Sad News

I don't much feel like writing, but I should get it out of the way.

Miss Kitty - our "first born" / the feral cat who wiggled her way into our hearts - is gone. She didn't come home Thursday night and was not home by the time I returned last night about 6:30. I looked everywhere and called and called and called for her. Even if she's far away, she'll come when we call . . . and loudly meows to let us know she's on her way. Then, while I was passing the area by the pond where she'd been hunting lately, something made me turn off the driveway to walk across the clover-covered ground. The sniffing dogs led me to a flattened spot . . . and I found some hair. We don't know that it's hers, for sure, but all indications point to that.

I'd always kind of held my breath when Annie Blue started going outside because I knew she wasn't the savvy outdoor cat that Miss Kitty was. So, if either of them were to be "gotten" by a critter (owl?), we fully expected it to be the teeny little Annie Blue . . . and not our big hunter. But, even the most crafty of hunters can let down their guard on occasion . . . which is what we think happened.

Even though seeing possibly gruesome remains would be difficult, there would be that sense of closure if we had a body to bury. As it is, we'll plant a tree today in that spot, putting the bits of hair we found into the hole first. Whatever happened to her, we just hope that it was quick.

Miss Kitty had been with us 6 years as of July 29th. Time goes by so quickly - I can't believe it had been that much already. But, I guess we really expected to her to live to a ripe old age . . . even though she did (we did), on a daily basis, put her(self) in harm's way by going outside. But, that was the life she loved . . . .