{"id":966,"date":"2022-02-27T21:18:15","date_gmt":"2022-02-27T21:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/?p=966"},"modified":"2022-02-27T21:18:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T21:18:15","slug":"giving-them-every-last-chance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/27\/giving-them-every-last-chance\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving them every last chance"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been mulling this post for more than three months. I wanted to write about the death of a cat that I loved dearly for eight years, but as I always follow the admonition of a literary agent I knew (to not write a word until you can keep from “opening a vein and bleeding on the page”) I had no idea how to go at it.<\/p>\n

The basics are: Big Mike was well, then he got terribly sick for reasons that are still unclear, and then he died four days later, leaving me utterly devastated.<\/p>\n

But I had no perspective – no moment of illumination that would help you, dear reader, come away with a new thought or a new understanding… anything other than a chance to share my grief. And after writing hundreds of columns for Hearst newspapers, I knew this did not making for satisfying\u00a0reading.<\/p>\n

The approach finally came to me earlier this week, when I learned of an emergency situation: an elderly cat that had been abandoned nearby, almost killed in a predator attack, starved for lack of food, and wandered aimlessly until a good person scooped him up and took him to the Peninsula Humane Society, where, she was told, “they would fix him up and find him a home.”<\/p>\n

Right….<\/em> There is fine print in our local shelter’s slogan that that they are a no-kill shelter, because they find homes for “all adoptable pets.” Sadly, their yardstick for adoptability is woefully short. I knew that the sweet old guy’s days were numbered. He was advanced in age, ill, and frail. Too much work = euthanasia.<\/p>\n

And of course the rescuer got the call: pick him up or he’s toast. But she could not keep him. And after I saw the photo of this beat-up old sweetie, *I* was toast.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So I received him Monday morning, named him Wyatt (which means survivor) and wondered, as I felt every bone in his starved, sagging body and his fur splattered with diarrhea, if maybe I came into Wyatt’s life just to see him through to a good death. “Okay,” I whispered as I cradled his uneasy form in my arms, “I’m here for you. You have a big last chance at a happy life.”<\/p>\n

And then I thought of Big Mike, also a mature brown and black tabby with white markings, who came to me 8 years ago in the field,\u00a0so badly wounded by a predator attack that both euthanasia and amputation of his shredded leg were considered. But I stubbornly refused, instead putting him through a series of surgeries, afforded when a generous donor offered to help with his rehab.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He survived the mauling, blossomed like a rose and became my “barnacle cat” – affixed to me the second I sat down. I gave him a “big last chance at a happy life,” and that’s what we had together, until his luck (and mine) ran out just before Thanksgiving. He began his downslide on a Tuesday, and by Sunday he was gone. I don’t know what killed him – but since so many farms and ranches use pesticides (and I think Mike was a neglected ranch cat), my guess was gut cancer. But it almost didn’t matter. My beloved boy was gone, for whom I’d risked a lot – from money to my heart. I was exhausted and knew it would be a long time before I risked so much again.<\/p>\n

And then… Wyatt’s picture appeared in my iMessage. Could I please help?<\/em> I struggled with how to answer. I dreaded the responsibility, and the inevitable pummeling of my emotions. But I thought about Big Mike. Would he want my grief for him to make me turn away? Wouldn’t he want me to keep opening my heart?<\/p>\n

So reluctantly, I said yes.\u00a0And as soon as I made him at home in my half-bath, I was so glad I did. In less than a week, I have watched Wyatt blossom in small but beautiful moments, to where he’s now purring, eating well, and sleeping soundly. It will take him some time, but I have confidence that his big last chance will be a forever home – I’m hoping on the lap of a lonely senior – and I will cheer him on and make room in my heart for another cat who needs a last chance at a life\u00a0and especially LOVE.<\/p>\n

It’s what Big Mike would want.<\/p>\n

Thanks, St. Francis, for the glimmer of perspective, and the nudge to keep sharing what I have to share.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been mulling this post for more than three months. I wanted to write about the death of a cat that I loved dearly for eight years, but as I always follow the admonition of a literary agent I knew … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=966"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":971,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}