Trout

 Trout on June 20th, in the sunshine on the bed, posing for the camera. She was our little princess.


I found our beloved kitty "Trout" about an hour ago. She died, suddenly and tragically. She was lying on her side on the basement floor.

We are alternately hit with waves of disbelief and grief.

All of us -- me and Stacy and the other cats are absolutely bewildered, stunned ....

Trout was five years old.

We found her in 2007 at the milk farm up the street. She was a tiny kitten. She came galloping up to us, a wee little thing, meowing insistently. We told the farmer that his kitten wouldn't leave us alone. He laughed and said that wasn't his cat.

Trout, so named for her speckled coat, had picked us. 

Stacy held her in her hand as we walked back from the farm to our house. Stacy told the story better back in 2007:

So, Mike and I were out for a walk yesterday and were walking past this dairy farm where about a dozen cats hang out/live/work. We always look for the cats. Anyway, Mike spots this tiny, tiger kitten and points her out to me. As soon as the kitten saw us, she came racing over, purring and purring. Now we were walking in the street and it's a country road but the cars that do come down it, come flying. So I told the sweet kitty to go on back home and carried her over to the other cats...but she followed us again...and again...and again. By this time, the guys working in the barn had seen us and came out to see what was happening. They laughed and said, "take her". I protested that we already had 2 cats and didn't need any more. They said that someone had dumped her there just that morning (that happens to them alot, as it's a dairy farm and they have a lot of barn cats). So this kitten is not letting me out of her sight and purring and purring and keeps trying to follow us...and we decided to take her!

I called our neighbor Stephanie on my cell to get a recommendation for a good vet. 

The vet declared her a "perfect" cat and so we called her the "perfect girl" ever since then.

Being the only girl cat, she ruled the house. She remained a small cat, but lithe and full of energy. 

--

There could be any number of reasons for her death. When I called the vet's office they gave me short list of many causes: she could have gotten into something, it could be heartworm, a heart attack, a seizure, etc.

This feels like a robbery of a little cat who was beloved. She was our New Hampshire kitty and was part of our new home here.

I don't think I'll be blogging for a time. I need the hole in my heart to heal some.