~ George ~
6/24/2023 – How broken our hearts are, as we had to say farewell to sweet George after only being back with us for 14 days. He was surrendered to us on June 10th (along with brother Cheddar) after their adopter could no longer give them the time & care they needed due to a life change event & traveling weekly for work (Cheddar had just been diagnosed with diabetes which requires daily close monitoring). George was already frail on arrival & we had immediate concern about him. It wasn’t long after that we noticed an increase in his respiratory rate & that he’d tire easily (needing to lay down after just a couple of minutes of moving around). We got him into the vet asap & after a thorough exam, listening to his heart & lungs, & checking his blood pressure nothing seemed immediately evident, but we knew there was something. So, x-rays of George’s chest & abdomen were done & they revealed several things….all not good. George had some pleural effusion (fluid in his chest cavity & around his lungs), pulmonary edema (caused by fluid in his lungs), an enlarged heart, a collapsed lung lobe, & a visible nodule which was likely cancer (per the radiologist). All these things in addition to the kidney disease & hyperthyroidism ~ poor guy, of course he wasn’t well! 
It was a lot & the vet said George was uncomfortable to some degree already & without putting him through many vet appts, procedures, etc. there was really nothing we could do to help him get better at this point & the kindest thing would be to help him pass peacefully. At 17+ years & with all that was going on we were not going to put George through the stress of any procedures, countless vet visits or numerous medications, he was no doubt just tired & ready to rest. We knew we likely didn’t have a lot of time with him, we were hoping for at least several good months, but it just was not to be 
Along with his brother Cheddar, George touched several lives, especially in his last years. From life with his first family until 15 years of age (we believe), to joining the Paws4Life family in late 2020 & being loved on & spoiled by his first foster mom Andrea (& partner), to being adopted in Aug. 2021 & being snuggled, & spoiled by Catherine (& partner), to rejoining the Paws4Life family for just 14 short days receiving many cuddles, treats, lots of lap time, & anything else he has wanted from Dave & me, we take comfort in knowing George lived his best life! What a privilege to have been a part of his journey & for him to be loved by so many 
~ {Thank you to his sponsors Jeanette Mendoza & Stefanie & Diana Comerford for your love & support for George, even if just for a short time 
} ~
12/1/2022 ~ In the afternoon of Thursday 12/1 Roosevelt decided it was time to leave his 18.5 year old senior body that was just tired & wanted to rest. Roosevelt lost his first mom in 2019 & options to place him elsewhere by his temporary caregiver had been exhausted. One last email plea was sent out from her before he was to be euthanized & we are so glad we saw it! We posted this plea on our FB page & that’s when Kelly learned of him & decided she could lifetime foster him. And for his final 3 years of life Roosevelt lived like a king, endlessly loved & spoiled just as he deserved! We thank his sponsors Stan & Lisa Gasiorek along with another of our wonderful followers/supporters for helping us give him a great retirement and Kelly for her dedication & devotion to Roosevelt & for helping us help him! Godspeed, sweet boy
You are truly missed 
8/22/2022 ~ Our 4th sendoff to the Rainbow Bridge this year, how can it be!? Upon arriving with a group of stray/feral cats in late 2011, Willie was approx 7 weeks old as were his two other siblings. This group of stray/feral cats helped lead to the start of Paws4Life, Inc. & Willie was the first of his siblings to be adopted in the summer of 2012. He was spoiled & loved by his family, though in the 7 years he was with them he experienced some changes that were no doubt sad. He lost his human dad early on, then a few years later lost his canine sister, and in the summer of 2019 when it was just him & his human mom remaining he had to face another life change ~ his human mom fell ill & could no longer care for him. Thankfully we were contacted by family & of course we took Willie back under the rescue with open arms where he remained as a lifetime foster (knowing that cats don’t really like change we decided to keep him on as a lifetime foster so that he didn’t have to endure any other major changes/adjustments). He adjusted well & found his place in our home & in the clowder & continued living the spoiled life (with the help we so appreciated from his sponsor mom Catherine Anderson). He enjoyed a good tussle with the catnip toys, lounging nearby, treats, & daily hugs/kisses. Earlier in 2022 we noticed that he seemed to have to put a little extra effort into breathing, so we took him in to the vet (his annual was coming up anyway) to have this checked out. He had previously been diagnosed with a heart murmur so we wanted to see how his heart sounded, however, at that time the vet said she couldn’t hear his heart over “other” sounds she was hearing. Concerned, an x-ray was scheduled soon after & sadly a mass at least 10 cm could be seen, though not diagnosed. We had to schedule another appt. with the oncology dept. at a specialty vet where, after an ultrasound & aspiration, the now 13+ cm mass was “suspected” to be cancerous. Surgery wasn’t an option due to the location of the mass and while medical treatment consisting of chemo/radiation & multiple vet vists could be tried, it would only have bought 4-6 months at best. We thought long and hard about what was best for Willie keeping in mind the big picture. We chose not to fill his last weeks/days with the stress of all of that, so we opted for meds that would keep him comfortable while allowing him to remain in the comfort of his final home until it was his time to go. For a month we were able to keep him stable monitoring his breathing a few times each day to make sure all was “status quo”, but on the afternoon of Aug. 22 it was obvious something had changed for the worse with his breathing so we rushed him to the ER vet where they quickly put him in an oxygen chamber until he could be seen. The vet on duty did a quick ultrasound and found that fluid was building up around his lungs and his oxygention was not good at all, his breathing also declined quickly when taken out of the oxygen chamber. Nothing more could be done to keep him comfortable so we made the hard decision to help free him from a body that was failing. We are so grateful he had the experience of a forever family, one that loved him so. It was an immeasurable honor & privilege to have been a part of Willie’s life journey!
6/16/2022 ~ With heavy & defeated hearts, we helped our brave Annika over the Rainbow Bridge on Thurs. afternoon 6/16/2022. She arrived with a group of 6 other strays in late 2011 (she was likely somewhere between 1-2 years old then) & was pretty feral most of her life. Over time, especially in her last year, she did warm up to those who cared for her on a daily basis. It has been an undeniable privilege to love & provide for her & to have been able to give her a safe place to live. We feel sure she knew she was loved & that she was grateful for these things, too. We miss Annika dearly & send a sincere thank you to Leslie Cobb for sponsoring her all her years with us.
6/4/2022 ~ At 10.5 years, our sweet Pinball suddenly & unexpectedly passed away on Saturday morning 6/4/2022 most likely due to an undetected heart-related issue. ~ She arrived with her two siblings, mom, & three other adult strays in late 2011 & though skittish at first, she warmed up quickly into a loving lap cat. What a privilege it has been to give her a safe haven to spend her years playing & just enjoying life to the fullest. We miss her dearly already & are grateful to her sponsor mom (Angela Norbeck) for her faithful support of Pinball all her years with us.
1/15/2022 ~ We helped Vader on his journey to the Rainbow Bridge on Saturday 1/15/2022 after almost 9 years of helping him through so many physical/medical setbacks ~ Vader arrived in early 2013 as a large unaltered stray (likely somewhere between 2-4 years old) & it was obvious he had lived a rough life up to that point. With time & patience Vader warmed up & proved to be a very friendly & social cat who was the first to jump in your lap. Vader was FIV+ & over the years we helped him with so many setbacks from his skin/allergy issues & he was on special food due to a urinary blockage/crystals, but ultimately oral squamous cell carcinoma was the one & final enemy we could not defeat. If any kitty ever deserved a break, it was Vader, but we are thankful we could bring him inside to be a part of our family for just 3 days shy of 1 year. We were able to give him all the care he needed over the years with the help of his sponsors Carolyn & Makayla Barnes.
5/2/2021 ~ We said a tearful goodbye to Max, as he suddenly passed away from what appeared to be a stroke (or heart-related) on Sunday afternoon 5/2/2021. ~ Max showed up as an unaltered adult stray in early 2012 & though he looked a bit rough (but still handsome) he soon turned out to be the sweetest lap kitty. Max was FIV+ & at the time of his passing we believe he was somewhere between 11-14 years old. We miss him dearly & feel grateful that with the help of his sponsor mom Stacy Borans we were able to provide him with a safe and loving environment.