A Fearsome Beauty: Our Prince

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Our Prince

We lost our Malden today, our Maldini. There he sleeps in all his shaggy splendor on the summer bed, apart from the pack as always. His fat tail, his ridiculous pantaloons, his strange two-tone coat. What I thought might be a tooth going bad turned out to be oral cancer. I left the festival grounds to take him home to our vet never dreaming I would return without him. He was our Italianate Renaissance man, the smartest cat we've ever known, fluent in English and opera.

Shock and grief, sudden as a bandage torn away.

15 comments:

Wolfie said...: Gosh, Muddy K. I am so so sorry. Sending you a hug....; June 30, 2011 at 8:12 PM
Anonymous said...: I am very sad for your loss - he seems to have been a very fine and distinguished feline.; June 30, 2011 at 8:17 PM
Daisy said...: Oh my goodness! My heart breaks with you!! I'm so sorry!!; June 30, 2011 at 8:45 PM
Brooke (FBX Adventures - In Parenting) said...: Oh, my heart breaks for you. I am so, so sorry. Cats are amazing creatures. Much love and hugs. I will be thinking of you!; June 30, 2011 at 11:46 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm so sorry:(; June 30, 2011 at 11:57 PM
Barbara said...: I am so sorry you lost your guy. I have had that happen too, take one to the vet for a little problem and go home alone, it is such a shock.; July 1, 2011 at 7:37 AM
Judi said...: I am so sorry...; July 1, 2011 at 7:47 AM
smazourek said...: I'm so sorry for your loss. Consider this a virtual hug ( ).; July 1, 2011 at 10:33 AM
June said...: Oh so sad. And in the middle of your busiest time, too.; July 1, 2011 at 12:32 PM
Once Upon an Equine said...: I'm very sorry.; July 1, 2011 at 3:10 PM
twohorses said...: Thinking of you,(()) hugs!; July 1, 2011 at 6:13 PM
Calm, Forward, Straight said...: So sorry to hear that news. (((hugs))); July 2, 2011 at 9:50 AM
Muddy K said...: Wanted to just say a quick thank you to all of you for your kind thoughts. There isn't time to even believe we've lost Maldini yet. Perhaps that's better, in a way. We got him all those years ago from a pair of hoarders posing as a "no kill" cat shelter. He was terribly sick when we took him, though we didn't know it. It took him six months to recover from a terrible bacterial infection, and then we had a dozen years of joie de vivre and impossibly quick intelligence that gave us no end of delight. If I weren't so greedy, it would have been enough.; July 4, 2011 at 1:58 PM
Kristen Eleni Shellenbarger said...: I'm so sorry for your loss of your beautiful boy. It's never easy loosing a loved animal. Hugs; July 4, 2011 at 3:20 PM
Anonymous said...: hi muddy,
fist time i have read your lovely blog,
my heart goes out to you.
cats are incredible!
so beautiful!
horses too.
life is so tough sometimes.
Tiffany; July 6, 2011 at 2:35 AM

About This Journal

I began this journal to think through my experience with a mare I bought in 2004, after years away from riding, and then my start-over with a gelding I acquired in 2009. The one horse shook my confidence as a rider; I hoped to rebuild it with the other. I eventually gave back the horse I thought could help me overcome my anxiety and there before me stood again the horse with whom I choked in the first place.

It sounds like I traveled in a circle, yet not only did I change, but in 2010 I bought another horse, a kind, affectionate Appendix mare who seemed to fall from the sky. "Third time's a charm," they say. It was true for me in love, now let it be true in horses.

I strive to write truthfully about fear, doubt and tension, among other things, difficult subjects to talk about without being self-serving or cheaty. But I tend to dig deep (though it may be little more than scab picking). If you can relate to what I'm talking about, you're welcome to read along and comment whenever you like. Thanks for visiting.