I lost a very close and dear relative on January 30^th this year.  Her name was Kayla and she was so special over the nearly 15-years she’s lived with my wife and I. 

My wife and I never had any children but we had the chance to adopt Kayla when she was just 2-months old and she has been such a blessing in our lives every day.  Kayla loved us, learned from us and strived for our attention and entertained us.  We learned from Kayla and loved our precious baby so dearly and she made us laugh.

Kayla spent extra time with me when I went through tough times from a very difficult left knee total replacement in 2015.  She helped me get through my cancer surgery recovery in the fall of 2019 and I thanked her many times for helping me get through those really tough times.  I don’t think I could have done it without her love, dedication and watching over me.

We took great care of Kayla and home-schooled her and she was the best student.  I’m so proud of her and she never ceased to amaze us.  She was generous with her love for us and there isn’t one bad thing I could ever say about her, she was the best.

In early November last year, we noticed she was limping and something wasn’t right with her right leg.  We took her to the doctor for a multitude of tests, blood work, x-rays and more.  The specialists couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so typical the case these days it seems.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been misdiagnosed myself.  We were given a prescription and sent home.  The condition got worse and more doctor visits, perhaps likely a nerve issue they said but those are hard to diagnose, then even told us it could be the C word (cancer).  It got worse and Kayla’s leg was getting swollen, she wasn’t eating as much, but she was such a trooper and we believe she was trying to conceal her true condition.  We tried our best to get Kayla to eat more and drink more fluids, yet Kayla was losing weight and I could sense she was suffering from depression, but she never complained.  But yet, something was wrong and we knew it wasn’t good.

Last Saturday morning, our precious little orange tabby cat Kayla awoke me at 5:35 am when she fell off the recliner where she had been sleeping with me for the last six hours on a pillow between my legs.  I knew immediately this was not good as it made a loud thud on the floor, so I woke up my wife.  We spent the next four hours consoling her the best we could and stroking her fur in-between the occasional spastic movements, but we knew the end was definitely near.  Her breathing was becoming shallower and she took her last breath at 9:20 am and it broke our hearts, yet we had been asking God to take her home as we didn’t want to see her suffer any longer.  When the Pet Cremation van left our home with our little baby Kayla at 10:30 am I lost it and broke down crying my eyes out like never before.  I just couldn’t help it and couldn’t believe she was gone, after being so healthy for so many years I had figured she was going to live past 20-years, or even break the world’s record for being the world’s oldest cat.

It just goes to show that you never know how long you have on this earth and to make each day count.  We do believe in God and that there are rewards in heaven.   Now some of you may think I’m crazy and I don’t give a rat’s behind if you do, but I do believe I will see Kayla again in heaven and that will be one of my rewards.  I believe she is now in God’s hands and he is taking care of her till we meet again.  Kayla was our family, she was our child and we treated her like family.

Rest in peace my dear baby Kayla and we will always keep you in our hearts and thoughts!   God bless you!

Steve M.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•