In memory of Madison

9/19/2009 - 10/10/2024

Madison passed away peacefully with the help of Dr. Haueisen at the Pointsett Animal Hospital on October 10th, 2024 around 2:20pm. Madison will now join her best friend Campy, who passed away 87 days ago - exactly 12 weeks to the day. 

Madison battled Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) for the past 2.5 years. In Feb 2022, Madison received a double lung tap as a last resort to saving her life after a 5-day battle with her failing heart and lungs. Although she surived the procedure, the vet didn't think she would make it more than 6 months. 

With the help of medications, frequent vet visits and a lot of love, Madison proved everyone wrong and lived another 2 years and 8 months. She always had a strong will to live as her number one priority in life was to show us love and compassion. 

The story of Madison.
In the summer of 2009, Madison was found by Campy in the bushes of our apartment complex in Jacksonville Florida. After several months of seeing her outside, she followed me and Campy up three flights of stairs and we officially welcomed her to our family. We don't know the official age of Madison but we think she is between 16.5-17.5years old. Madison was always a lover, not a fighter. From the very first day in our house, she never wanted to be a bother. She was incredibly grateful that she had a home but most of all, a family to call her own. Smudla did not care for Madison but Madison never fought back to Smudlas hisses and "love" taps. Madison constantly tried to be friends with Smudla but instead, she got a best friend in Campy. For all of Madison's 15+ years with us, Campy and Madison had a very special bond. Wherever Campy went, Madison followed. They were inseparable. 

We believe that Madison held on over the past year to make sure that she could help us through the grieving process of losing Campy. Even if her heart was hurting from losing her best friend, we believe she knew that we needed her more than ever before. After Campy passed away on July 18th, it was only two months later when Madison's health started to decline. It was 12 weeks to the day when Campy passed away that we needed to say good bye to Madison. Madison was a fighter and she was so incredibly strong and stubborn. 

Whereas Campy was the glue to our family, Madison was the adhesive tape. She made sure there was also routine, order and no hostility. Madison's goal in life was to give Karel and me unconditional love on a daily basis. When Smudla started to decline due to her kidney failure, Madison was there to watch over Smudla. Madison was so happy to finally take on the roll of caregiver for Smudla. Madison did the same for Campy. 

Madison was our constant companion. Where there was a lap, there was a way on to it. She hated being held but she showed her love by being next to us or on us. As annoying as it was sometimes to have Madison on our lap while working on the computer, it was something that we never took for granted. Not every cat is a lap cat but Madison took her title very seriously. She was very stubborn and no matter how many times we politely scooted her away because we were working, she worked her way back on (or by) our lap. If you received an email from me over the past 10 years, there's a good change Madison was on my lap when I wrote that email. 

Madison wasn't a playful cat. She was very scared of people for most of her life. It wasn't until kitten Ella came along that Madison started to show her bravery around strangers. A few cats later, Madison had no fears. She took her role as "momma Maddy" very seriously. With each new cat, there was a strong hiss to show them who is the boss of the house. Very quickly, Madison was in charge. 

Madison was a creature of habit. She would only eat from her food bowl and would never try to steal food from anyone else. If another cat started to eat her food, Madison would look at us for help as she didn't like confrontation. Madison loved Rotisserie chicken (just like Campy) and she loved fish. For several years, Madison would sleep with us on the corner of our bed (on my side) on her favorite purple blanket (which used to be my dad's when he was battling cancer). When we woke up in the morning, she would be purring by our heads (on a pillow) as a way of guarding us to that the other cats wouldn't wake us up. She always looked after me and Karel. 

Madison loved to drink from the bathroom sink. She learned this from her predecessor Smudla. Every morning as Karel would walk to the downstairs bathroom, Madison would quickly follow him for supervision. She loved this routine - and so did Karel. 

Madison and I would have conversations every day. I would talk to Madison and she would answer in her meows. We would talk for several minutes. She had a strong purr to go along with her soft demeanor. Madison let us welcome in 4 new cats over the past five years.

Ella was the first to come into our family. Although Ella and Madison had a good friendship, as Ella entered her "teenage" year at the age of 2, she had a bit too much energy for senior Madison (~13-14 years old). Madison tolerated Ella and didn't mind the occassional cuddles. 

Sweet Sylvi came into our life in 2020 and he was a great addition to our family. Found by us on the Swamp Rabbit Trail around the age of 12-16 weeks old, Ella finally had a playmate. But Sylvi has a sensitive and loving personality, which was perfect for Madison. 

And then came Asher in 2021. Found on the side of the highway at 2 weeks old, Asher grew into a strong, confident cat with little gratitude for being "rescued." In his mind, he was born in this house and every cat has it this good. Asher's best quality was cleaning Madison. She loved it. Until Asher decided that cleaning time needed to turn into playing time - and Madison had none of it. Despite Asher getting most of the hisses and whacks in the house, Asher created a very strong bond with Madison over the past few months. We can tell he is grieving the loss of Madison as he is hiding, sleeping on her favorite patio blanket and not acting like himself. 

In April 2025, Mia was the last to be rescued. Madison taught Mia the rules of the house very quickly and although it wasn't the smoothest introduction, Madison tolerated Mia for the six months, since she came into our family. Most of all, Madison looked after Campy and Ella to make sure that Mia didn't mess with either of them. I guess Madison assumed Slyvi and Asher could take care of themselves. 

Madison was a great cat. She had the best "aero tuck" and loved folding herself into the most perfect cinnamon roll when she slept. She never tried to escape from our house or try to run away. She lived in 3 different homes with us prior to spending her last nine years in our current home. She loved napping in the patio, especially on a warm day. We let her chew on the grass outside every now and then as it was one of her favorite things to do. Madison loved blankets and loved to be warm. She loved the sun and the fireplace.  

Most of all, Madison loved me and Karel and we loved her so much. 
Losing our two seniors so close to one another is tremendously difficult. Because we are still grieving the loss of Campy, we feel even more empty without Madison. 

Madison was such a strong and resilient cat. She fought so hard to stay with us for as long as she could. Madison beat the odds. From surviving months outside of our apartment as a young cat to fighting her heart/lung/kidney condition as a senior. 

It hurts knowing that we are closing the chapter of our life with Smudla, Campy and Madison. Our first three furry kids. There's no one to remind us of our six years in Jacksonville, Florida and the past nine years in Greenville, SC. 

We will never forget her love and the memories we made over the past 15+ years.  I'm struggling to find the words to accurately describe how special Madison was to us as she was an incredibly loyal, loving and special cat. It also hurts knowing that Madison was our remaining reminder of Campy and now she is gone. Putting together this tribute for Madison was very difficult as it was the first time I looked at pictures of Campy since he passed away in July. Campy was my soul dog and I'm still struggling with his loss and companionship. 

To help ease our pain, we hope that Madison and Campy are restored to good health, are reunited with one another and can finally be together again. 

The hardest part of having a pet

 

For any pet owner, saying goodbye to a beloved furry family member can be one of the most difficult times in life. This past week was incredibly hard as we were so close to saying goodbye to our eldest cat Madison (14 years old). Although she is still with us, we aren't sure how much time we have left with our sweet, kind, affectionate and always-by-my side Madison. 

On Saturday evening (1/29), Madison was acting completely normal. She was eating normally, following her normal routine and not showing any signs of concerns. On Sunday morning (1/30), everything changed. Madison stopped eating and drinking and started acting unlike herself. She became lethargic and wanted to be by herself. Although this had happened twice in the past (2019), we were a bit concerned with her being older. We took her to the vet on Monday (1/31) and the vet was concerned about her hat. She was quickly diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (a feline type of cardiac disease that causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to thicken, decreasing the heart’s efficiency and sometimes creating symptoms in other parts of the body). Madison also presented with a fever and she was still not drinking or eating. The vet gave her fluids and prescribed heart meds and we went home hopefully that she would make a turn for the better. On Tuesday, things got worse. 

Madison stayed under the bed all day and didn't move. She was still refusing to eat and drink and not like herself. Concerned that things were getting worse, we took her back to the vet on Wednesday. 

For the next three days, from 7:30am - 5:30pm, Madison spent all day at the vet. They were concerned about her pancreas, heart, lungs and GI tract. We absolutely love our vet but we were also concerned about Madison being away from us all day as she is a very attached cat who gets stressed very easily. Madison received fluids, had x-rays and got some more meds. Her fever remained for two days and then her temperature suddenly dropped. She was kept warm and they continued to monitor her condition. We took her home for the evening as we didn't want her being alone at the vet overnight. Karel and I were not able to sleep as we were constantly worried about her and checking on her throughout the night. I even slept on the downstairs couch on Thurs and Friday so I could sleep with  Madison by the fireplace. 

By Friday, things weren't looking good. The x-ray showed Madison's lungs were filling with fluid and she was breathing very deeply with a little wheezing. At this point, we wanted to exhaust all our treatment options so the vet called in the late morning that he wanted to perform a pleural tap to remove fluid from her lungs. This should help her breath a little easier. But this procedure required her to be lightly sedated and there was a risk that the stress would be too much for her body so we went to the vet in the late morning to give her a kiss and told her to stay strong and to fight through the procedure. Thankfully, a few hours later, the vet called that all went ok. He took another xray and drew more labs and felt that at this point, we were dealing with heart disease - likely end-stage. 

With it being Friday evening, we were worried about the weekend and not being able to take Madison to the vet for fluids so he gave us some injections to give her at home to help her condition. On Friday evening, we were just so thankful to have Madison home with us.

After such a stressful week, all I wanted was to enjoy time together and to have her by my side. We found Madison outside of our apartment complex in 2009 and ever since, she has been such a special cat for us. She shows us so much love and gratitude and she loves being around us. When Maddy came home, we were just so thankful that she could be with us. We were so excited when she finally drank from the bathroom sink (her fav place to drink) and even jumped on the bathroom sink for water in the evening. 

But just when we felt like Madison was really making a dramatic improvement, she had a convulsive seizure on Saturday late afternoon. It was the scariest thing for us and we felt like it was time to let her go. We contacted a few at-home pet euthanizing companies but nobody had any options available for that evening. We were still struggling with the idea of Madison no longer being in our life but we also didn't want her in pain. 

There were a lot of tears, sleepless nights and discussions this week/weekend but right now, Madison is stable and doing so much better. She is now drinking and we have found a few cat food options that she enjoys. We are doing all that we can to keep her happy, loved, comfortable and stress-free. 

To be honest, Madison seems completely back to her normal health. She is breathing normally, she is drinking and snacking on some cat food treats. She is walking normally, jumping on the sink/bathroom counters, chatting with me and back to her normal routine. She is a fighter and so strong. After 8 days of not eating, we are so relieved that she finally has food in her stomach. I am not sure if the seizure was from hypoglycemia or a blood clot or something else so I will speak with the vet on Monday.

Madison is spending all her time with us and we are so grateful that we can enjoy this time with her knowing that we may not have that much time left together. 

We were stretching our energy and focus all over the place this past week so we are both feeling empty and exhausted. 

Over the past week, Karel and I have done a lot of talking. We love our animals as they are part of our family. Madison has been there with us through so much. It's interesting how we both handle these types of situations so differently. Whereas I am the emotional/sensitive one in our relationship, I find myself staying strong and realistic when it comes to these types of things and Karel is much more emotional. But you just never know how you are going to react to a hardship or setback. When it comes to injuries or sport, Karel is so much more realistic, positive and accepting of the situation. 

I've always tried to be open and honest on social media when it comes to sharing details about our life. Although I don't share all of our struggles, I feel it's important to document the highs and lows in my life as I want to be transparent and authentic. Like so many others, we have our share of struggles. 

But I do believe that being grateful is a choice and we should never take a day for granted. Finding the positives, focusing on what you can do and keeping perspective can help us feel less overwhelmed by unfortunate circumstances. Going through life with a grateful mindset does not mean you are being superficial. It means you are making the most of everyday, knowing that you are taking nothing for granted.