Cascade Hospital for Animals
6730 Cascade Road, SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
(616) 949-0960
(616) 949-2688 (fax)
Hours
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Mo - Th |
7:30 am
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-
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7:00 pm |
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Friday |
7:30 am
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-
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6:00 pm |
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Saturday |
8:00 am
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-
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5:00 pm |
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Sunday |
10:00 am
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-
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5:00 pm |
Doctors'
hours by
appointment only
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Piper's Story
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Piper came into our lives almost 2 years ago to the day she died, when we adopted
her from Cascade Hospital for Animals. From the beginning, Piper was sweet,
loving and mischievous. She was full of energy, racing around our house, bouncing
off the walls (literally!) and playing with our dog, Eddie. Piper gave a very
distinctive squeal when she walked or ran around the house. She loved to cuddle
on our laps, purring herself to sleep. Piper’s favorite thing to do was to
run in circles trying to catch her tail…we would watch with delight and then gently
pick her up after she started to wobble from getting so dizzy. Piper wanted
to be near us all the time and would always run to the door to greet us when we
walked in. She loved to lie in the paper basket next to our computer while
we worked. She and Eddie became good friends and we would often find the two
of them lying next to each other on Eddie’s bed.
Piper was also very obedient, much more so than Eddie! All we had to do was
call her name and she would stop whatever it was she was getting into.
This past Thanksgiving I had stargazer lilies as a centerpiece on our table.
She was found playing with a petal a couple of days after the holiday and we thought
nothing of it – just Piper being her playful self. A couple of days later
she became very lethargic and began vomiting. Our veterinarian performed some
screening blood work and Piper was diagnosed with severe kidney failure. Upon
brainstorming together with our vet about what she may have gotten into, we mentioned
the lily petal and were told how toxic they are to cats. Based on experience
with this type of toxicity, the veterinarian gave Piper a 50-50 chance of pulling
through. Our hearts sank when we heard this, especially knowing that it didn’t
have to happen. If we had only known how toxic lilies are to cats, we would
never have had them out in the house. Even with the overwhelming odds against
her, we thought because she was young and healthy, she would defy the odds and pull
out of this. Sadly, this was not to be the case.
Our vet, Cherie Anderson, called us Saturday evening to tell us that Piper’s kidneys
were no longer capable of producing urine. At this point, there was nothing
more she could do for Piper. We drove to the hospital to hold her one last
time. It breaks our hearts to have lost sweet Piper this way…This is our memorial
to Piper. We are bringing awareness of the toxicity of lilies to all those
who love their cats as much as we loved Piper.
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©2006-2008 Cascade Hospital for Animals / 6730 Cascade Road, SE / Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 / PH: (616) 949-0960 / FX: (616) 949-2688 / Contact Us
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