I am so sad to say that Jack just passed away awhile ago.  My heart is broken.

I haven’t written about Jack much because we’ve been on pins and needles to see if he would recover from a terrible ordeal that he went through this last few weeks.  It was too sad to write about, and we just kept hoping that he would have just a little more strength in his little body to make it through.

He disappeared about 3 weeks ago, and we hunted high and low for him for days and days.  Always hoping that he would just come walking around a corner of the barn or stroll up with his sweet little meow and want some hugging.  But no, nothing.  We were so afraid that he had gotten hit out front, but no little bodies on the road.  And we walked both sides of the road each morning, looking, not wanting to find him but so worried.  Nothing.

And then late one evening, Jessy found him, weak and thin, filthy dirty, barely able to walk, but he had made it home!  Oh my gosh, we were so happy, yet so worried.

After we cleaned him up and got some food in him, he was so happy, he slept for a whole day in our big dog crate on a pile of baby blankets, purring away.  We thought he had just gotten lost and since he was declawed in the front, it was very hard for him to hunt for anything.

But he wasn’t getting better and we were not sure why…  until we realized that he had two awful abscesses hidden in his fur, on his backside.  Since he was so frail and so weak we hadn’t fussed a lot with him and were so surprised to find them.  One burst and it was so nasty.  We knew it was not good for him, kitties and abscesses are a common thing.  It looked like something had gotten ahold of his backside, near the base of his tail, something with fangs.  Like a big dog or a coyote.  We have those things around here.

We took him in, and got meds and the whole nine yards.  Unfortunately, we could not leave him there for hundreds and more of work, but we did what we could.  It was a 50 50 thing…  if it all drained and stayed clean, it might heal.  If not, the prognosis was not good.  He was bright eyes and eating, drinking, so we took a chance.  He was still our boy and still seemed to want to fight.

But last night, he stopped eating, drinking and he lost control of his limbs, just was  suddenly crashing.  I sat up with him most of the night.  By morning, it was clear that he was in a coma, just silent and leaving us.  We made the decision, and a very hard decision, that his last hours should be here, at his home, in his little blanket nest, with us to take care of him.  I have had to take in many pets for that last ride and it’s not always pleasant.  It’s not a good death.  Not always, and I just couldn’t bare that.

His passing was calm and quiet.  It was just slipping away, and I really don’t think he was in any pain.  He just let go, while I was stroking his little head and back, in a quiet little comfortable nest of his favorite blankets.

Jackie Boy came to us a dropped off, abandoned throw away kitty at the mobile home park.  He was declawed and fixed and starving.  Crying under our car, afraid of everyone.  It took us about a week to befriend him and welcome him into our hearts.  He was such a sweet boy, with his own quirky ways like any cat.  He would hug you with his paws if you snuggle up close with him.  He loved boxes.

Making the decision to bring him to the farm with us was hard, because we were so afraid that he might not adjust.  He was about a 75% indoor cat at that time, but still, we were so worried about the road and the big open space.  Boy, were we wrong!  He LOVED it here.  Oh my gosh… he was everywhere all the time, always following you on chores, he loved the farm.  He welcomed all our critters, never chased the chickens, would manage to get up on top of the barn roof and peer down at you like a vulture!  He slept in the pony barn all winter long with Cody.  Old Cody would let Jack wonder around his feet without a second thought.  Jack loved to sleep next to the chicken brooder lights, he was so good at knowing all the good spots.  He would come inside just for a bit of food and maybe a nap.  He never went near the road, and he was always around.

He’ll be buried out at our little thoughtful place, our little cemetery of loved souls.  We are so sad, it’s hard to put it to words.