Kathryn Hopper. 1961-2009

We lost a sister on Feb. 3, 2009; someone who made a big difference in the life of cats, especially those who suffer with Asthma.

Kathryn with Fritz the Brave, her inspiration for helping all cats with Feline Asthma
Photo: James Perkins

Although I never met Kathryn in person, I did have the good fortune to correspond with her during a time when I really needed a friend. My kitty, Spencer, had breathing problems—a constant wheeze that, at times, sounded like he wasn't getting enough oxygen. I had taken Spencer to Vets and Specialists. I also did a lot of research, trying to figure out what was wrong with my boy. There were suggestions that it could be ear polyps, then perhaps, a tumor, skull malformation from an old injury, then-asthma?

That's when I found Fritz the Brave—the best and most informative web site for cats suffering with Asthma. I shyly wrote to Kathryn, hoping to get some sort of reply. I was so scared for my cat. I didn't want him to die and now I was faced with having to possibly give him asthma medication for the rest of his life! Kathryn was amazing! She wrote me right back and talked to me at length about what to do, how to do it. She shared with me information on Dr. Padrid that I could give to my own Vet, a well as arranging for me to get an AeroKat™ inhaler for FREE (and I was going through a bad divorce at the time and money was very tight. Boy did this help me a lot!).

With Kathryn's knowledge and compassion I was able to help my own Vet learn more about this new (at the time) treatment for Feline Asthma. I felt empowered to do whatever I need to do for Spencer, instead of feeling alone. Kathryn had an amazing personality. It was truly brilliant. Her heart was radiant. It was easy to like her and admire her. I would be deeply humbled if I could make as great an impact on the lives of cats as she did in her short time here.

It took two years to get to a diagnosis for Spencer. He had hyposensitization therapy, was treated for asthma, was treated for allergies via a nebulizer and after ALL that...nothing. All they could come up with was that Spencer had an Upper Respiratory Infection before I adopted him. It went on for so long that it built up scar tissue in his right sinus and that's why he wheezes. To this day, Spencer has that funny wheeze, but his health is overall quite fantastic.

I never forgot Kathryn and her kindness. As fate would have it, on FLICKr, who of all people should I "bump" into, but Kathryn's husband, James Perkins! Through James, I came to find out about Kathryn's sudden passing last month and I also learned more about her legacy. For all that troubled her and all of her life's difficulties, she did so many amazing things. It's a tragedy that Kathryn is gone.

To see photos of Kathryn and learn more about her you can visit James Flickr Page and on her web site's About Page on Fritz the Brave Here

When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space

---Pema Chodron