Saying good-bye,,,,,,

Greetings!

No matter how much we are prepared it is always hard to say good-bye to a loved one or a beloved pet.  Yesterday, we lost one of our older cats, "Smokey Lynn".  She was one of a litter of 5 strays that were born under our porch nearly 23 years ago.  We took all 5 in, now only 2 are left.

Smokey was the last to come in, she was hard to catch.  You see she had been severely injured while running the streets.  She had a hole in her right hind quarter about the size of a large grapefruit.  The skin was ripped back and dangling and the bare muscle was exposed.  Winter was coming on strong and we were expecting a blizzard.  We had already gotten the other 4 in and kept trying for her.  We put food out and she would come to eat, but if you went near her she would run away.

First I tried tricking her into a cat carrier.  But she was too smart for that.  So out of desperation I called the animal control officer, Jim Sullivan, (at that time) and I talked him into loaning me the live animal trap, which he was not suppose to do.  But he had such a love for animals and knew I did too, he went against policy and loaned it to me.  He knew I would take care of this cat.  For three days she would not go into the trap.  So for three days she did not eat.  I was getting upset because the temperature was dropping, the wind was blowing and we were expecting a blizzard soon, followed by very frigid temperatures to around 35 below with the wind chill factor.

I called my vet at that time and asked him for suggestions to trick her into the trap.  Also to give him a heads up that we would be calling him immediately once we had her.  Dr. Osthus was great, he accepted those emergency phone calls 24/7.  He suggested covering up the bulk of the trap, so it looked more like a shelter and put some wet food in there as well as the dried.  We did as he suggested and then waited,,, and waited.

We had to go to Wal-Mart and run a couple of errands and it was getting dark for the evening so we left.  While we were out I said a little prayer and I told God if He wanted us to take care of that cat that He needed to get her in that trap because we couldn't do it.  We finished our errands and when we came home it was dark out.  As we pulled in the driveway the headlights caught the eyes of an animal in the trap.  Oh Lord, that better not be a raccoon!!  Nope, it was Smokey!!  God had spoken and said YES take care of my creature!!

We immediately called Dr. Osthus and told him we had her and he met us at his office.  We didn't even take her out of the trap until we got to the office.  We got her out of the trap and I held her and talked to her for about 15 minutes to get her to calm down.  She scratched and clawed only the first couple of minutes but then seemed to calm down.  Maybe because even though my hands and arms were bleeding I was not letting go of her.  I just kept holding and talking to her calmly.  The Dr. Osthus was able to examine the wound and clean it.  He said she was lucky because he did not think she would survive the coming weather had we not taken her in.

After he cut of the skin that was dangling from her he decided to try treating it before doing a skin graft or any surgery.  I was to clean the wound every two hours, round the clock and put an antibiotic cream on it as well as give her antibiotics orally.  It was infected and before he could do much else we had to get that infection down.  We also had to keep her from the other cats so they did not accidentally tear on the wound.

We made a make-shift cage in the living room and I would lay down on the couch near her.  For over two weeks I tended her wound every two hours round the clock.  Finally the infection cleared up but the skin was not growing back as it should.  Smokey would need surgery.  They actually had to pull the skin up from around the belly and over the back to sew it together to close the wound.  The next few weeks again I treated the wound every 2 hours round the clock and gave her antibiotics.  Her 3 brothers and 1 sister barely left the living room and her side.  We all waited, watched and prayed she would come through this.  She was the smallest of the litter and this was such an ordeal for her to go through.

Smokey made it through that crisis and went on to live a normal, healthy active life until a few years ago.  She had a stroke!  Her left rear leg was partially paralyzed.  She got around OK but with some minor difficulty.  But it was touch and go for a while and we were not sure she would pull through.  Smokey is a fighter and a survivor!!

Late Sunday we noticed she was not acting good so we kept an eye on her.  Yesterday she was unable to urinate so Win took her to the vet.  It was time, her body was shutting down.  Smokey had a rough life, but a good life too.  She got great care over the years.  But she and her two remaining siblings would be 24 this year.  That is a very long life for a cat!  Even knowing they don't have much longer, it is still so very hard to say good-bye.  We know that soon Bootsie and Midnight Star will be saying their good-byes as well.  Even so, knowing it, doesn't make it any easier.

Smokey  was a "Maine Coon" cat, also known as a long haired tabby.  This morning I looked for a picture to post on here but could not find one.  I know I have a ton of them on a disc or thumb drive but could not put my hands on the right one.  So I will post a picture at a later date if I remember.

I believe God loves all His creatures and my four-legged babies I have lost over the years are all in heaven now.  Smokey is reunited with her brothers that passed before her and all the others she shared this house with over the years.  Someday, we will all see each other again!!

Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!