We lost our little former-feral momma cat Cleo yesterday- she was among a group of semi-feral and feral cats who lived at a Shell gas station next to an interstate- when caught she was very pregnant and 2 days after capture she had 4 kittens, who are still here and completely socialized and happy- but Cleo was very feral and never really socialized at all-
SHe had a room she adopted as her own, with a big cat tree to climb and look outside at birds and things, and she ABSOLUTELY did not want to go back outside and face feral life again- she just wasn't a people-oriented cat, and living as she did, having kittens and raising them in those circumstances, she probably had to be that way. Vet visits were heavy-glove affairs but she behaved for the vets- she had some skin issues that required monthly medication- but she thoroughly enjoyed bits of bacon or egg from breakfasts, bits of chicken or turkey or beef from dinners- she had a pretty good life and was protected from the elements and bad people- and to her best extent, she was grateful-
A few days ago she really kind of began to shut down- vet said she was a little anemic but didn't show evidence of anything but age (she was at least 13-14)- but she mostly quit eating, even with an appetite stimulant, then began hiding a little bit- as of Thursday night she was curled up comfortably but really almost unresponsive- and yesterday during the day she went to Rainbow Bridge, still curled up peacefully-
As antisocial as she could be, I'm gonna miss her- she did appreciate her situation and us, even if she couldn't express it as we might've wished. and her kittens, all of them, are still here and wonderful pets- so her legacy lives on-
Rest well at RB Cleo- you were an EXCELLENT mother to your kits and you were safe and secure, and had the best life you could have had-- send purrs from RB please-

bowlkat