Friday Cat Blogging
In Memoriam
Festus
[Editor: She survived a raccoon as a kitten and a getting hit by a car as a yearling. She was too skittish to take to the vet so the only help I could ever offer was antibiotics in food near her “hiding place”. She was approximately 9 years old, born after Opal but she survived multiple hurricanes. The car accident damaged her pelvis so she was never a mother but she was a babysitter for the younger cats. She disappeared for a couple of days and I found her in her “hiding place”. She will be missed.
5 comments
Very sorry to hear of Festus’s demise, Bryan. Nine years is not bad at all for a feral cat, and surviving all those events means she must have been very tenacious. That said, I know you’ll miss her a lot. If it helps, just think of how much longer she lived with your help than she would have done unassisted.
One of our most effective local animal rescue/release workers says she never gives names to the wild animals temporarily in her custody, because doing so would strengthen her attachment to them, a bond which ultimately must be broken when they are released into the wild. But sometimes it doesn’t matter if you regard an animal as a pet or simply as a creature temporarily under your care: it’s hard to say goodbye when you lose one.
Hang in there, Bryan, and keep up the good work.
I’m so sorry. That was one tough cat. And I’m sure she secretly reveled in all the “assistance” you provided over the years. Like Steve said, keep up the good work.
Festus (nee Chester?) was quite a handsome girl and certainly packed a lot of ‘excitement’ into her life. The younger kitties and their mothers will surely miss her, too.
We can only do so much … Mother Nature has limits.
My deepest condolences, Bryan.
She was a tough old lady who earned her position in the pride.
Andante, that was my Mother’s fault, she mixed up Marshal Dillon’s deputies and forgot it was Chester that limped.