I just don’t understand why they call my street ‘Bobcat Drive’; I never saw a Bobcat around here, but there are plenty of cats, and they seem to like to come to my home.
Seems like about four years ago, I heard a meow coming from the lower areas of the woods in which I live. The meow sound had worked its way to my back porch, and there he was, the soon to be Goo-dee, another stray cat. He looked to have a wound of some sorts on his nose which I thought could have been a disease, and with all the other strays that showed up from time to time, which we catch, neuter and spay, I had great concerns of any infections being passed around. So I did one of those ‘shoo him away kind of things’, but it did not work, he came back and this cat was determined to stay.
I called out to my wife, Margie, ‘we have another stray, what should we do?’ We came up with a plan to take him
down to the nearby boat ramp, give him a little food, problem over, right? Well, not so easy for us cat lovers.
We went to dinner at the steak house but I couldn't get my mind off that poor little cat, frightened and all alone at that boat ramp, with a chill in the air, and the Highway close by. I kept telling myself, ‘he could die, he might get hit by a car’, so I had to go back and save him. I said Margie, ‘we must save this cat,’ I said, ‘I will bring this piece of steak and we will go back to the boat ramp, we will take him home and take care of him.’
We went to the boat ramp; I set the food down, and called out, ‘Kitty, kitty, kitty’. Out from the chill in the night time air I heard a meow. Yes, it was the cat. Easily we set him on our lap and we brought him home to join the rest of the community of stray cats. In the morning we took him to the vet to have him neutered and given a few shots, and he was ready for his new life on Bobcat Dr. As for his nose, it was just a scab from a wound of some sorts.
We called him Goo-dee, for his golden colour, plus the name ‘Goldy’ sounded like a girl’s name, you know, like, Goldilocks, so Goo-dee became his name. After a few weeks of comfort and some good food, he soon became bigger and bigger, his beauty turned into a super model cat, he was beautiful, strong and healthy, his grain looked like the colours of a fine piece of wood.
A few months ago his breathing just didn't seem right, it seemed to start after another cat showed up and jumped on him from behind which wasn't fair. I think Saint Joseph will have to give “Blue eyes" a talk to when his day comes.
We gave Goo-dee his meds for over a week and his breathing seemed to get better. Goo-dee even came to the counter to get his meds; he knew whatever I was giving him made him feel better, but then yesterday, just after his last dose, he had difficulty with his breathing again. I realised the meds didn't fix him up, and I could see it wasn't working.
It was a strange night last night as I slept in bed. Early in the morning an owl swished right by my window with a
call, ‘hoo-cooks-for-you’ the owl yells out. Later, around 6:30 am my cat "Scamper" jumps on my bed and wakes me up. I was thinking it’s a little early for the cats wanting food, but 15 minutes later I got up. A heavy fog is in the morning air, daylight is trying to break through.
Sadly, there on the kitchen floor was my Goo-dee, I knew he had passed away, and my heart sunk. He was looking in the direction of my bedroom, his eyes were still bright, and he looked very comfortable. He was still warm, his body wasn't breathing hard anymore, and he was no longer suffering. I woke Margie up. We are sad, yes, it’s hard every time we get a loss, it is hard, but we do what we can, Margie wrapped Goo-dee in a gold towel and I tell her that I will bury him when the fog lifts, when the sun shines bright.
It’s hard to have so many stray cats. I have learned so much from them; it’s been one of my biggest lessons. If a stray cat shows up, I can not just let it go somewhere else. I have to catch it, get it neutered or spayed, and bring the cat back to the same land where it was found. Here at my home on Bobcat Dr, I will feed it, and then continue the good work of keeping the cat battles down. It’s working out pretty good for the outside cats although the hardest thing for me is knowing one day, one by one, they will pass away, and I again will have great sorrow. 17 more hard sorrows are waiting for me.
Everyone has a special way to deal with their loss. I, for one, have found this Daily Mews site, and it’s here where I can start to heal. I have a need to tell Goo-dee’s story. I thank you so much, and thank everyone else for your stories.
If I can offer you a kind word for your loss, it will be this: Saint Frances said, ‘On the day of Judgment the animals shall rise to judge us all’, and I believe that you have loved and taken good care of your cats you will be judged rightly. Peace to you, my cat friends,
John Sterpe
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