My cat, Moira

This is my cat, Moira. Actually, she's my daughter's cat but Don and I have been "fostering" her for the past 11 years.  I took this picture of her today because taking pix of the animals is something that I normally don't do. But today was no ordinary day.  

Tessa found Moira at the shelter at a time when Tessa needed a lot of comforting. We had moved to the northern part of the state while she was a student at UW--Whitewater and alone and pregnant with Lily.  She kept Moira for the year before Lily was born and then we took her when Tessa's landlord said, "No cats!"

Moira was quick to sense when people were in pain--physical and emotional--and would always be there to do what she could. She draped herself across my sore knees many times and Don's sore muscles as well. And her regular job was to hop on Lily's bed (during the times that Lily stayed with us)  and tuck her in for the night.

We noticed a few days ago that her pupils were extremely dilated along with some weight loss, which I thought was a good thing because she was a bit chubby.  But we started watching her and realized that she was blind and using her whiskers to find her way around the house.  A search of the Internet led us to believe that she was having a serious medical problem. This morning she went to the vet who found both retinas were detached and she was in acute kidney failure.  No choice but to try to keep her alive for a few extra weeks or to send her on her way now.

That's what we chose to do.  It was painful to watch her bumping into walls and furniture and always jumping when I reached out to pet her or pick her up.  So, this afternoon, Moira, my faithful little buddy, passed on to the Great Catnip Heaven in the Sky while Don and I held her and comforted her as she had comforted us so many times in the 11 years that we had her. I will miss her very much, but we have our other cat, Clem, who will likely need some extra attention--and boy, would he love to get extra attention!

Life has to go on.