The little black/white kitty glowering at the camera is Halo. Was Halo. She crossed the
Rainbow Bridge June 2, 2015, but she still has a story to tell – about herself, about her rescuer, and about why we do what we do.
Halo was the last surviving member of a feral colony. The colony had been sterilized (Trap-Neuter-Return) years earlier and one by one they died over time. That is the way TNR works – the colony cannot reproduce so over time it disappears. That’s a good thing – much better than trap-and-kill, which was the old model for dealing with stray, “not-tame” cats.
Four years earlier, her colony caregiver – Peggy – had to relocate to the east coast. Peggy tried everything to capture Halo because she didn’t want to abandon her and no one wanted to take over caring for a “colony” with only one cat. Although Halo never let Peggy touch her, Peggy loved her and was committed to her.
Two days before Peggy’s scheduled departure she was distraught. She was put in touch with us, and we were joined by a rescuer who had a drop trap and – presto – Halo was captured. Halo came to stay with us while Peggy got settled in her new home. But it took longer for Peggy than she anticipated, and Halo was an older cat, so with one thing and another – getting her back to the east coast was going to be more stress than we thought she needed. We all agreed she would stay with us as a sanctuary resident.
That’s Buddy with her in the picture. Buddy was also in his teens and equally uninterested in being a pet, so we introduced them. They became fast friends, along with Gandalf (who bolted rather than have his picture taken.) Gandalf had also been pulled from an unsafe situation and was also not friendly to people. Over the years, it was such a joy to watch these three senior citizens, previously strangers, become best friends. Mutual baths and snuggle-naps in the sun were daily activities, with Halo asserting herself as the “boss” of the boys. Most people don’t realize cats are matriarchal; but clearly Halo had read the book. She loved them but was not above a sharp smack if they got too rambunctious. And, they loved her right back.
Years later Halo died peacefully of age-related kidney failure. She never warmed up to be a lap cat. She voted to stay a cat’s-cat to the end and, really, her vote is the only one that mattered.
When we called Peggy to let her know Halo was gone, she cried. It was grief, but she explained, it was also joy that Halo’s final years were so good. She had been safe and happy and with friends after being alone for several years.
Often people have the perception that we’re just saving animals. It is about the animals, but it isn’t just about the animals. It’s about people too.
Godspeed Halo, it was a pleasure to have known you!
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