Sadly, we had to say farewell to Mama in mid-March. She was a tough old gal and had been hanging in there for longer than we would have thought, and still showing joy in her daily routines in spite of her advance age. She had gotten quite thin despite her ravenous appetite, and though we didn't know her age we guessed her to be around 18 years old.
She arrived on our property in February 2011, looking for warmth and safety. Her leg had been ripped open fairly badly, so we locked her in our garage to give her somewhere safe to eat, drink, sleep and heal. Lo and behold, she up and had three kittens one day in the garage, and our little family swelled by four, Mama and her Nugs. We had planned to give the kittens away, but of course we fell in love and could not break up the family.
She loved socializing with us outside, whether it was stealing my chair at the fire pit, hanging out in the hammock as I read a book, our crawling into our tent when we camped in the yard.
We named her Pooka. In time she healed and stuck around, living mainly outside except on the coldest winter nights. In her later years, she spent more time inside cuddling and enjoying the warmth. She even started to sleep between our pillows and purr softly in our ears.
She continued to rule over her three babies and also tried to rule the other cats as well. She had real attitude, and her one nickname "Crankenpuss" was well-earned. Mama was matriarch of the property, and the name stuck early on. Even in her declining years, she was a large presence in the house that is already sorely missed.
Farewell sweet baby girl - Mama, aka Pooka, Mama Pook, Crankenpuss, Crankers, Jim/Jimmy/Jimsy, James T. Mifflesmiff, The Smiffler, Tabby Thunder, Stumblebum, and in her chunkier days, both Two-Pants and "The Nuclear Football".
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