Acquired July 25th, 2000
Died and revived October 3rd, 2000
Disappeared March 11th, 2002
Spooky was the best pussycat we ever had. She had a difficult life. At
four weeks age, she was found by the side of the road and brought to
the vet hospital. They patched her up but couldn't find a home for her.
They were going to euthanize her when my wife took pity on her and took
her in. Spooky had some problems running because her leg was damaged in
the accident and the doctor couldn't get it back to good-as-new
condition. But Kathy worked with Spooky and pretty soon she was pretty
good on her feet.
Then the doctor offered to stitch up her droopy lip (you can see it in
the photo -- it was another injury on the road). Somehow, as they were
prepping her for the operation, she had a spasm, jerked off the
operating table and fell to the floor, hitting her head. She died right
then and there, but both doctors worked frantically and brought her
back to life. Unfortunately, she suffered major brain damage in the
process. Kathy was beside herself with grief. I was more optimistic,
knowing that young mammals have enormous recuperative powers for brain
injuries. We worked with Spooky and slowly she improved. She was
neurologically blind, but she could just barely make out enough image
to get around without crashing into things (except picture windows).
She was a very difficult case, because she was always laying down just
behind where you were standing; I thought certain that she would be
stepped on and killed.
But one very cold day while I was away in Germany, the dogs somehow
pushed the front door open and Spooky wandered out. By the time Kathy
got home, something had taken her. We never found anything.
She was the sweetest, most endearing cat we ever had. She would lie
down in my arms, tummy up, and stare into my face with absolute trust.
We still miss her very much, and, 20 months after she disappeared, I
get tears in my eyes just writing this.
