Mucky came into our lives as an almost-stray in need of a home, she was going to the pound where we all know what the inevitable end would have been. We accepted her into our home with the thought of finding something permanent for her. However she was so very sweet we just never got around to looking so she became our friend. We found out shortly after her arrival (when we took her to get fixed and shots) that she was pregnant and due in about 4 weeks. We were worried about her due to her poor condition but she seemed to be coming along fine. Good food and love can work wonders! We never let her out of the house, we were afraid of her running off. One day she did get out and I was sure she was gone for good, and in her condition! I was grief stricken but figured it was meant to be. About a half hour later I was in my garden working and heard a strange noise behind me, I turned around to find Mucky bringing me a vole, and a live one at that. She just walked up to me, dropped it at my feet and meowed. I knew from that moment on that she was in our life to stay. Now Mucky wasn’t pretty she was a scrawny torti shell with a white spot under her nose. but her personality made up for what she lacked in size. she would sit on my chest when I was laying down and purr/meow a conversation with me. She also ALWAYS had to get a word or two in when I was on the phone. My family were always joking about how verbal she was it became a chore to talk on the phone with her around. She would try and get between me and the mouthpiece so SHE could talk. She had her litter in the middle of our bed that summer. we had to move into the spare room because she refused to move the kittens. If we moved them ourselves, she put them back just as fast! we found good homes for all 4 of the little tykes. Right after they were gone we had to move unexpectedly. As we were making our last trip out, Mucky disappeared! I was at a loss I was so very worried. My husband and I returned many times looking for her and informed all the neighbors to call any time if she was spotted. We drove by one morning about 2 weeks later and there she was sitting on the porch, looking none the worse for wear. I cried I was so happy to see her again. we went to our new house and settled her in, she scolded us all the while for leaving her, even though SHE was the one that left. Well we took her back to the vet to have her fixed and whammo guess why she left? She was pregnant again! What a dilemma. We soul searched and decided we would let her have this litter even though the vet said he could do the spay still at 3 weeks gestation. Her next litter was born 26 November 1995. She had three siamese looking kittens and one that looked just like her. Again we found homes for all the kittens and had her fixed the day after they were all out of the house! A strange thing happened then, one of the people that had taken a kitten had a emergency and couldn't keep her, we took her back and she wormed her way into our hearts just like her mom. We thought the kitten we got back was a male and named "HIM" Stormin' Norman. We had Norman Spayed(yes spayed our mistake he was a she)the day after she turned 6 months old. No more OOPS for us. Well in July of '96 Mucky got sick, Nothing to dramatic just vomited a couple of times and didn't act "normal". I took her to see the vet and requested they run every test available to find out what was wrong. I didn't know her history prior to her coming into our lives and she had been out since we had her. They kept her over night and declared she was free of any real problems and just had a urinary tract infection. I thought that was strange but took her home and gave her the antibiotics faithfully until gone. Mucky seemed better but not quite the same, she had lost 2 lbs, but had gotten up to 13lbs since we had her. The vet said it was nothing to worry about and she'd be fine in a few weeks. Well on 1 Sep.96 I went on a trip to see my mom on her 50th birthday in California(We were living in Alaska during all this). My husband and I talked daily and he was worried because Mucky seemed to be losing more weight. We and the vet decided that she was missing me and not eating. I was coming back on the 20th of Sep. so I wasn’t to concerned. However I got a call on 18 Sep. from my husband and he said Mucky had started to vomit again. I told him to call and take her RIGHT in to see the vet. When he called they said not to worry and bring her in the next day at 2:00. My husband had to work so a fried of ours took her in, the vet admitted her immediately to the hospital! She had lost 5lbs since the 1st of Sep. and her stomach was distended, she seemed to be uncomfortable but not in real pain. That night I got a call from my husband, 19 Sep.96 6:12 pacific time to be exact. It seems Mucky had some fluid in her abdomen and when the vet drained it off it caused such severe pain that Mucky was paralyzed from it! All she could do was scream and writhe in agony! My poor poor baby We couldn't leave her like that. And as much as I wanted them to keep her alive for one more day so I could be home with her, have one last moment, time to say how much I loved her, it would have been the most selfish thing I could have ever done. So that night Mucky was put to sleep, at least she was no longer in pain. But it hurt so bad to know I wasn’t there. It still hurts and the void she left will never again be full. We still have Norman, and she is the light of our lives, but nothing can ever replace a lost friend. Ever. I was very upset to find out that Mucky had died of advanced dry FIP. The FIP was the reason she had the UTI in the first place, but the vet didn't run the test for FIP because Mucky tested negative for Feline Leukemia. They said they would have run it if she had been positive for FLV, and they were sorry. I would have never let her suffer so much if I would have known, Stronger antibiotics might have helped, anything at all!? I know there is no cure for FIP but at the very least I would NOT have left her side and would have let her go long before things got as bad as they did for her. I was mortified to find I had taken not one picture of Mucky in the year and a half she was in our lives, I regret ever thinking that there will always be tomorrow, life is so unpredictable in those ways. We had Mucky cremated and put to rest in a box inscribed with "Our Beloved "Mucky", always in our hearts". I will scatter her cremaines when I have a garden of my own again to do so in. It was where we became best of friends and will always be a special place for me. We still have Norman and she is doing quite well despite being FIP also. She will be 2 in Nov. '97 and I bless every day we have with her. Mucks' kittens from both litters are all doing well too but they are all FIP also. All seven cats are fixed and kept indoors thank goodness I took the time to make sure of the people they went to. I will not get another cat as long as Norman is still with us, even though a one cat household seems lonely at times. I have many pictures of our darling girl now I will never wait until "tomorrow" again! Thank you for taking the time to read this, I know it is long. I just needed a place to tell Muckys' story, a place someone would understand. Mucky I still love you and miss you and you will never be forgotten, I promise. Love Mom and Dad
Izzy and Bob