When I first saw Mosby and Belle, they were tiny kittens trotting behind their mother on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It was the summer of 1989 and they were the newest additions to a colony of feral strays that we had discovered when we bought a small cottage there a few years earlier. Mosby’s name was inspired by his handsome gray tuxedo “suit” and his ability to disappear when we tried to get closer. What came to mind was “the gray ghost”, a nickname for the notorious Civil War officer, Colonel John S. Mosby. His unique markings seemed to make it fairly certain that Smokey was his father since they were the only two gray cats in the group of about 25. Six years later, Smokey became a kidney transplant recipient and far outlived his son who succumbed to cancer before his fifth birthday.

“Southern Belle” just seemed to be the appropriate name for Colonel Mosby’s sister. She was quite beautiful in her black, orange and white calico outfit. She had Smokey’s big feet and cobby body with Trouble’s super soft fur and colors. Belle and Mosby adapted immediately to the luxury of strictly indoor living, as did the other 12 beach cats that we eventually adopted and took home. We initially instituted a neuter, vaccinate and release strategy but as time went on, we gradually found good homes for them all, ending up with about half of them ourselves.

Belle was very sweet and gentle but still retained the instinctive caution of a former feral. As she aged, those barriers slowly came tumbling down and she became a lap lover and her Daddy’s girl. This mellowing was just in time for us to be able to treat her as she began to develop the inevitable problems of an older cat. Though her general health was good, she always had the chronic upper respiratory symptoms that tend to plague strays. Then, when she was about nine years old, we realized that something was wrong with her left eye. The vet determined that she had glaucoma and we began giving her drops. When that did not seem to help the pressure, we took her to an eye specialist who discovered that a benign tumor was the actual cause of the glaucoma. She had already lost the sight in that eye and it had to be removed to relieve the pain. Most people who saw her never even noticed it was not there.

For the last two or three years, Belle had been slowly losing weight in spite of eating very well and seeming completely normal. Blood tests every 6 months did not show any signs of hyperthyroidism or any other abnormality. Nevertheless, we knew something must have been wrong and in January, we finally had an answer. Her BUN and creatinine were slightly elevated. Two of our other senior cats were tested at the same time and also showed elevated renal values. In spite of the sub Q fluids and medications we gave her, Belle’s CRF progressed much faster than any of the other eight cats we have treated for kidney failure. She deteriorated quickly and by the end of May we knew we had to give her the gift of a peaceful passing.

Our special one-eyed baby lost her battle with CRF in just a few months but the rest of her 16 years were spent safe and warm and away from the dangers that every stray faces. She now rests in the sandy shore of the Chesapeake Bay with Mosby, Smokey and many other beach friends.

We miss you, Belle Boo. You were a joy and a beauty who graced our home and stole our hearts.

Sandy and Peyton Carr
the2carrs@verizon.net