Farewell, Charlie

I was behind on my farewell posts before my modem died and I am even farther behind now. I am not even going to try to do them in any specific order, but I will try very hard to make sure I don't miss any.

Charlie Taylor Sherwood was a 14 year old Devon Rex. He had lived since he was a kitten with a lady who lived in an apartment not far from the Sherwoods. The lady got old and had health problems and dementia. She got sick and was taken to the hospital, then to hospice. She was so sick that she couldn't say anything about Charlie being left all alone in the apartment. It was days, perhaps many days, before anyone remembered about him. I am not too sure about this next part. I know that the Sherwoods got an urgent call about a cat in desperate need and that cat was Charlie, but I don't know whether Auntie Deb and ML got him from the apartment or if someone else got him from the apartment and took him to a shelter, which then called them. I do know that they took him straight to the vet and he was in pretty bad shape. His kidneys had started to fail and he had a heart condition. Of course, he was also very dehydrated and starving. Then he got fluid in his lungs, sort of like kitty pneumonia. Things looked very bad for him, but he rallied and got to go to his new home. Things were a little hissy at first, but settled down fairly quickly. Charlie turned out to be quite the lap cat, taking to both Daddy Charley and ML. ML was delighted because she had always wanted a lap cat, but none of the rest of them was much for lap sitting. Things looked really good for a while, with Charlie making friends, or at least tolerating and being tolerated by the other cats. He was eating and drinking well and put on some weight. He was still going in for regular vet visits, to check his heart and lungs. He developed fluid around the lungs, but was still doing pretty well. Then he got sick again. He didn't want to eat or drink and he had trouble controlling his urine. He had gone into kidney failure again and it was time to say goodbye. The Sherwoods only knew Charlie from late April to mid-August, but he carved out quite a place for himself in their hearts. I don't know if the lady that he lived with for almost all of his life is still alive, but I think that a joyful reunion at the Rainbow Bridge has already happened or will happen soon.

                                                 Charlie had a great home of his own,
                                                 'Til his human got sick, leaving him all alone.
                                                        Taylors and Sherwoods found him
                                                        And to their hearts bound him.
                                                   Now he's at the Bridge, nevermore on his own.

Farewell, Charlie

Daughter Amy decided to adopt Charlie from a shelter. She was looking for a big ginger cat with lots of catitude and Charlie fit the bill perfectly. He wasn't all that big at the time, but it was obvious that he would grow quite a bit. Charlie had been rescued from being a full time barn cat. When he discovered that his new family had a barn on their property in Vermont, Charlie was thrilled. During the summers, he only came inside to eat, and that only if he hadn't managed to feed himself enough, as he was a mighty hunter. This was a great arrangement, as the family already had an Alpha Cat, Buddy. Charlie was the Boss of the Barn and Buddy was the Boss of the House. The only rough times were the winters, when they both stayed inside most of the time. There was some hissing and swatting then, but both of them spent most of their time eating and sleeping, so things went along pretty well. Charlie even made friends with the skunks who hung out around and in the barn. Things got a little more tense when the family moved to New Hampshire and no longer had a barn on the premises. From what I have read, Charlie eventually made himself the Alpha Cat, as he was the one who laid claim to the bed and would chase off any other cat who wanted to sleep there. He still spent as much time as possible outdoors, as the family had a large rural property and he had plenty of room to roam. He would come inside every night at about 10:00. One night he didn't come home. The family was able to reconstruct what had happened. Poor Charlie got ambushed by two coyotes near a wooded area. Coyotes don't fool around when they attack, so Charlie probably didn't suffer anything more than a moment of terror and pain. It's sad, but Charlie would never have been happy as an inside cat.  I am sure that the Rainbow Bridge has enough room for every Alpha Cat to have his own territory and pride of cats who want to follow, with no need for fighting about it.  Charlie has probably already found himself a barn and a group of followers and lots of mice to hunt.  Maybe even some skunk friends.

                                   Charlie came to grief near the wood,
                                   So he ran to the Bridge as fast as he could.
                                        Now he is the Boss Cat
                                        Of wherever he's at,
                                  While we shed a tear when we think of that wood.

Farewell, Charlie

I didn't know Charlie at all. The first time I visited her blog was when the Cat Blogosphere reported that she was very sick and purrayers were needed. I usually try to read up on the subject I am going to write a limerick about and give some facts, but in this case, I think all the facts I needed to know were that Charlie was very much loved by a huge number of beings and that her Mom is heart-broken. Charlie lived with her Mom for fifteen and a half years and leaves a huge hole in her Mom's life and heart. Her Mom wrote one of the most touching tributes I have ever read and you can find it here. I don't feel I can add anything to that, but I will do a little limerick.

                                       Beloved Charlie has crossed the Lake.
                                       She only paused her thirst to slake --
                                               Her youth to renew
                                               So her heart so true
                                      Could guide her to her Mom when she crosses the Lake.