I adopted Goalie in August, 1985, from North Shore Animal League. She was a tiny kitten in a cage with a few other kittens and a momcat. She was so small I almost named her "handful", as she could fit in one hand. She was 6 weeks old at the time. Immediately after bringing her home (on the Long Island RailRoad and the subway), she demonstrated that she could already eat regular cat fud, and that she didn't need for me to go buy a small baby-sized pan ... she used the standard-size litterbox and gave me a LOOK saying "you underestimated me, didn't you?" Shortly after bringing her home, I rolled a ball near her, and she made a brilliant paw save on it. I immediately named her Goalie.
My household at that time was also shared with one of my two original cats, Grimsby. He was almost 13 at the time, and was fighting Diabetes and CRF. He was not that interested in this playful kitten, but tolerated her ... when he went into his last decline the following summer, Goalie changed her behavior as if he were a role model. She became very quiet and conservative. She continued to display this low-keyed personality for the rest of her life. She was always a love-cat; she was just a bit quieter about it.
Goalie enjoyed good health most of her life, and until the past year or so, her vet visits were for checkup/boosters and nuisance problems like sac expressions. In January, she showed that she had CRF, but the prescription fud helped get her creatinine back to normal twice. However, she developed what seemed to be an "eye infection" early this Fall, which did not respond to medication.
Vet had me bring her to see a specialist, and the problem was found to be a tumor. On Thanksgiving Day, she suddenly started walking into walls, but she adjusted to the loss of sight ... but the tumor continued to grow aggressively and caused more misery for her. On December 16th, she took her last trip to the vet's and was helped to the Bridge, so she would not suffer anymore. I miss her terribly, but know that she at least is no longer in pain. Faye

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