One of our two lovely cats was killed this morning. We think she was hit by a car and then made her way back to our garden to die.
Maisy, pictured above on a walk with me and the dogs a couple of days ago, was nearly two years old.
We will miss her.
Her sister is bewildered. I hope she recovers soon.
There is no need to add any comments if you don't want to.
I just wanted to mark her time with us and her sudden passing.
AMENDED UPDATE: One of the mechanics who works in the garage next door says that he saw Maisy run into a car (the rear wheel) at around 08:00 am. He had already slowed down to turn into the garage, as he did so, he saw both of our cats playing in the garden across the road from us. He says that the "all white cat" chased the "stripey one" out of the garden. Maisy, deep in the game, did not exercise her usual caution, ran across the road to escape her sister and hit the rear tyre head first. After a couple of seconds, she shook her head and headed up next doors driveway. He thought that the cat lived next door and talked to the lady. From his description she did not recognise it as our Maisy. This means that she was injured when we saw her at 8:30 in the kitchen but we did not know. There is no sense dwelling on it but we may have been able to do something for her had we known. If it was, as I suspect, a fractured skull, then the chances are very, very slim that the vet could have saved her.
CR.
A wee shame mate.
ReplyDeleteOur family cat and I rarely see eye to eye but I would miss the bugger if he wasn't here.
Thanks Rab.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that Captain. I know how bad it feels.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. Lost my most laid back Burmese, Baldrick, a couple of years back. Still miss him.
ReplyDeleteVery sad for you, CR. I know the feeling too. Wish there was more I could say...
ReplyDeleteThanks lads.
ReplyDeleteMaisy was such a friendly cat, always sitting on your lap to be stroked. She was very social.
What saddens me most is that she died alone.
CR.
Vale Maisy.
ReplyDeleteWords fail me.
Not alone Ranty, never alone.
Thanks MHG.
ReplyDeleteIf it's any consolation, most animals deliberately go away to die, so if she died alone it's probably what she wanted to do. I truly sympathise. Both of mine had to go last year, and even though (like Rab) we didn't always get on, I missed them like hell. A little neglected rescue cat came along in their place, though. As a dyed-in-[the-wool dog person, I love her to bits. You'll get through it, but it's a hard blow to take. RIP Maisy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard.
ReplyDeleteI know they usually go away. I just wanted to be there at her end.
I saw her in the kitchen then the next time I saw her was when I carried her body in 45 minutes later.
I appreciate your kind words.
And those of all who have commented. You're a good bunch.
CR.
I feel for you captain, we lost our little meg 4 years ago, I still shed tears now.
ReplyDeleteJo.
Sad day Capt. I do know how you feel having lost a couple of cats, never easy however they go.
ReplyDeleteSorry for your loss Joanne.
ReplyDeleteOur cats usually enjoy long and happy lives. The last two, Bubble and Squeak (also sisters), stayed with us for 18 and 19 years, respectively.
I had hoped to be caring for the two new kitties after my retirement in fifteen years.
Thank you for your kind thoughts.
CR.
Thanks Fireball.
ReplyDeleteIt is just such a shock.
We will mend.
CR.
We held our annual pet service last Sunday. This prose was read out. Sometimes there are words that work. I hope these might do some balm, CR!
ReplyDeletehttp://rainbowsbridge.com/poem.htm
Thanks OR.
ReplyDeleteThat was thoughtful of you. I appreciate it very much.
CR.
Hard luck mate, it's a sad business when a furry friend dies.
ReplyDeleteIt is, Richard, it is indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words.
CR.
We have lost many pets over the years, some due to accidents, others through old age or illness. It's never an easy thing to deal with. Probably the worst was having the vet come out to put our last cat to sleep. It's making the tears well up just typing this.
ReplyDeleteYou have my sympathy.
MD
Thanks Dave.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first pet we have ever lost to an accident so it's a new feeling for me.
They usually get old and that way you can at least psyche yourself up for that last trip to the vet.
Little Maisy died in a brutal way.
Not right. Not right at all.
CR.
I'm very sorry to hear that Captain.
ReplyDeleteSteven
Thanks Steven.
ReplyDeleteCR.
Sorry for your loss, RIP Maisey.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking how odd the world is. The first 18 months of the cats lives were spent next to a road where everyone flew by at warp speed and they coped just fine.
Then we move to a one horse village where the cars crawl past the house and she gets run over by one of them.
CR.
It's a kick in the guts when it happens CR. Happened to us a couple of months ago; one of almost identical twins, the more affectionate one too which made it even more poignant. I dunno - I'm old, I've seen people killed and not turned a hair. One dead cat and I don't trust myself to speak.
ReplyDeleteIf it's any consolation at all, the other cat will somehow fill the void. They find a way...
All the best mate.
Caratacus,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words. It means worlds.
I don't know if I should say this but relatives of mine who have died caused a much smaller rush of emotion than this little cat. She was part of our clan. And now she isn't. I'll miss her on the dog walks through the woods.
We'll meet again on the other side of the Styx. And even if that belief turns out to be bollocks, it comforts me now, and that's good enough.
CR.
Always leaves an empty place when a cat goes ,we have lost several over thirty odd years mostly rescue cats ,I always try to focus on the nice and very pampered times they have had with us ,still difficult not to shed tears.
ReplyDeleteThanks Del.
ReplyDeleteI bought our moggies from a newspaper advert. I went to the ladies house to pick one up. When I saw the conditions they were living in I had to take both kittens. If there had been four I would have taken them too. I would have taken as many as she was selling. The house was a disgrace. Clearly the kitten selling thing was a mini business. My first impulse was to turn around and go home, but I had to take those kittens with me.
The woman gave me a cardboard box for them. Within the first 200 yards they had both escaped and were climbing all over me. The next 15 miles (terrible at the time) now bring a smile to my face. I kept stopping to put them back in the box, but they weren't happy in there. I gave up stopping for the last five or six miles and they sat, one on each shoulder, all the way home.
Good of you to stop by and offer a complete stranger some words of solace. Thanks again.
My faith in humanity has had a top-up today.
CR.
It's funny how we can often take the death of a person in our stride, but that of an animal floors us. This post has made me think of all the animal pals I have lost, and each one was a bitter blow.
ReplyDeleteOld Rightie - that Rainbow Bridge thing really set me off. I''ll need a Scotch before I can go to bed now.
CR - one thing that always comes to my mind and has helped me out on a few occasions: from Mother Julian of Norwich (13C) -
All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
Rip maisey. I was never a cat person either until I meet my wife but I was heart broken when the oldest of our 3 died.
ReplyDeleteRichard,
ReplyDeleteI have been using that saying for years and I never knew where it came from.
Another mystery solved.
CR
Anon,
ReplyDeleteThe little buggers just grow on you.
Thanks for your kind thoughts.
CR.
Sad news CR. So sorry. I hope you can in time dwell not on her passing but instead on the fact that you gave her a good home and recall the happy times. A reminder if ever it were needed of the fragility of this life and that we should always make the most of every day and put good and positive things out into the world. I'm sure she had a very happy life because of your obvious love for her. All the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon.
ReplyDeleteI just amended the piece. We have now talked at length with the mechanic who saw exactly what happened.
At least we have some sort of closure.
And she was a happy cat. She had a good life with us, and our lives were happier with her around. I'm just sorry her time was cut short.
CR.
Just catching up on my blog reading, when I saw this post.
ReplyDeleteDeeply sorry for your loss CR.
Non pet owners do not understand the attachment we form with these animals. They are as much a part of your family as children. I lost one of my dogs nearly 2 years ago, and it still chokes me up now when I think about it.
Sorry to hear about your Maisy , it is always very hard when a member of the family is lost . Be comforted that you made her time here better, even if it was a short time.
ReplyDeleteMwMC,
ReplyDeleteThank you.
It feels a little better now that we know her last moments.
We still feel incomplete. I know that will change with time.
CR.
AG,
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was a two way thing. She made us happy too.
I miss her.
CR.