Kali

I use to take care of a woman who had Kali as a companion, but she died and left her without a home. The woman's family was going to take her to the humane society so I brought her home. She was an indoor/outdoor cat, which I don't really like. I tried to keep her inside, but she would just meow and meow at the door. I finally caved and let her outside. One day I came home and found her in the street. Someone had run her over and just left her laying there. It was one of the worst experiences of my life (and obviously her's) and confirmed my reasons for keeping my other kitties indoors. I went inside to grab her favorite blanket, picked up her body and wrapped her up to be buried. She was a sweet kitty who lived 8 long years, but she is missed. The experience was so awful that I keep soft towels in my trunk so that if I see a cat who has been hit by a car and left there alone, I can wrap them up and treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve. I do this to honor the life of Kali and every other cat, because their lives are just as precious as ours and no one should ever have to find their feline friend like that (though I do everything I can to track down their humans - look for numbers on the collar, take them in to the humane society to check for a microchip and post to craigslist so I can return the collar and let them know what happened). I hope people realize when they run over a cat that they have taken a life of someone who probably had a home and was loved, because I miss Kali and feel horribly guilty every time I remember her because I didn't have to let her outside. The worst was thinking that the person who hit her cared so little that they just left her there like she was nothing. Your life was precious to me and I love you Kali. I hope you are in a good place with lots of pillows, fluffy blankets, catnip, hands for petting and squirrels to chase. You were a good friend and I miss your loud purr, your snuggles and even the drooling when you were really enjoying the petting. I'm sorry I couldn't save you and I hope you know that I cry for every kitty I find who died the way you did, because you are all so special. I hope my actions honor you and make you proud to have been part of our family. I saved Kilo because of what happened to you, so I hope that by saving her life, your death wasn't completely without meaning. I hope you forgive me for letting you go.

These pictures were taken on her last day and this is the first time I have been able to look at them. I'm so sorry Kali.

Thanks and I don't deserve to be commended for anything. I do it out of guilt. I know I do it out of love and respect for the lives of our feline friends, but I also do it out of guilt. I just hope Kali is proud of me.

I will be, but we don't have the same crazy traffic here and I wait for cars to pass. Usually they see what I'm doing and stop so that I can pick them up, some even stop to see if I need help. Boise isn't like LA.