Shutih...The Final Goodbye...

Here's a brief history of this lil kitten. Shutih is one of Aragorn's three babies; the others being my adopted kitten - Shaggy, and Shepet, which was adopted by my lil sis. Shutih has always been wild, we've never had the pleasure of playing with her for long periods of time. She was the most active of the 3 babies, and seemed the strongest. And hence, we thought that out of the 3 babies, she would be the one to survive whatever ordeal in her preferred surrounding - outside the comforts of our home.

Shutih was named as such...er...because we ran out of ideas what to name her. Since she's white (putih) and her other siblings are named SHaggy and SHepet...we err..thought it's convenient just to name her SHutih. Heh...

There were only a few times that I saw Shutih around the back of our house. I think she only came over to share some food with her uncle Gimli and mama Aragorn on two, maybe three occasions only. All the other times, I saw only fleeting glimpse of her, running around the neighbours' house.

So, it was a surprise for me to find her sitting quietly on the plastic chair when I went to do laundry this morning. As her uncle Gimli and mama Aragorn rushed to eat some cat biscuits I put out for them, I called out to Shutih to come over and join them. I didn't realize it at first, but then I saw her limping, and her left leg appearing weak. What surprised me more than that was her stomach, which looks empty, like a cat who hasn't eaten in a long time. She looks weak and listless, and uncomfortable for all the time I was watching her. A contrasting picture of her, being an all out active cat before this.

Worried that she got sick, I rushed her to the vet for a quick checkup. The early prognosis wasn't good. The vet, Dr. Intan said that she suspects that Shutih's diaphragm had ruptured and most of her organs had moved up to her chest and are crushing her lungs, making it difficult for her to breathe. What could cause this, could be blunt force trauma, like a motorcycle knocking her, someone accidentally kicked her, or deliberately hit her abdomen. She needs an xray to be sure on how extensive the injuries are. Dr. Intan also added that there is no chance of survival in 80% of these type of cases. If it is confirmed that the rupture is too big for surgery, euthanasia may be the best option to stop Shutih's suffering.

Since I had some errands to ran at that point of time, and it will take time for the xray, I decided to leave her with Dr. Intan and come back a few hours later. It was a long, long wait. When I called the vet at around 3pm, she sounded calm, so I was hoping for the best. But when I arrived at the vet, and she showed me Shutih's xrays, my worst fears are confirmed. The rupture was big enough that the only organs left in the lower part of the body is the large intestine, which is attached to her anus and had been pulled, appearing to be just a long straight line, with most of the mass pushed up to the upper part of her body. All the other organs had been pushed up into her rib cage and are crushing her heart and lungs. Added to that, her left leg had been dislocated, which caused the limping I saw earlier. The best option is for Shutih to be put down.


I was left speechless. It was my first time facing that decision. Although we are not the owners, and neither are we her guardians, but seeing her suffer and faced with that decision just broke my heart. I just stood there in the treatment room, looking at Shutih, and just could not find the words to express how I feel. When I turned to the vet, I realized Dr. Intan had tears in her eyes as well.I called my wife and she cried when I told her what happened. Being cat lovers, this is not an easy decision to make but it was for the best.

I asked for some time alone with Shutih to say my goodbyes. She looked as if she knows what I was talking about. She has never been close for me to stroke her soft fur before, and we had our moment to be friendly to each other for the first...and last time.

The procedure was to take place during the night, and I decided to trust Dr. Intan to do what's best for Shutih. I went back home, feeling drained. Shaggy must have felt what I felt and she jumped on me and just makes her self comfortable on my chest. Must be her way of giving me a hug.

At around 2200hours tonite, my phone beeped a received message:

"Salam, I would like to inform you that Shutih is no longer with us. She refused to take up any food i offered to her. During the procedure she did not struggle at all and finally sleeps very calmly. My condolence goes to you and family but believe me this wud be the best and the last we cud give to her.Tq. Rgrds;Dr Intan"


Shutih is gone. Goodbye lil princess, it was fun knowing you in your short life.