Goodbye to a Great Kitty

When we moved onto our farm in 2005, it came with a barn and a barncat, Cookie. I don't know much about Cookie except that she was here when we moved in and slowly accepted our company. Not sure how old she was, could have been anywhere from 2 to 12 when we first met. She was a typical cat in many ways; independent, aloof, self sufficient, slow to show emotion, smart and resourceful. Not so typical in other ways; got along with horses, donkeys, chickens, dogs of all sizes and shapes, and most people. After we had lived on the farm for 2 or 3 years, Cookie went missing. We traced her 'last-seen' moment to the barn when the farrier was trimming the horses feet. Called the farrier and found out a cat had jumped out of his truck when he got home at the end of his work day. We searched for her for a couple of days before we finally found her in an empty lot near his house. We walked around the lot, called and called, and finally she came walking out of the woods. Rode home on the dashboard of our pickup truck and never left for more than a short overnighter after that. She wasn't very tame at the time of the farrier experience, so I started making an effort to pick her up and handle her more. Last Thursday she let me carry her about a quarter of a mile from the barn to the house, where she spent her last night before going to the vet. She had very advanced kidney disease and had to be put down on Friday, but what a great cat she was! We sure enjoyed sharing her farm and her barn and miss her very much.