Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Another Goodbye

I wasn't sure I even wanted to mention this, but I know someone will notice and wonder so.....Moss is gone now too.  About 6 weeks ago she got very sick with bloody vomit and diarrhea.  Before I could do anything for her she disappeared.  She was gone for four days and I figured she was gone for good.  I was pleasantly surprised when she showed up on the fifth day looking very thin, but otherwise totally healthy.  She seemed like she was making a full recovery.  I got her special food and she was eating more than she ever has, it seemed like a good thing at first.  Then she started drinking far more water than normal, eating more than normal and yet still losing weight.  She has steadily declined since then despite all efforts.

In the past few days, she became unsteady on her feet, unable to jump onto a hay bale and somewhat disoriented.  This morning, I could see the end in her face. This afternoon, I once again gave the final gift.  She went to sleep purring softly in my lap as we sat in the hay barn one last time.

The first half of Moss' life was very rough.  She was a feral, half starved, abused, neglected creature who came to me with an abundance of scars, few teeth and neurological damage.  She learned to enjoy life here and wanted for nothing.  It is a bit ironic that it is only recently that she has begun to enjoy human touch.  Her best friend the past two years has been Ramsey.  Like so many of us, she took to him right from the start.  I figure that Moss was approximately 12-15 years old.  Not terribly old for a cat, but ancient given how hard the first half of her life was.

Goodbye Moss, I am sure there is another warm hay barn with lots of good donkeys to play with.  Say hello to Tanner for me.






26 comments:

  1. It seems that this year many of our beloved animals are departing before another long hard winter. Mother Nature perhaps has a way of calling them home before the toughest part of the seasons arrives. Sending you Meadow hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry Kris. I am so glad you were there to take care of her these last few years and give her some peace, kindness and the human touch she finally learned to accept. Good-bye Moss

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great, brave little cat. I hope the perfect little stray cat finds its way to your barn now -- to take up the pest control duties.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i'm sorry... i loved the interactions with the donkeys.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My thoughts are with you. It is so hard losing those that we love. Take care, Deb Zieno

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so, so sorry. I doesn't rain, but that it pours. I have a soft spot for the dilute calicos. Take heart in your memories and of what a great life you offered them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a sweetie - you gave her food and shelter and she had a good life because you shared with her. Maybe she will send another needy soul your way... RIP Moss.

    Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. -Buddha

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a sweetie - you gave her food and shelter and she had a good life because you shared with her. Maybe she will send another needy soul your way... RIP Moss.

    Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. -Buddha

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, my heart hurts again for your farm family loss. Focus on the fact that you gave her a wonderful home for the end of her life, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So glad she got to live happily with you and your herd. She will be missed.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ahh man you are having a tough go but Moss was SO LUCKY to have found you (and did) and visa versa. What a blessing you both were for each other!

    ReplyDelete
  12. ((((((Hugs)))))) My condolences for the loss of both Tanner and Moss. The farm must feel very empty without them. I hope you can at least feel some sense of peace that you let them pass with dignity and as comfortable as possible. Sending lots of big hugs and puppy kisses from an excitable labrador puppy your way.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh Kris I am so sorry to about Moss. I, too, will miss seeing her with Ramsey. Big hugs from Calif. I have to say my very first thought was this is odd: Moss and Tanner so close together. Do you think there could be something in the woods they got into, maybe some contamination, even an evil person putting out something? It just seems too close together for my thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm so very sorry.

    Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  15. Kris, I'm so sorry for your losses. She was such a beautiful cat!

    ReplyDelete
  16. An American in TokyoOctober 21, 2014 at 8:47 PM

    Oh no, I am so sorry. It must be a tough time for you now.
    I wish I could send you a big hug!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am so sorry, Kris. I think that Moss left in a happy state: with absolute trust at last, and at home in your lap, after you had succeeded in making her forget the bad part of her past entirely.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh Noooo! Wow I understand exactly what you meant when you said "Too many losses this year" I'm sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my gosh, life can seem so unfair at times -- or so it seems. So harsh that you have lost another dear member of your family. Hang in there Kris. Rest in peace sweet Moss. ♥♥

    ReplyDelete
  20. You have such strength to handle this yourself and to write such nice posts about it. So sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  21. So very sorry to read that Moss has passed on. Their lives are so short compared to ours. Condolences.

    ReplyDelete