10 years ago a furry orange guy came into our lives and our hearts and his name was Mojo (or as we liked to call him Mo kitty, Mo Cat or The Great Mouser) and today he leaves our lives but never our hearts.
10 years ago Doug, Wanagi and I were living in Healdsburg on top of little hill, in a little cottage overlooking one of the most beautiful valleys ever, Alexander Valley. We were a happy little family. I had this obsession with going to the local animal shelter and torturing myself with visiting all the animals in there. I’m surprised we didn’t have a house full of 4 leggers. But I restrained myself – instead I found animals for our friends. But I so wanted a cat. I saw this black and gray tabby that was adorable. I had been eyeing him on a couple visits, Doug wasn’t totally sold yet. So one day when Doug and Wanagi were taking their Saturday afternoon nap, I headed out to the shelter. To my dismay, my black/gray tabby was nowhere to be found? I went into the cat room and immediately this little orange tabby came right up to me and rubbed all over me, purring and just so happy and sweet. Well that was it, he had me the first moment our eyes locked – I fell in love. So I called Doug and he was still a bit apprehensive but the shelter required Wanagi to meet Mo before they would let us take him so they came to meet him and of course Doug was smitten immediately too. Actually so was Wanagi (much to many peoples surprise – especially our vet- his comment was “that dog let another animal into your house?!”). Well Wanagi and Mo were fast buds. We have many memories of them lying on the couch together and the back porch. Going back to the animal shelter (the black/gray tabby happened to be in isolation b/c it was getting neutered and given shots- so it was fate that Mo was to be our kitty).
So back to the homestead, Wanagi couldn’t get enough of Mo, always sniffing’ him (that big head of Wanagi’s always up in Mo’s business!) That’s a good cat to put up with that behemoth always sniffing’ around him. Mo took to life on the hill instantly. There was a plethora of things to do, climb trees, run around the hillside, hunt, an abundance of mice to chase, always birds to watch and a cozy chimnea to curl up in for napping.
After a couple more years on the hill, we finally found our house in Sonoma and moved out of the country into town (most people actually consider our neighborhood to be a country neighborhood- regardless we had neighbors now!). Not sure how Mo was going to do in a neighborhood – he was so used to being out in the country on 10 acres. Well he loved his new yard. We have made all kinds of special places for him to lay and hide in – one of his favorites is under the Japanese Maple in the front of the house. We have an abundance of birds that visit us so there was always someone for Mo to stalk, as well as all the chatty squirrels.
Soon after moving to Sonoma we found out we were pregnant – soon came Ryder. Poor Mo took a backseat knowing there was a new member in the family. Mo always kept his distance, wasn’t really sure about this new little guy. But once Ryder got old enough to start toddling around and seeing a cute furry little one – that was just irresistible - we knew we’d have to keep a close eye on him. Well, we knew that Mo would let you know if he didn’t want you by him- sometimes he’d give a “loving” little swipe with his paw (the joke was that Wanagi was even afraid – he wouldn’t walk by him when he sat on the step going down to our sunporch! – 115lb dog afraid of a 15 – 20 lb cat!). Mo was really nice, though – never vicious. But anyway, one day Ryder went toddling over to the rocking chair where Mo lay and he just buried his sticky little face into Mo’s furry little belly. At first I was a bit nervous – but I quickly saw how calm Mo was and how gentle he was with Ryder – it was amazing. He knew how to be gentle with the kids – it’s funny how animals know these things.
Well a few months ago we noticed some weight loss and we brought him in to the vet and got a bad diagnosis. As the next few months past we continued to see a decline – and when I realized he was unable to jump up to sleep next to me at night I knew that he wasn’t himself. We said goodbye to Mo at 5:30 p.m on Friday July 31 – he peacefully went to meet his buddy Wanagi who was waiting for him.
Mo will be greatly missed – we miss you Mo and you will live in our hearts and memories.
