Our Kitties

Misty

Savannah

Selah

I'm going to try to blog a bit about our kitties. The tears are flowing, and come and go for both myself and Sara. We had a glorious week at Youth Camp. I drove back and forth as planned, everyone else camped there. Everything was fine and dandy here at home until I discovered, when I was going out to feed the horses, that our cat Misty was dead. She lay beside the house, with no sign of trauma, like she went to sleep. It was such a sudden blow, as she was plump, healthy and happy. She was dear to us. We've had her for about 5 years, she was Sara's Birthday kitty soon after we moved from Baltimore to PA. She was a bit timid, but as sweet as kitty's come, always ready for a snuggle or scratch. She was the mama figure to all of our indoor cats (4), grooming and caring for them. She liked to lay her furry bod in my face in the morning so I had cat hair up my nose, never mind the allergies. She had the funniest habit of playing with laundry in the night hours, and every morning we'd wake to find an assortment, of dirty and clean socks under our dining room table. That's the beginning of the story.

The mama cat, Savannah seen in my earlier blog has been missing since Youth Camp started last Wednesday. She is our "barn cat." At first I didn't think much of her disappearance, but after finding Misty, I realized she may also be gone. Barn cats do wander, and I thought she might need a break from her kittens. They're 12 weeks old and were a bit annoying, wanting to nurse when too big. Fortunately they're fine (so far) and don't need mama. Savannah appeared here on and off before deciding to "keep us." We'd see her out in the snow, a grey kitty ghost, longing for a home. She found one here, when she decided to have litter of kittens by our barn. She has/had a very sweet personality for a homeless cat. She loved attention and being held, and readily allowed humans to help with her brood. All of last years kittens found new homes except Scout, the would be barn cat, turned house cat. Scout is the perfect big brother to the motherless kittens and actually was sitting for them the first few days of Savannah's absence. That's not the end of the story either.

Finally there is Selah, and though she was not my favorite, she was my daughter's so it is doubly painful seeing your child, a fierce animal lover, go through so much loss at once. Selah was Sara's kitty from the start, they chose each other. She started life as an OH stray, but came to us to by my sister. She has a kitty that looks similar, and we asked if the stray ever had any kitties like him again, we'd like one...we got two, thanks sis. Everyone who likes cats liked these two, they are just beautiful... creamy white with grey markings, like a Siamese or Rag doll. Selah is our purrer. She's always purring. She loved to snuggle. She also loved to wander the far corners of our farm, she was adventurous, but also the princess. She's one of the few creatures that could continue to have favor (be allowed in the house.) despite her tendency to wee-wee in the wrong place, like Sara's closet and any open bag or boxlike thing. She was bad, but she was so sweet that we allowed her to live on in her princess style. She has been missing now for several days too. Sara is still hopeful, and we've encouraged her to pray as we have too, but still trying to ease her gently into the possibility that she is gone. This is a tribute to little kitty lives, part of our family, that God created and took back to himself, at just the right time, although right now it is so very hard. If you're not or haven't been a cat person, all of this sadness and reflection may seem overblown, cat people will understand. Our God is Good, he gives and takes away, Blessed be the name of the Lord. All He does is right and good and we give our kitty friends to Him.