In Memory
Little Mokey died Sunday, May 3 at about 12-noon. It is so hard to sit down and write about her, but I suppose that is because she was such a huge part of our lives. Because of that, I feel compelled to share how that little bundle of joy came to be in our lives, and how she made such an impact on who we've become.
I first met Mokey sometime in high school. It is unknown how old she was, and where exactly she came from, as she was an alley cat who hung around my parents’ house. We have figured over the years she may have come from the owners of a print shop next to my parents’ house. We used to see a Calico kitty sitting in the window all the time. One day, the owners up and left the print shop, and we assume, that cute little Calico. When we would sit in the hot tub, she would come and drink the hot water, purr like crazy and rub up against your neck, begging for attention and love.
Over time, my parents made a bed for her in the garage, and also put food and water out there for her. Although she roamed the alley freely, she always made her home at my parents’ house. In the summer, when mom would work in the office with the door open, she'd help herself and come right in. She'd jump up on the keyboard and start-up that loud motor of hers. You couldn't help but fall in love with her. She needed so little, and seemed so happy. We named her Mokey, deriving it from a similar sounding foul name my father called her. The name Mokey actually comes from Jim Henson's Fraggles, of Fraggle Rock.
Mokey became somewhat of a celebrity around the house, usually being referred to as "that damn cat." My parents used to have a large dirt parking lot in the back of the house, and whenever it rained, the water would form what people would call “Lake Hickey.” Of course, Mokey would get her little paws wet walking around and would always retreat to the warmth of the car hood. It was not hard to follow her path as you could see the paw prints go up your hood, up your windshield, across the roof, down the back window, across the trunk and poof... she’d jump to the ground and move onto the next warm.
I moved off to college, met Beth and we started dating. Beth met Mokey when she came out to my parents’ house for the first time. From then on, Mokey wormed her way into Beth's heart, too. Beth and I moved in together in August of 1998. Beth had talked about bringing Mokey to live with us, if my parents would allow it. Of course, we joke now, but my response at the time was, "That damn cat? She's crazy!" I was worried about my allergies, but decided to give it a go. Beth went to get her in October when I was out of town with my family in Southern California. I'll let her tell that story:
“I remember begging and pleading with Kevin to bring the little Miss home. I saw so much potential. She had so much love to give, but seemed unhappy with her current living conditions. I wanted a cat, but it had to be a rescued cat. We had talked about going to the Humane Society, but I had a feeling Mokey would be a perfect addition to our home if we gave her time to adjust.
“I drove out to Gardnerville to pick her up on my day off. Kevin’s Aunt Kathy was babysitting Sammy and helped me catch Mokey. The second we put her in the cage and shut the door, the crying started. No I should say the SCREAMING started. I drove an hour back to Reno with Mokey screaming in the cage. She was so afraid. I think I cried, too. I kept thinking, “Oh no, Kevin might be right.” What was I thinking? The next few days were rough. She was scared to death of me. All she did was cry and hide from me. When Kevin came home, I lied and said it was a perfect match—I didn’t want him to say, “I told you so.”
“Soon after I took her to the vet for a check up. The vet told me Mokey was very lucky. “She is getting a second chance to love someone. Help her embrace it by giving her all the love and trust and support you can. Make it clear she is the light of your life and she will calm down and fall in love with you.” It was the best thing she could have said. Throughout the four and a half years she was with us, we always reassured her and gave her all we had to give. She loved us and became so trusting. She gave us everything she had to give. For that I am forever thankful. She made me a loyal cat lover and an advocate for animals. She taught me so much more then I thought was possible. I wish every animal had the chance to be loved and to love the way she did.”
It was tough adapting, tough for Mokey, and tough for me. I slept with a cold rag on my eyes for a month to help keep the swelling down and loaded up on my Zyrtec. The allergies, over time, relieved somewhat and the reactions became much more subtle. Eventually, I was able to pick her up and hold her close to my face without having problems. The first few months, even year, were tough for Mokey. She seemed happy, but was slow to allow herself to get the love and attention we so desperately wanted to give her. There were a lot of nights she slept under the guest room bed, or behind the sofa. We grew as a family every day. She became more comfortable with each passing day and allowed us to show our affection in so many ways.
Among our most favorite affections were her head butts. When she wanted attention and love, she'd walk up and head butt you. Either on the side, or the arm, the leg, wherever she could get you. The moment your hand touched her fur, the motor fired up. She loved getting kisses on her forehead and getting her chin rubbed.
She had several favorite places around the house to sleep. At night, it was in our bed. During the day, it was anywhere we placed a blanket, towel or sheet for her to lay on. We always knew where we could find her. As we grew together, so didn’t the number of names we called her. Officially, she was Mokey Fleener-Hickey. Unofficially, she was Mona, Monessa, Moni, Icklekins, Little Icklekins, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Pie, Little Kitty, Kitty Kitty, Beauty, Beauty Queen, Baby, Lo-ni and Lovey. Of course, she knew every one of them, and responded to them all.
As she grew older, so didn’t the habits. Lately, her habits included removing food from her food bowl and placing it on the kitchen floor. Of course, she’d never finish all that she took out of her bowl, so, bare feet beware, there were little hard pebbles all over the floor. She also liked to drink water out of our cup, and not just any water. The water had to be from the reverse osmosis, and had to be iced. She’d whine for it until she got it. Every night before we went to sleep we needed to ensure there was a glass of ice-cold water on my night stand for her.
We found out in November she was in the early stages of kidney failure. Our vet indicated she’d be happy and healthy for a month or so, and that we could expect things to deteriorate sometime in February. Fortunately, she was able to hang in there a few extra months. We are so thankful for all the memories she’s left us with. She was our baby… she grew with us as Bethany and I grew together as a couple.
We will forever miss her cute, puffy face, her jingling collar, the grunts and meows and her funny little habits. She will always be our baby, and will always have a special place in our heart. We love you Mokey.
Little Mokey died Sunday, May 3 at about 12-noon. It is so hard to sit down and write about her, but I suppose that is because she was such a huge part of our lives. Because of that, I feel compelled to share how that little bundle of joy came to be in our lives, and how she made such an impact on who we've become.
I first met Mokey sometime in high school. It is unknown how old she was, and where exactly she came from, as she was an alley cat who hung around my parents’ house. We have figured over the years she may have come from the owners of a print shop next to my parents’ house. We used to see a Calico kitty sitting in the window all the time. One day, the owners up and left the print shop, and we assume, that cute little Calico. When we would sit in the hot tub, she would come and drink the hot water, purr like crazy and rub up against your neck, begging for attention and love.
Over time, my parents made a bed for her in the garage, and also put food and water out there for her. Although she roamed the alley freely, she always made her home at my parents’ house. In the summer, when mom would work in the office with the door open, she'd help herself and come right in. She'd jump up on the keyboard and start-up that loud motor of hers. You couldn't help but fall in love with her. She needed so little, and seemed so happy. We named her Mokey, deriving it from a similar sounding foul name my father called her. The name Mokey actually comes from Jim Henson's Fraggles, of Fraggle Rock.
Mokey became somewhat of a celebrity around the house, usually being referred to as "that damn cat." My parents used to have a large dirt parking lot in the back of the house, and whenever it rained, the water would form what people would call “Lake Hickey.” Of course, Mokey would get her little paws wet walking around and would always retreat to the warmth of the car hood. It was not hard to follow her path as you could see the paw prints go up your hood, up your windshield, across the roof, down the back window, across the trunk and poof... she’d jump to the ground and move onto the next warm.
I moved off to college, met Beth and we started dating. Beth met Mokey when she came out to my parents’ house for the first time. From then on, Mokey wormed her way into Beth's heart, too. Beth and I moved in together in August of 1998. Beth had talked about bringing Mokey to live with us, if my parents would allow it. Of course, we joke now, but my response at the time was, "That damn cat? She's crazy!" I was worried about my allergies, but decided to give it a go. Beth went to get her in October when I was out of town with my family in Southern California. I'll let her tell that story:
“I remember begging and pleading with Kevin to bring the little Miss home. I saw so much potential. She had so much love to give, but seemed unhappy with her current living conditions. I wanted a cat, but it had to be a rescued cat. We had talked about going to the Humane Society, but I had a feeling Mokey would be a perfect addition to our home if we gave her time to adjust.
“I drove out to Gardnerville to pick her up on my day off. Kevin’s Aunt Kathy was babysitting Sammy and helped me catch Mokey. The second we put her in the cage and shut the door, the crying started. No I should say the SCREAMING started. I drove an hour back to Reno with Mokey screaming in the cage. She was so afraid. I think I cried, too. I kept thinking, “Oh no, Kevin might be right.” What was I thinking? The next few days were rough. She was scared to death of me. All she did was cry and hide from me. When Kevin came home, I lied and said it was a perfect match—I didn’t want him to say, “I told you so.”
“Soon after I took her to the vet for a check up. The vet told me Mokey was very lucky. “She is getting a second chance to love someone. Help her embrace it by giving her all the love and trust and support you can. Make it clear she is the light of your life and she will calm down and fall in love with you.” It was the best thing she could have said. Throughout the four and a half years she was with us, we always reassured her and gave her all we had to give. She loved us and became so trusting. She gave us everything she had to give. For that I am forever thankful. She made me a loyal cat lover and an advocate for animals. She taught me so much more then I thought was possible. I wish every animal had the chance to be loved and to love the way she did.”
It was tough adapting, tough for Mokey, and tough for me. I slept with a cold rag on my eyes for a month to help keep the swelling down and loaded up on my Zyrtec. The allergies, over time, relieved somewhat and the reactions became much more subtle. Eventually, I was able to pick her up and hold her close to my face without having problems. The first few months, even year, were tough for Mokey. She seemed happy, but was slow to allow herself to get the love and attention we so desperately wanted to give her. There were a lot of nights she slept under the guest room bed, or behind the sofa. We grew as a family every day. She became more comfortable with each passing day and allowed us to show our affection in so many ways.
Among our most favorite affections were her head butts. When she wanted attention and love, she'd walk up and head butt you. Either on the side, or the arm, the leg, wherever she could get you. The moment your hand touched her fur, the motor fired up. She loved getting kisses on her forehead and getting her chin rubbed.
She had several favorite places around the house to sleep. At night, it was in our bed. During the day, it was anywhere we placed a blanket, towel or sheet for her to lay on. We always knew where we could find her. As we grew together, so didn’t the number of names we called her. Officially, she was Mokey Fleener-Hickey. Unofficially, she was Mona, Monessa, Moni, Icklekins, Little Icklekins, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Pie, Little Kitty, Kitty Kitty, Beauty, Beauty Queen, Baby, Lo-ni and Lovey. Of course, she knew every one of them, and responded to them all.
As she grew older, so didn’t the habits. Lately, her habits included removing food from her food bowl and placing it on the kitchen floor. Of course, she’d never finish all that she took out of her bowl, so, bare feet beware, there were little hard pebbles all over the floor. She also liked to drink water out of our cup, and not just any water. The water had to be from the reverse osmosis, and had to be iced. She’d whine for it until she got it. Every night before we went to sleep we needed to ensure there was a glass of ice-cold water on my night stand for her.
We found out in November she was in the early stages of kidney failure. Our vet indicated she’d be happy and healthy for a month or so, and that we could expect things to deteriorate sometime in February. Fortunately, she was able to hang in there a few extra months. We are so thankful for all the memories she’s left us with. She was our baby… she grew with us as Bethany and I grew together as a couple.
We will forever miss her cute, puffy face, her jingling collar, the grunts and meows and her funny little habits. She will always be our baby, and will always have a special place in our heart. We love you Mokey.
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