Marley, CoCo and 2 Pitt Bulls

Three years ago we rescued 3 feral kittens.  They were in a small wire cage in the full Florida sun in some guys make shift horse stall.  I found the ad on Craigslist and off me and the boys went to get one.  There was no way I was going to leave them there.  The water bowl had green mold growing in it and they had never  been held or pet.  The man fed them and once in a while the mother cat would come by...I brought a dog crate with me so we loaded the 3 scrappy little things in the the car and off we went.  They didn't like us one bit.  There was hissing and hanging upside down in the crate during the ride to their new home.  I couldn't imagine a life beginning so horribly.  

Mike was at work when I picked them up.  He had no idea...oops...!  He grumbled for 5 minutes and then tried to catch one.  They wouldn't let us touch them.  Over time their defenses dropped one at a time and they started to trust us.  Bones was the most curious and he came to us first. Then it was Marley.

The hardest kitten to let me in was Annie.  Her eyes would turn the size of black saucers with her ears flat as a board when I came up to her.  I talked to her constantly and hold her longer than the others.  She was the last to let go of her feral ways.  She stayed in and was really special to me because I knew how hard it was for her to trust me.  One night as I walked in the door from work, she bolted outside.  It was dark and I called her but she took off.  She had done it once or twice but always stayed near the porch.  That was the last time I saw her alive.  A car hit her by the curb of our drive.  My neighbor came over to tell us.  I was devastated.  I believe trust must have been her lesson in this life.  

Marley disappeared about a week ago.  She was the sensitive one.  She would tap the tip of her tail on her back almost as if it were a sensory issue.  Her meow was more of a whisper and you could barely hear her.  On Halloween I stopped to talk to my next door neighbors.  I had coffee with her once before and know a bit about them.  They rescued 2 pits a few years ago.  One was a bait dog when it was a puppy and the other was raised a fighter.  They can't take the dogs on walks. The dogs can't be in the same room with each other or around other animals.  I can tell you there have been many a time that Mike and I worried about her trying to handle the dogs outside in their backyard.  One time they got in a fight and it was bad.

On Halloween the boys mentioned that our cat was missing.  I explained that what happened to CoCo and that Marley was missing now.  I thought the other neighbor that lets his pit roam unleashed got her too.  They looked dumbfounded and told me last week a white and black cat was in their back yard. The dog was let out and she tried to block the cat from the pit with a broom but said the cat wouldn't move. The pit got her.  One shake and it was over.  They told me it was a different cat.  But when I explained the meow to her the look on her face said it all.

It's really hitting me tonight.  I can't believe that 2 of my cats were killed by pit bulls from two different owners.   All of this within 4 weeks of each other.   Marley used to chase squirrels up the oaks that border our yards and I'm sure she got caught off guard.  She was in the dogs territory.  But that doesn't make this easy and it feels so wrong.

I've never lost so many pets in such a short time.  My youngest son has ASD and had a very close attachment to Marley.  When CoCo passed he asked me in a quivering voice if Marley was going to be ok?  Of course she is, I answered.  His face was blotchy red from being sad at the thought of losing Marley.  

Now?    
Bones (our only cat now) comes into the house, wanders around and meows so loud.  He stays inside more than he ever has.   No more squirrels, birds, lizards and snakes in the house.  I'm going to miss that!  Bones is going to stay inside from now on.