“A world of tears is my world today, for Slinky Lee Cole had to go away”
Slinky was a black, feral, bouncy little kitten when I first saw her in 1993 – she was a few months old and had 4 feral siblings: PG, Scaredy-Cat, Mama Teddi, Mr. T, & Mama Teddi 2. Her mother & aunt were Mrs. Willow and Goldie, her daddy was Old King Cole. This feral family was my main introduction into the world of “cat rescue”, something I was involved in for many, many years. Slinky got her name because she would literally “bounce” around the yard in which she was born, like the toy with the same name. I trapped and spayed her in May of 1994 & continued to feed her and her family 2X daily until one by one, they were all gone, gone to the Rainbow Bridge, each one at a different time, with a different story.
On April 3, 2000, I again trapped Slinky and this time, after a visit to the vet, she was brought into my home to stay. She had “her” room, where she promptly chose a spot on top of a hutch as her own personal, place to stay. She had access to other rooms but for many years, did not choose to enter into the “unknown” places. She did, however, gain an instant and lasting friend in my black cat, Basil ben Jagger, who also was once a totally feral cat on the streets. They could often be found cuddled together or grooming each other – I was so happy that she had company, for it was also quite a while before she allowed ME to touch her. Slowly but surely, though, she did become a real pleasure to have around, letting me pet her more and more and learning to love it as well! Slinky seemed to have no medical “issues” and this was the case until one little bout of cystitis in January of 2007.
During this past year, Slinky finally made the trip into all the other rooms she had previously ignored and little by little, she joined the other cats and one dog (German Shepherd) in my home. What a joy it was to see Slinky as a part of the “general population” after all the years in which she chose to be exiled! Then, on the July 4th holiday, she seemed to again come down with cystitis – a visit to the vet, though, brought surprising news very soon of her severe anemia – this was truly a shock to hear about. More tests, x-rays, and soon a blood transfusion was recommended – was actually very necessary. She received blood from one of her “house mates”, Luke Skywalker, also a former stray. Slinky was sent home with medicines but despite Luke’s superb blood, Slinky kept getting more anemic and additional tests showed that she had the dreaded Feline Leukemia – despite the fact that tests in 2000 and tests done on the same day as her recent transfusion, were negative. So, for 3 weeks, brave and amazing little 7 pound Slinky, pranced around as if she hadn’t a care in the world – the vets could not believe she was still around – it just seemed as though she just wasn’t ready to go. Then, she suddenly started to decline, quickly, leaving me with the dreaded knowledge
of what must be done.
I couldn’t, wouldn’t, deny her the freedom from oncoming suffering – my love for her was too great – and so it came to be, that she is once again with all of her family, over the ever-embracing Rainbow Bridge. Slinky must be bouncing around once again – and I will bounce back, if only to continue to tend to those still in my care.
With everlasting love,
| Slinky Lee Cole |
| 31, July 2007 |
| Geri |