This has been an awful year for heartbreak and loss. We’ve lost so much of our feline family, 6 beloved kitties in all. But Missy, you were one of the toughest ones to lose. We sent you on your way on Aug 2nd, 2021 at 2pm. We hope your journey to the other side was peaceful. From our advantage point it appeared that way. Thank goodness for that, because it was so hard to let you go.

Your physical decline was much slower than the others and we were beginning to think that you might live forever if we kept on top of your medical issues. We didn’t know however, about the long term effects of thyroid drugs or heart murmurs. The seriousness of your medical problems didn’t really surface till about a year ago. And even then, you still looked like a normal healthy kitty. It wasn’t until the summer of 2020 that it became noticeable that you were loosing weight. To compensate for your diminishing appetite, Doug finger fed you a half a can of special food twice a day. It probably wasn’t comfortable for you to eat that way, but it kept you going for an entire year. Ah, but eventually even with the extra calories, your body started to fail. The thyroid meds were ruining your kidneys and you continued to loose weight and muscle mass. In the end you weighed a mere 3.7 lbs. Despite loosing nearly 70% of your body mass, you were still alert, able to get around, poop, and even eat a little on your own. But at what price? Was life still worth living for you? Were we being selfish to want to keep you here with us as long as possible? Though you refused to give up, it became more and more obvious to us that you were suffering in some form or another and that it was time to release you from any pain you might have been experiencing. You had such an incredibly strong life force, it tore us apart to have to let you go. And though we know it was the absolute right thing to do, I just wish we didn’t have to play God.

And you dealt with more than just physical health issues over your 16 years. Whoever owned you in the beginning ( I hate the word “owned”) had you declawed. I think the trauma from that experience stuck with you for most of your life. It made it hard you to trust humans.
Thankfully, someone rescued you and you were eventually adopted by our next door neighbor. I remember her talking about you fondly. You were her pride and joy, her little princess. She loved you very much, but unfortunately she succumbed to her mental illness depression and committed suicide when you were just 5 years old. Shortly after she died the house you lived in became a drug den. The people who hung out there fed you, but you must have not liked it very much because you found a tiny hole in one of the walls in the garage and would always break out and wander into our backyard. Discovering how Beautiful you were up close, and how you often you would come visit us, I told Doug, there’s no way she’s going back there. She’s gonna live with us and be a part of our family where she’ll have a safe and less stressful life.

But wait, I don’t this want this memorial to be all about your unpleasant past, your failing health or your last moments, I want to talk about the happier times, your playful spirit and how much you meant to us and enriched our lives.

You were a gorgeous Maine Coon kitty. And yes, we gave you lots of silly nick names. Miss-E- Mew, Emu Kitty, Momma Kitty, Missy Girl and Miss Plush just to name a few. You had the most plush fur, hence the name the name “Miss Plush”. Im not sure which name we used the most, probably Missy. To be honest, we don’t know what your previous or original name or names were. Please forgive us.

As for your new living situation, we know that with 3 other cats in the sake house, having your own space would be a challenge. But eventually you settled on the kitchen, which is quite large, and you seemed to like it. Just the right amount of people and cats coming and going through the area.

You seemed to be super sensitive about your surroundings and physical sensations. When it came to upchucking you had a flare for the dramatics. You made this god awful meow-ish sound that would get louder and louder. It scared us at first because we thought you were being attacked by one of the other cats. It wasn’t until we observed this behavior a few times, that we realized it was probably sensation of having to throw up was probably scaring you! It broke my heart, because I get that way when I have to throw up too. But we knew you were Ok and from that point on, when we heard that sound, we knew there was probably a fur ball coming.

Though your personality was somewhat timid and guarded in nature, when you finally came out of your shell, you were a ball of energy and would do some of the funniest things. In addition to the standard 100 meter cat dash around the house for no apparent reason, or a spontaneous session of tail chasing, you loved to sniff our dirty underwear and hats. When Id take a shower you’d come into the bathroom and roll around in all the garments on the floor, as if they were laced with catnip or something. I suppose our scents were a little more potent in these items.

I sometimes feel guilty about not giving you as much of my attention as I did Winston. I guess I figured that it really didn’t bother you and that you knew Winston was kind of our miracle baby. Thank god for Douglas. He’s much better at sharing his time with all the kitties. He’s the one that fed you, gave you your daily meds, took you to the vet and kept you well groomed. I tried to make up for that during the last year of your life, by snuggling with you, giving you your favorite treats, and letting you outside in backyard for a few minutes each day , so that you could experience the outdoors and be a cat.

Dear Missy, in case you don’t know, you were, and are, a beautiful being who had an almost mystical presence and spirit that’s hard to describe. Thank you for trusting and sharing the bulk of your life with us crazy humans. I hope your time with us and your journey to the other side, if it exists, was painless. We keep your ashes in a special silver container located in your favorite spot in the house. We put you there as a reminder of your existence and how much joy you brought to our lives.

Please know that you mattered and will be in our hearts forever. God bless you my little girl.

Those Eyes

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4 thoughts on “Missy

  1. Juan Enrique Rodríguez Díaz says:

    So sorry for your loss Steven! I have pets to and God, how much we loved them! Stay safe friend!

  2. Nekona says:

    I’m so sorry for your loss. Our fur family friends are so dear to us. Making the decision to help end a loved pet’s suffering is so hard but you did the best thing for your beautiful baby. Wishing you peace.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words

    2. Thank you for the kind words.

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