Hali died on Wednesday due to heart failure. She was nine years old and I had hoped to have many more years with her. However, it wasn't meant to be. As a way of sharing how special Hali was to me, here is the story I wrote about her for the kids.
One summer day in 2002, Doug was outside talking to a neighbor. Carolyn looked outside to see what Doug was doing and saw a cat in the yard. Her first reaction was fear because the cat looked similar to Sahara. Carolyn rushed outside to tell Doug to help her get Sahara. However, when they both looked at the cat they realized that Carolyn was mistaken. It wasn’t Sahara it was another little brown cat. This little cat was not tame like Sahara so when they approached it, the little cat ran away as fast as it could.
Carolyn returned into the house thinking about that little cat. She realized how sad she would be if that cat truly had been Sahara. Then she started thinking about how unfair it was for that little cat to be stuck outside with no one to care for it. So, she watched for it to come back and after she saw it in the backyard a few more times she decided she and Doug had to do something to help the cat. Doug knew where this was going when Carolyn asked if she could start feeding it. He began preparing himself for adding a fourth cat to the household, even as Carolyn claimed that she just wanted to capture it and get it to a shelter. However, they went ahead and started putting food out for the little cat, which they named “Kitty” until they could get to know it better.
Every day Carolyn would pour some cat food in a bowl and take that and a bowl of water outside to a quiet, shady place in the backyard. She’d put the bowls in a crate with towels and sit on the other side of the yard waiting for Kitty to show up. Every day Kitty would creep into the backyard, stare at Carolyn and cautiously start to eat the food. As long as Carolyn stayed still and didn’t try to get any closer Kitty would eat and drink and then wash her paws clean before running away to wherever she was living.
It was obvious that she didn’t have a home and Carolyn worried about her as the days grew shorter and cooler. Doug and Carolyn were going to be married soon and this cat was no closer to being rescued. Before leaving on their honeymoon they asked their neighbors to continue feeding Kitty while they were gone.
When they returned, Carolyn was ready to take the next step with Kitty. She borrowed a trap from the local animal shelter and put a can of tuna fish in it. It didn’t take long for Kitty to walk into the cage to eat, the trap door swung closed and Carolyn was able to bring her into the house. She had already scheduled a vet appointment for the next day so Kitty only had to spend one uncomfortable night in the cage.
After an examination and medical treatment, the vet told Carolyn that it was good she rescued Kitty as she was very sick and would not have been able to live outside much longer. Carolyn brought the Kitty home and called a local shelter asking them if they could take Kitty. They told her that she would have to tame Kitty and get her to trust humans before they would take her. So, Doug and Carolyn kept Kitty out on the sun porch with food and water while they tried to tame her. During the cool nights, Doug ran a space heater to keep Kitty warm and Carolyn played a radio so Kitty would become used to human voices. After awhile Kitty would let Carolyn get closer to her while she ate but she wasn’t ready to trust her yet. During this time, Kitty got a real name – Halifax – but everyone called her Hali. It got colder and colder and even the space heater wasn’t keeping the porch warm enough so Doug and Carolyn brought Hali inside. Hali was scared of everyone except for Ralphie. They were kept separated at first so Hali could get used to the house first but they meowed to each other under the door. Once they were allowed to play together they became very close friends. Hali trusted Ralphie before she trusted the people in the house.
By now, it was becoming apparent that this cat would never be sent to a shelter. As the months and years went by and she did start to trust and love the people in the house they began to trust and love her too. It became all too clear that they could never give her away and that she had found her home. Hali went from a feral cat to one who would sleep on the bed and snuggle on a lap. She was still easily scared and slow to trust but Carolyn accomplished her goal many times over of getting the little cat to purr and to be happy. And that made everyone in the house happy.
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Here is a picture of Ralphie and Hali together. He is having a really rough time of it and is in mourning since she died.
I'm having a particularly hard time dealing with the loss of her too. I was the only person in the whole world that she trusted enough to pick her up. Back when the cats were allowed in the whole house, and not confined to the one room, I was the only lap she would choose to snuggle in and the only person she would sleep on the bed with. I felt like we had a special connection as she helped me get through my overwhelming depression when I was first diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. She gave me a reason to get up each morning.Each time I heard her purr or saw her rubbing her face against a piece of furniture out of sheer joy it made my heart feel so happy too. Rest in peace Hali.
