Leo

I'm taking a detour today, Folks...


Still sharing our experience, just not about the house today; rather about a cat.


Leo.

14 years and 8 months ago, while living the dairy farm life on a picturesque farm in the heart of Lancaster County, I walked out the front door of our half of the beautiful 1900's farmhouse to hear a faint, "Mew...mew..." coming from the mature...actually, overgrown...bushes growing along the front of the house.  I carefully pulled the branches apart to reveal a lone orange tabby kitten that couldn't have been more than 4 weeks old.

Summer 2015

The family with whom we shared the house and property kept several barn cats, one of whom was an unusually pretty, petite female that Grace, not quite 3 years old, used to "lovingly" carry around by her throat.  This mama cat had two litters of three or four kittens each summer that the teens next door would sell to friends for $10 each.


This time, sadly, one little tabby was the only survivor of three.  And, maybe because fall was in the air, or she wasn't feeling well, who knows, Mama abandoned him in the bushes. I left him there for the day, hoping she'd come back and nurse him, but she never did.  So, I burrowed into that bush while Don was doing the evening milking, scooped him up...took him inside... unbeknownst to Don...and got him to drink some raw milk from a bowl.  The rest is history!

At the time, I thought "he" was a "she" and began calling him "Lena".  Two weeks went by before I was sure of his gender.  Then, "Lena" became "Leo".

Leo and Ginger were best buds for almost 13 years!

When he was stable and about 7 weeks old, he became more of a barn cat and spent much of his first two years with Don, watching him milk and care for the cows, catching mice and barn swallows, following me out back as I bottle-fed the calves, chasing the chickens.

When we left that farm, I couldn't bare to leave Leo behind, so we had him vaccinated and neutered, and brought him with us...even though we were going to be living in the little town of Quarryville this time.

The old house we bought in the center of town was huge, and the yard larger than average, so he adjusted just fine to being an indoor/outdoor cat.

And, so it went.  Other barn cats came and went on the various farms we called home for a time after leaving Quarryville, but Leo always stuck around.  Every time we moved, Leo came with us. Five moves in his 14+ years!

He's been my faithful feline companion through some really terrible times...and some great ones.

Always there to comfort me...always there to keep my feet warm on chilly nights...always there to keep me company while caring for the horses.

He even accompanied me up to my friend Pam's arena for riding lessons and on many walks through the woods in NY!

 He has always "talked" to me.  Sounds crazy, I know!  But, he had certain unique sounds he made when he greeted me or Don.

Anyway, about three months ago, we realized his years were catching up with him.  I have so many stories of patching him up after "close calls" with other critters.

...He had serious attitude...

And, Man, did he like to take risks!  I think that's why Don always liked him so much.  Kindred spirits?

April 2017

It became clear to us that he was nearly blind...and that his kidneys weren't working quite as well. His arthritis became increasingly evident.  In fact, about a month ago we noticed that he had stopped jumping altogether.  And, he often walked in large circles to "feel" his way around.  But, he was still talking to us.  And, challenging the dogs.  Quite the "bad ass", as Don would call him, the dogs were always a bit intimidated!

We debated whether we should euthanize him in the days just before our move, but my heart couldn't bear it...And, neither could Don.  Couldn't leave another pet in the woods of New York.  So, we brought him along.  I actually picked up Leo and peered deeply into his amber eyes the day before settlement and said, "I know, Buddy.  I just can't.  Can you please hold on another week, at least?"

Taken just 3 days ago.

Well, yesterday morning...one week and one day after our conversation...he just disappeared.  We've looked everywhere in the last 36 hours.  But, Rosie observed that he hasn't been eating much recently and Grace noticed that he has stopped talking to us in the last few days.  And, in my heart, I, too, felt his loss of dignity.  The time was near...  

Grace, who has felt closely-connected to Leo these last 5 or so years, believes in her heart that he wandered off to die alone, as cats sometimes do.  Well, he was always quite independent and loved being in the woods...

Maybe he'll turn up, but I'm more inclined to think that Grace is right.  Shed some tears this morning in the knowledge that I will probably never see him again.

But, at the same time, I smiled, thinking it's just like him to do it his way...and to spare us from having to make that dreaded decision that all pet owners must make at some point.


I am sorrowful, but I know he lived a great life.  A full life, indeed!  Maybe he'll turn up, but if not, I have many fond memories of our nearly 15 years together.

Summer 2011.  Helping Bugsy wash behind his ears.

I'm grieving my loss today, but I promise to update all of you on Friday, regarding all the interesting things going on with our property.  Been taking many terrific pictures, which I'll happily share!