Mourning Again

We had another loss in our household last week. My kitty Mallory hadn't been her usual self for a few days - her appetite fell off pretty rapidly, she was dehydrated, and less active than normal. When the diagnosis finally came - cancer - our vet suggested a couple of treatment options but neither one sounded very promising for a cat of her age. Mallory was twenty, possibly twenty-one years old. I knew she'd been feeling pretty crappy already, and it just didn't seem right trying to keep her going just to maybe get a few more weeks with her.

Mallory came to us as an older kitty. A friend told me about this cat who had been left to fend for herself for a few months while her owner (a mutual acquaintance) went to Key West for the winter. I think he had asked his neighbors to put a bag of food out on the porch for her once in a while, but I think that was the extent of the care she was to have. My friend and I decided to go check on her one night, box of cat food in hand. It was a cold night in November and it just took a couple shakes of the food for her to come running to us. She was so skinny and had lost a lot of her fur. It was supposed to be in the teens that night so we decided we couldn't leave her there.

So my friend and I became "cat thieves" that night. After some time in quarantine at the vet Mallory came to live with us. (The fur loss was because of a flea allergy and it grew back nicely once they were dealt with.) Mallory easily made the transition from outdoor cat to indoor cat and eventually got used to living in a household with other cats and large dogs. Almost immediately she seemed to realize she'd found a good thing. She had the sweetest personality and from the very first night wanted to snuggle next to me under the covers with her head on my pillow. She actually seemed grateful to be with us. I think she really appreciated the warm beds, the regular meals, and yes, even the occasional trip to the vet.

Mallory was about thirteen when we took her in and I was grateful for every year we had with her. I had never really considered taking in an older cat before, but she really needed us. For anyone out there who's considering adopting a cat (or a dog) please don't rule out a mature one. You could be missing out on some real gems.