Farewell to Sheltie, the Farm Cat

We have two farm cats, Sheltie and Christie.  They are sisters and joined our family about 13 years ago after I got them from a friend of mine.  They help us by controlling the rat and mice population around here.  We live in the country surrounded by woods on the south side and a field on the north side.  Both provide ample habitat for rodents and over the years, our cats have killed a number of them. These are strictly outdoor cats.  They haven't seen indoors but for a minute or two. We don't feed them a whole lot because we want them to be hunters, but we do feed them enough.  They've done a nice job and we are fond of them.

Shortly  after we got them as kittens, Christie got run over by our car as we were backing out.  She had gotten into a bad habit of sleeping on top of the wheel of the car.  As we backed out we heard a loud noise and saw her dash off.  To be honest, I didn't think she'd make it, but remarkably her leg healed up and she lived.  She still walks with a limp as a reminder of that day and I think we all can relate as we sometimes face the consequences of bad decisions that cause us to "walk with a limp!" Christie was always the weak one, a little skinny and timid and I always figured we'd lose her first.

Sheltie was the other cat.  She was the leader.  The strong one.  She had an independent streak and would venture out to the woods on her own, hunting and exploring.

Sheltie

Wednesday morning at 5:30 am Tricia and I ventured out to do our morning chores. As I passed by the refrigerator in the garage, I noticed Sheltie lying on the carport floor.  I thought she was just sleeping, but it did catch my attention as being odd. When we came back in, Tricia went to pour and chill milk and I began filling the water troughs.

Tricia came out to me and said, "Kyle, I think Sheltie is dying."  I walked in and Tricia petted her and she was meowing like she just didn't feel good.  Her breathing was labored and she wasn't moving.  There was no blood, no sign of foul play.  She was very weak and we both knew that the prognosis wasn't good.  We sat there on the garage floor and told her that she'd been a good cat, that she'd done a good job, and we enjoyed having her as a member of our family for the last 13 years.

Sheltie's final morning

I drove on to work after getting cleaned up and received a call from Tricia not long after I got to work, telling me that Sheltie had died.  It made us all sad.  Tricia and Benjamin buried Sheltie in the garden.  We'll miss her and I can tell that Christie is sort of lost without her sister to lead her around.  She'll have to step it up! She's got big paws to fill.  RIP Sheltie...