Johanna upon her arrival back in RCR's care

Johanna and her sister Julianna came into Regina Cat Rescue (RCR) care in early 2015. The girls were sweet, loving and quickly adopted, but eight months later Johanna was returned to RCR because she had started urinating outside of the litter box. Knowing that cats who start inappropriately eliminating could be suffering from a physical illness, Johanna was immediately taken to the vet. Once there, it was discovered she had a large tumour growing on, around and under her tongue. Peeing outside of the litter box was her only way of sharing that she was sick and needed help.

A biopsy of the tumour revealed that it wasn't cancerous, so Johanna was prescribed steroids to shrink the tumour (due to the tumour’s nature, size and location surgery was not a viable option). The steroids worked well and the tumour was almost completely gone within two months. Unfortunately, steroids aren’t a long-term solution due to a number of side effects, so slowly Johanna was weaned off the steroids with the hope that the tumour would not grow back. Sadly, once the steroids were stopped the tumour began to grow again. Johanna still had a good quality of life – enjoying her status as queen bee in her foster home and soaking in snuggles from her foster mom - so in consultation with her vet, it was decided that Johanna would remain in RCR foster care indefinitely.

After many happy months, Johanna's quality of life began to decline quickly and significantly. On Feb. 10, RCR bid farewell to this amazing girl. With her foster mom at her side, Johanna passed away and is now playing on the other side of Rainbow Bridge. She is missed by all those at RCR who cared for her.

We wanted to share Johanna’s story to highlight the importance of paying attention to your cat’s behaviour. Cats don’t pee outside of the litter box out of spite - they do it because something is wrong physically, they may be experiencing stress or anxiety or the current litter box set up is not meeting their needs, etc. The sad reality is that had Johanna seen a vet when she first began to show signs of a problem, the vet may have been able to do something to stop the tumour from growing to the very large size that it did and may have been able to save Johanna considerable discomfort and pain. Johanna had other symptoms – weight loss, vomiting and was no longer grooming – that cat guardians should be aware of because they could also be signs of a larger medical issue. If you notice these symptoms, talk to your vet as it could save your cat’s life.