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Finding something worthwhile after a tragedy

November 5, 2010
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About a week and a half ago I pulled into my driveway and saw a cat dive under our bus and crawl up into the underside. I know all the neighborhood cats and had never seen this silver tabby before. I knew I was going to need to set the trap right away so she couldn’t take up residence in the bottom of the bus.

I set the trap a few minutes later but the kitty never went in. Later that night I saw her run from under the bus over to the side of my house. I tried different kinds of food but she never did go in to the trap. In retrospect, I imagine the kitty had been recently trapped and dumped at my house by someone who knew I was involved in rescue.  Cats have to be really hungry to go into a trap after being recently trapped.

I decided to try developing a routine of feeding the kitty on my porch until she was coming routinely, and then set the trap again on my porch. Every day I put food out and within half an hour it was gone, yet I never saw the kitty come around. I think she must have been watching me from somewhere nearby.

Yesterday, I came home and unloaded my car and went in the house. A few minutes later I heard some men talking in front of my house and one of them was walking toward my door. I went out to see what was going on, and the man said “I think I just hit your cat.”  Sure enough, he had hit the little silver tabby and she was laying on my lawn. I approached her, but she only moved for about 30 more seconds, then she was gone. She had significant damage to her head and face.

I feel so sad for this poor little kitty who was discarded by someone and lived her life scared and slinking from place to place looking for safety and food. Her life didn’t end much better than how it began. I decided to have her cremated so we can put her remains up at the ranch. Next Spring we’ll be working on our tribute garden and want to have an area for Indigo animals. At least her remains will be in a safe and beautiful place.

She needed to have a free spirited name, so we named her Muriah, for the wind.  While I was driving her body up to the Bethany Family Pet Clinic, I was thinking about the upcoming auction for the Tom and Mom Cat Special, scheduled for a week from this Saturday on November 13th. The auction will be raising money to help subsidize cat spays during the program, so it’s really important that the event raise lots of money.

I suddenly realized I could ask Dr Mark whether he might donate something to the event. It was better than I ever imagined. Not only did Dr Mark donate something to the TAMCS, he donated a really great item! He donated a canine or feline dental, including blood work, IV fluids, and a 12 step cleaning, up to $400 value. Wow! I left the clinic feeling that maybe Muriah’s death had ended up resulting in something good for other cats. Thank you so much, Dr Mark!

If I hadn’t decided to have her cremated, I wouldn’t have been going to the clinic where I thought to ask Dr Mark for a contribution to the auction. As many as 120 cats belonging to low income households will be spayed because of that contribution. And that really means something.

Rest in Peace little Muriah, and thank you for your wonderful gift to other cats.