Missa Kitty

When we moved to our family farm in 2008 we owned horses and a couple of dogs. Our family had never been cat people and even with having a barn, we never discussed owning a cat.

It wasn't long after we moved in that the decision to have a barn cat was made for us.

A beautiful calico cat just showed up and never left.

She was our barn cat...our little mouser.

She roamed the property as she pleased and made herself at home among the hay bales and saw dust piles.

To compensate her hunting feasts, Mom would leave her dry food on the front porch. We would sit out there with her while she ate and she would brush up among my mom's legs while she sat out there smoking her cigarette.

She was never a touchy feely cat. She would allow us to pet her on occasion but we never picked her up and held her.

My mom sold the family farm almost two years ago and moved to the suburbs. She made arrangements with the property owners to care for Missa Kitty since suburb living wasn't in her cards. She was a barn cat after all.

Fast forward to last week and Missa Kitty came back into our lives.

My husband found her on a Missing and Found Facebook page. He wasn't sure if it was her or not, but the cat was located near the family farm and after a photo comparison I determined that she was in deed Missa Kitty.

Her picture on the Facebook page.

She was in bad shape and I quickly made arrangements that day with the lady who rescued her to pick her up and bring her to our home.

I knew from the moment I took possession of her that I would be driving her straight to the vet.

She had a nasty abscess and had lost a lot of weight. The vet quickly admitted her to their office where they started fluids and IV medications and prepared for an overnight stay.

I picked her up the next day and thought after a week of oral medications that we were going to be ok. That was not to be. When I awoke the next morning and started the process of feeding her and medicating her another abscess was found and ruptured. Daniel quickly rushed her back to the vet so that the newest abscess could be cleaned out and a drain be put in for both of them to drain. He picked her up that evening.

Once again, I thought with medications we would be good once she rested, put on some weight, and the two abscess fully healed. We had several good days of her perking up, eating well, and becoming more mobile. The drain was removed on Saturday and everything started healing nicely. I thought we were out of the woods.



After several great days, Monday arrived and things changed significantly. She stopped eating, was very unsteady on her feet, and just wasn't herself...even the sick self that I picked up a week prior. That night I discovered fluid at the base of her neck and top of her head. I knew we were once again in trouble and after spending some time with her in the bathroom and praying that God would either heal her or taker her in her sleep I went to bed knowing that tomorrow she would be going back to the vet.

I made an afternoon appointment for her yesterday and after determining that she had yet more infection I had a decision to make. Do we continue treating her in the vet's office with fluids and IV meds knowing that it would just be a matter of time before another infection presented itself since her immune system was so compromised, or do I make the decision to end her suffering.


I chose to end her suffering. She was 16+ years old, was found to be blind, was no longer eating, and was confined to our upstairs bathroom for her safety. That along with the guarantee that these infections would probably be ongoing helped make my decision.

She passed quickly and peacefully with Daniel and I by her side, and I wrapped her in her towel and rocked her in my arms and prayed over her lifeless body for a few minutes after the vet confirmed she was gone.

I chose to have her cremated and one day when I'm ready to let her go, I'll take her back to the farm and spread her ashes among the pastures that she roamed and hunted in for all of those years.