Tom Kelly and The Watch Kitty

This is a guest article.

The Watch Kitty found me on Halloween night around midnight as I left a friend’s party. As I left the house I heard a faint meow and looked back to see, and in the entryway light, a little white nose was poking out of a bush. I beckoned her and she came to me! She had a collar and no tag (she would never be without a collar and tag the rest of her life), and was just a couple of months old.

I took the kitty home hoping I could find her person. At the time my daughter Kari was living with me and Kari and I both tried, put up signs, posted notices but no responses. Discovered the kitty was a female so off to the Vet for shots and spay as it looked like she was staying.

We were trying to come up with a name and nothing seemed to fit. Kitty was always at the open door looking out the screen or on a window ledge looking out the window. So, since I still thought we’d locate her person at some point I suggested we just call her Watch Kitty (would become The Watch Kitty, her title) as the time with us would probably be short. We met in October of 1992, she passed away March 28, 2007.

Watch Kitty as kitten

Moving forward, many of you may remember the pet food poisoning that was uncovered in March of 2007. TWK (as we called her) started spitting up in late 2006, on an irregular basis and usually in the mornings. She was a long hair domestic so I figured hair balls. She always got the best of care for the 15 years we were together. She was a princess, best of food, best of care and lots of love. She loved to ride around on my shoulder, right side only! We were attached at the hip, so to speak.

On January 3rd of 2007 it became more noticeable and we made a trip to the Vet for a thorough exam. The results broke my heart, early stages of renal failure! I was devastated but puzzled as to the cause as she was still very active chasing gecko’s on the yard wall even at 15 years old. She was an inside cat with outside supervision. The Vet explained that given her age, it is not uncommon but we could medicate, had some options to extend her life for as long as she was comfortable.

The Watch Kitty a.k.a. TWK

I was just a basket case, thought of nothing else but her well-being. So, every week till she passed it was saline injections and Baytril shots to flush the toxins in her system and keep her hydrated. There are noticeable changes that occur; a big one is the almost oily looking and feeling coat.

Then on the night of March 15, 2007 as I watched the evening news with her at my side “Breaking News” flashed on the screen (March 15 is my birthday!), it’s been uncovered that a poison has been discovered in the wheat gluten of dog and cat food! This effected, they said, the soft food only. I about fell out of my chair and tears formed in my eyes. I was in shock. A couple minutes later the phone rings, it was our Vet. He asked if I had seen the news, and asked me what I was feeding TWK. Treats were  beef and chicken in gravy packets. The manufacturer of those was on the posted list! I was beside myself!

It was not old age after all, she had been poisoned! It was the companies we rely on for healthy foods for our pets and their carelessness in quality control, which was causing our four legged friends to die of kidney poisoning! The next day and for weeks after, the evening news was full of updates. Companies like Pet Smart sent out notices to customers (bar code scan) who had purchased any of the hundreds of foods and treats effected. I got one of those emails! Two products were listed

Her condition gradually worsened, I would see her with her head hanging over the edge of the water bowl. She started hiding the oily coat and sad face. Eventually it was hard to get her to eat or drink. I tried everything from baby food to holistic diet food. I shopped every pet store in Phoenix for something she would enjoy. It was too late.

Watch Kitty on wall

TWK being affectionate

It was getting tougher for me to take, I enlisted the help of a Veterinary health clinic at UC Davis who specializes in kidney failure in small animals. They also blended special medication for which I purchased some $300+, I sought out the help of APLB (Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement) www.aplb.org, a grief counseling organization located back East. Also searched out numerous other websites on this subject. I was a wreck and trying to stay strong for TWK. Our visits to the Vet were now twice a week or as needed, I was losing her.

There was word of a class action law suit and I entered in. In my case, the manufacturer advised that if their food was the documented cause for a sick animal, to send copies of the Veterinary and medication bills. I submitted a claim for almost $2000 around March 24th for expenses to date. I also stayed the course of the class action suit against the manufacturer, who produced a number of the contaminated foods. I hooked up with a law firm in San Francisco.

On March 28th I had a business trip to El Paso Texas that I could not get out of so I arranged to have her boarded at the Vet’s clinic. By the way TWK never used a pet carrier her entire life, I carried her in my arms with a leash for Vet visits! Not that she did not like carriers, there was no need. I brought her in on Tuesday the 27th and stayed with her off and on throughout the day, they had her on an IV as she was quite dehydrated. I had to leave on the 28th so stopped by the Vet office for an hour or so that morning (it was tough leaving), gave her a kiss and drove off for El Paso, 350 miles. Along the way I received a call from the product claim administrative office, my claim had been received and approved, they were very sorry, offered their best wishes and a check would be sent to me for the full amount. I may have been one of the first approved for payment.

. . . my cell phone rang, it was the Vet, he informed me that TWK had passed away. She had died in a Vet Techs arms. I broke down and pulled over to the side of the road.

I had a business call to make in Deming, NM and stopped there on the way to El Paso. After that call, as I was leaving, my cell phone rang, it was the Vet, he informed me that TWK had passed away. She had died in a Vet Techs arms. I broke down pulled over to the side of the road. I was 200 miles from Phoenix! I turned around, hell with the meeting, I’m going back. I arrived back at my empty house around midnight, my daughter met me there.

Watch Kitty’s collar and tag

The next morning I went to the Vets office to arrange for TWK’s life after life over the rainbow bridge. I held her in my arms for some time and thoughts of our time together and that Halloween night she found me long ago. I had her cremated as I wanted her with me always until we could be together again. She (urn with her ashes) rests on my night stand next to my bed in the same place I set her down back on April 2, 2007.

I continued on the ALPA website, chat rooms for support. That was a big help, but, still the emptiness was there and is still there. Six years has cushioned the sorrow of the loss, never the memories. I still see her in all her favorite places around the house. She was the first 4 legged friend I nurtured from a kitten through adulthood so the hurt may have been a little greater, not to mention those we trust the most for healthy diets had let us down.

In the big picture the malpractice with dog and cat food took the lives of an estimated 6600 cats and dogs. Cats suffered the most losses. Claim was settled out of court for $26m as I recall, which is the limit their insurance would cover. Since I had already been compensated I did not receive an award in the suit. Half of the money I received from from settlement was donated to a no kill shelter here in the Phoenix area.

TWK with my girlfriend Debbie

I took in a stray March of 2007 (Squeek) which I had been feeding for a few months. Adopted another in July 2007 (Scooter) from Pet Smart, and 2 more siblings from my girlfriend Debbie’s parents’ farm, in May 2009. I think of TWK every day, but there are new friends in my life Squeek, Scooter, Ricky and Rusty and they are spoiled rotten.

I would add that this terrible episode shaped up the pet food industry to a point where quality control got more attention and new companies were born with natural animal foods. It’s a better world for our animals now in their food bowls.

Thanks to Healing Pet Loss for publishing my story. It took me 3 years to tell anyone this story without a tear in my eye. This was good therapy and TWK is right behind me on the night stand, watching as she always did!

Author’s note: 
My name is Tom Kelly and I live in the Phoenix metro area. I’ve spent my adult life in sales and sales management for Stanley Black & Decker. My daughter Kari and husband Jeff (with 4-90 LB Boxer dogs) live just South of Phoenix. My hobbies are collector cars, flying and golf. I also enjoy collecting Schwinn 10 and 12 speed bicycles of the 60’s and 70’s. Oh, and I love animals, all animals.