It has been a very sad day today as I have had to say goodbye to my special mate Misty II.  Misty II arrived at the Hospice back on 25th October 2007.  She was very frightened and wary of people.  I don’t know why but I was drawn towards Misty II from the very first time I saw her.  If you attempted to go near her she would hiss and make it known that she wasn’t interested in having any fuss or anything to do with you at all.  I decided that each time I went over to the Hospice I would go to see her and let her decide if she would let me get any nearer.  Slowly but surely week after week went by she would sniff my hand and on occasions would let me stroke her a couple of times before she realized that she wasn’t too sure about this.  After approximately six months I was able to go up to her quite confidently and spend quite a while fussing her.  It is strange writing this now because at the time we believed Misty II to be a male, it wasn’t until only about 12 months ago that we found out via our resident vet Abdul that he was actually a she!

Anyway, back to the story.  At this time I was determined to see if I could get Misty to sit on my knee.  I would sit down on a chair, (usually in the potting shed which at the time was her favorite place to relax) and fuss her for longer periods of time each time I visited.  There were a few occasions when she would tentatively venture forward and put her two front paws on my legs while I was fussing her, she used to love her head being nuzzled, but then it was like she would suddenly realize what was happening and think, “I’m not sure about this”.

Over the next few months she built her confidence with me and really seemed to enjoy having some fuss and attention which I was so happy about.  This friendship continued and on some of my visits I would settle down in the main playroom with some of the other residents and Misty would come trotting through to tell me that she was there for some fuss too!  As she had really settled into life at the Hospice she could often be found in various rooms.  A lot of the residents there do seem to have their own spots, but Misty would sometimes frequent the playroom, potting shed and Egyptian room.  More recently she had taken to settling down on the sofa in the office which used to be out of bounds for the cats until more recent years (you know what it’s like, they usually get their own way in the end).  There were a few occasions when I would pop up to the office, sit down on the sofa and if Misty was quick to beat the other cats to me, would jump on my knee and settle down for a lovely cuddle.

I would say Misty had generally enjoyed her time at the Hospice and was a cat who got on with most of the other residents although sometimes would just enjoy her own company, and of course the odd cuddle with me as well some of the other visitors to the Hospice.  She enjoyed quite good health although she had lost some weight from when she first arrived with us.  She was so cute and had quite a small head for her body, and although not everyone may have thought so I thought she had lovely eyes.

It’s hard to sum up today.  Alison had been concerned about Misty’s health so arranged an appointment to go to the vets. Claire took her down and we were expecting it to be a sniffle or something like that as on Abduls last visit she had been given a good bill of health.  Sadly the diagnosis was much worse, her mouth was badly inflamed and Abdul told us that her liver was failing. After discussion it was decided that the kindest thing was to help her pass away peacefully.  I know that the decision was a difficult one and when I was told the news I just couldn’t believe it. 

I had only seen her a few days earlier and enjoyed a quick fuss with her. That is so hard sometimes, you always wish at these sad times that you had had more time to spend with them. Although I write this with a sad heart I am going to finish on a positive note.  Misty was at the Hospice for almost three years and on the whole enjoyed her stay with us and up until the end had enjoyed good health. She had only gone downhill in the few days since I had last seen her. So it is a slight comfort to know that she hadn’t spent much time suffering or in pain.