Meet our VAS Cats

Cat names beginning with letters:

A-M     N-Z

Through the links above, you can see pictures of some of our VAS Cats.  Many have been lost to the disease.  There are several who remain with us, and they are living proof that early diagnosis and proper treatment make it possible to beat the odds and survive this otherwise aggressive and un-curable disease.

We would also like you to meet the following cats and their owners...

Sylvia

It was Sylvia's loving owners, Jeff and Coleen Kremer, who were the first to make it their mission to educate us about VAS.  To honor Sylvia, they created the Catshots web site in 1996.  Today it is without question, the best place to find veterinary resources (and more!) about VAS.

To read Sylvia's story, click here.

Shorti

It was in November of 1998 when Shorti lost her courageous battle with VAS.  Shorti's owners, Gigi and Chris Howe, created Shorti-online in her memory, giving us a second web site for VAS information.  In August, 1999, Gigi founded the VAS Support Group, where many of us met, and where today, there are over 800 members sharing and supporting one another. 

To read Shorti's story, click here.

To join the VAS Support Group, click here.

Snowflake

Snowflake's battle with VAS in October of 2002 lasted less than a month,  demonstrating how aggressive this disease can be if discovered too late. Lynn, Snowflake's owner, says that she did not choose educating the public about VAS for her passion - rather, it chose her.  In 2003, she began providing educational materials to the public at Cat Shows with several others that she met through the VAS Support Group.  To honor the memory of Snowflake, VAS Awareness was founded and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2003.

Henry is a VAS survivor.  Without his owner Lisa, a VAS Awareness board member,  VAS Awareness would not be what it is today and this website would look much different than it does.  Lisa's contributions and constant support are an integral part of VAS Awareness, for which we are grateful beyond words!

Misty

Misty's mom, Sara, a VAS Awareness board member, coordinates our west coast efforts from her central California home.  Sara has contributed in many insightful ways to VAS Awareness, and has been an unwavering source of support.  Her single minded passion to educate the public is an immeasurable asset to VAS Awareness and we cannot thank her enough for her selfless dedication. 

Rusty was a long-term VAS survivor.  He lived with his owner, Mick, a VAS Awareness board member,  in Massachusetts.  Mick is a constant and reliable source of information on the VAS Support group.  His calm and steady support for those who are living with a VAS cat are comforting and helpful beyond words.  Those of us who know Mick and Rusty felt as though Rusty, in a sense, belonged to all of us.  We were saddened to lose him to an apparent cardiac arrest in early 2006.  Rusty was a lucky boy and he couldn't have had a better owner!  He will be missed by many!

Katy inspired her devoted owner, Marilyn, through her brave battle with VAS.  Marilyn, a VAS Awareness board member, coordinates our Great Lakes efforts from her Ohio home.  VAS Awareness is honored to work along side of someone as confident, compassionate and caring as Marilyn, and we know that her beloved Katy is very proud of her!

Sambo belonged to Nina Patterson. 

To read about Sambo and Nina, visit our page, Nina's fund for VAS Research.