With all the senseless killing going on--Paris, Colorado Springs, San Bernardino---the death of one pet, on one homestead, in the middle of the woods, seems trivial. Unless it is your pet. Our 12 year old cat, Rocky, has been missing for four days. We fear the worst.
Rocky was a fantastic cat. Fiercely independent. He held his own with three very large dogs who tormented him daily. He spent his days and nights outside, coming to and fro through a cat door we built into the cobb of the house. I would spot him on my wildlife camera---sauntering along before the camera, sometimes just an hour or two before or after a coyote or a fox was in the area.
Rocky had grown more affectionate lately. Both Joni and I noticed it. On Sunday night, he slept on my lap as I sat in the Lazy Boy---something he almost never did. He was in good shape for being twelve, but Joni speculated that he knew his reflexes were slowing; eyesight not as keen; getting older. His increased affection lately makes me think that he wanted to say: "Thank you. Thanks for the good life. Thanks for letting me roam in these woods. For letting me be an outdoor/indoor cat. For inviting me into your lives."
Joni cried all day when Rocky didn't come home. I was at work, talking to clients about their troubles, yet I could barely listen. I was troubled by my dear cat being gone.
Joni and I have gotten older while living with Rocky. We were young when we got him. Now age and girth have caught up with me. I've grown slower too. And those predators are on my tail: the predators of the American Lifestyle, signified by an ever increasing A1C and an ever growing medication list. Sooner or later, the predators will get you. A lesson.
Kylie holds out hope that Rocky will return: "He is a mountain cat", she says. "He'll come back".
Doubtful.
God bless Rocky. You are missed.
So sorry to learn you may have lost Rocky. I say, "may have," since I have had cats go missing for more than a week and then show up smelling like musty old barn. Cats have a way of investigating open doors that can sometimes be shut behind them. But we didn't have coyotes roaming our downtown neighborhood, either. Pets become part of our family, and we truly grieve when they leave us. Sadly, the world doesn't stop and pay attention as it does when we lose a human companion, but pet lovers know your grief. I do share your concern and your sadness.
ReplyDeleteHi Allan, since you never updated this I assume Rocky never made it back. Sorry for the pain. One of the harder things for me about becoming older and more transient has been knowing I'll probably never have another cat companion. My friend's dog gets lots of affection from me when I visit the UP.
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