I moved into my current home at the end of July, 2018. At present, I am renting because my life is in flux and I don’t want to be restrained by owning a home. When I moved in, I met two cats who were already living on the property. There was a male cat who we named Thunder The Wondercat, and Miss ‘Mica (short for Amica, which means friend.) I had a discussion with the cats and we came to an agreement. They would agree to stay if I would agree to feed them twice a day. I have been feeding them twice a day and they kept their end of the bargain. They are both feral cats but friendlier than the usual feral cats.
Miss Mica was particularly friendly. Almost every day, when I came home from work, she would be waiting for me. She would tell me about her day and I would agree to give her some food. Periodically, she and Thunder got the good canned food and the bowls got licked clean!
I have two rescue cats who live inside and who never go outside. One day, Miss Kitty escaped and was running free outside. It took me several hours to capture her and return her to the safety of our home. While she was outside, she was in danger because there is a very large hawk which terrorizes the dogs and cats of the neighborhood. Miss Mica stayed with Miss Kitty the entire time and showed her how to hide under the house when the hawk was nearby. She knew that Miss Kitty needed help and she did all that she could for Miss Kitty.
Recently, it appeared that Miss Mica was not feeling well and she did not want to be touched. Saturday, I found her in the driveway. She had collapsed while on the prowl and died in a very uninviting spot. She had been dead for several hours. There were no signs of trauma and I assumed that she died as a result of a natural disease process. I placed her body in a plastic bag, then sealed that bag inside another plastic bag, and then sealed that in a very large ziploc bag.
I told my girlfriend. She is a very sensitive soul and I knew she would be devastated. She asked me to bury the body when she was not at home because it would be too upsetting to her. Of course, men are not upset by such things . . . I guess?
Today, I dug a hole for my little friend and placed her remains at final rest. You may think that it is quite silly to have a Christian funeral for a feral cat but it is what I did. I covered her with earth and then I stood alone and read a few verses.
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Genesis 1
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.
25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Ecclesiastes 3
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Also from Ecclesiastes 3
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
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God, this little animal had a good and gentle spirit. She was a protector of other animals and a companion to anyone who needed a friend. Please receive her into your eternal kingdom and reward her for a job well done! Amen.
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