Feline Mammary Cancer Warriors

“Minion” McRAE

“Elmindreda” McRae, also affectionately known as “Minion” or simply “Min,” was a spunky tortoiseshell cat who came into Megan’s life in the summer of 1999. Answering an ad in the local newspaper, Megan fell in love with Minion’s curious nature and orange stripe painted right down the middle of her forehead. Dubbed the “fuzzy land tortoise,” Minion kept Megan company throughout the remainder of her undergraduate career and moved with her to Virginia for graduate school. Minion was technically the only one that Megan knew when she moved to Virginia, and she kept Megan grounded and smiling during her intense graduate studies. Megan recalls Minion waking up at 3AM to play sometimes, then falling asleep underneath the blankets next to Megan and sleeping until the alarm went off later in the morning. Oh, to be a cat!

They had many adventures together during Megan’s graduate studies in Virginia and internship in Pennsylvania - flooding kitchens with mushrooms growing through the floor cracks, tiny attic escapades, and exploring the grass outside, and so much more.

Minion had a sixth sense of “purrfect timing” - she would often cuddle up on Megan’s lap right before a kitchen timer was about to go off. Every cat knows that once a lap has been claimed, the human is no longer allowed to move until the cat deems that it is okay to do so!

Minion’s extra toes made her a wizard at playing with string. She was pretty frisky in nature, enjoying racing to Megan’s wife Kasie’s arms to be picked up and lightly tossed in the air. Kasie loved dressed Minion up in different costumes and taking pictures of her - all of which Minion tolerated because it made her humans smile and be happy. She was also photographed with numerous “hats,” including yogurt cups (hence the photo in the collage above).

In the early winter of 2015, Megan and Kasie found a lump on Minion’s underside and immediately took her to their veterinarian in Virginia. She was unfortunately diagnosed with mammary cancer and went through a full mastectomy on the side that the lump was found to remove the cancer. In July of that same year, another lump was found on the other side, and Minion underwent a full mastectomy on the remaining side.

After they moved to New York, Megan and Kasie unfortunately found another lump on Minion’s underside in December of 2016. It was suspiciously located along the lower aspect of one of Minion’s previous surgical sites. Surgical removal of that new lump and biopsy revealed that it was indeed mammary cancer, and a consult with a veterinary oncologist was recommended. Megan and Kasie were told that the cancer had spread to Minion’s lymph nodes. Due to Minion’s age at the time of this diagnosis, Megan and Kasie elected not to pursue chemotherapy and instead chose palliative care to provide her with the best quality of life possible for however long that might be.

Minion continued to snuggle with her family, explore new patches of grass outside, bask in the sunlight streaming through the house windows, and live life to the fullest for almost 6 more months. When her appetite started to decline in July of 2017, Megan and Kasie knew that the end was drawing near. They arranged to have a veterinarian come to their home to allow for Minion to peacefully pass in her family’s arms at the age of 16.

Despite her numerous surgeries and terminal diagnosis, Minion had an amazing and full life with Megan and Kasie and will always be remembered as the spunky, 6-toed, “fuzzy land tortoise” who kept everyone else - especially all of the other pets - in line and on their toes!