed while I read. She would sit on my stomach, waiting for attention and if I didn’t give it to her, she would start rubbing her nose and mouth on the book. I would have to put the book down and pat her. Sometimes she would look at the book as if she were reading it herself. I think she was looking at it to see why I could possibly be more interested in staring at that object than watching her flip over and be cute.

Once she heard Ryan start getting ready for bed, she would leave me and meet him in the bathroom. She would sit on the toilet watching him brush his teeth, expecting him to pat her.

Then she would tuck us both into bed. Every time she jumped up, she would announce her arrival by meowing. She only stayed with us for a couple of minutes, climbing over us to tuck us in, but she didn’t like all the movement of us getting comfortable so she would quickly leave. Then once we were settled in, she would return, once again announcing herself.

Most nights she would sleep in between my legs, but occasionally she would sleep on my pillow against my head. I got used to having her there and figured out how to move around at night without disturbing her. She would spend most of the night there.

In the morning, the very instant she realized I was starting to wake up, she would walk up to my head, stick her face directly in my face. She was usually the first thing I saw in the morning.

Sometimes she got so close her whiskers tickled me. Then if I didn’t start patting her, she would poke me in the face or paw at my back or shoulder until I gave her attention. If I hid under the covers, she would get mad and start pawing even more until I came back out. She was always the first one I woke up to, my first hug and kiss of the day.

In 2019, our church, Central Congregational Church of Chelmsford, held a special service called Blessing of the Animals. Being the crazy cat lovers that we are, we obviously attended. Both Sammie and Leah, along with their cousins, Hercules (Herky), Emmy and Guinness were all blessed by our pastor. We also had a small blessing said for our cat, Hydra, who had unfortunately already passed. 

We are so thankful to our church and to Pastor Rich for understanding how important our furry loved ones are to all of us. Many people may think it's silly to bless an animal but the animals that we welcome into our homes are not just our pets, they are our family. Losing one feels like you are losing a piece of yourself so it is important to treasure the time you have with them and to cherish the memories that you create.

We are so thankful we had almost 9 wonderful years with Leah. She filled our lives with more love and joy than we ever thought possible. We will cherish our memories of her forever so that she will always live on in our hearts.

We love you, Leah.