Kozmo is Gone

I am bereft. It has been 1 week since Kozmo disappeared. At first I did not want to admit the possibility that he was gone. We have searched hither and yon, up and down. though the bushes, along the river bank, under the rock piles and in the culverts. I guess I should back up a little bit. Thursday night, just before midnight, Kozmo screamed at me. He wanted out (for the 2nd time since I went to bed at 9:30PM). 

Kozmo is an elderly cat. He was going deaf ...thus he yelled very VERY LOUDLY!

He had quite bad arthritis (particularly in the fall and winter because of the damp and cold) and he had thyroid disease and had to take meds twice a day. This year, he had a wonderful summer! He was out, about and (in the evenings, when it got cooler). 

When I let him out shortly after midnight, I told him I would be back in 5 minutes. When I opened the door, there he was, and then he wasn't. He flipped his backend at me and ran off across the grass and into the ditch on the other side. 

I let out a few HBO words, went back in and grabbed my book and went back to bed to read. 15 minutes later, I got up and checked to see if he was ready to come in...No Cat. 15 minutes later I did it again, still no Kozmo. Then again and again...And that time I fell asleep.

I woke up to the most incredible cat screams about 4:15! I ran to the door and saw a huge black shape flying across the river. (Because of the fires, a great horned owl had moved into our village.)

My heart lurched! I called and whistled but I got no response.

I did NOT fall back asleep. As soon as it got light I went out and started looking... 

During the day, I talked to neighbors (and banged on doors, and searched people's yards). Signs went up, telephone chains went out and around the village. I then learned 4 other people were woken by the Owl. I also found out that the owl has taken at least 3 other village cats. 

Alex got home on Sunday and he got all the little kids out looking for Kozmo (boy, kids are really good any getting into, under and around) and checked out the fields and with the village workers and the fire fighters Alex checked out the Public Works Yard across the river. 

This week things have been quiet. I was hoping that Koz was hiding out somewhere, that he was frightened, stunned, perhaps hurt, people have been still checking their yards, the ditches when they walk and in and around anything that could hide a cat. But as the days went by, I kept hoping he was tucked away somewhere — hiding, recovering, waiting for the world to feel safe again. I held onto that hope because the alternative was too sharp to touch. But with everything we learned about the owl, and with every empty place we searched, it became harder to pretend he was simply out of sight.

Kozmo was old, proud, and fierce in his own way. He lived his life on his own terms — loud, stubborn, determined, and absolutely uninterested in being told what to do. And as the quiet settled over the village this week, I realized he likely left the world the same way he lived in it: choosing his own moment, his own way, his own path.

I can see him now — strutting his man‑cat strut across the Rainbow Bridge, tail high, yelling (very loudly) for the Lady Cat Love of his life… Katie Isabella.

Challenges in life don’t arise haphazardly, no matter how accidental or coincidental they may seem. They only arrive when you’re ready for transcending them.

We have received the most lovely Remembrances Photos!

First From Ann

& from Ingrid

Our home feels much quieter without Kozmo's clicking toenails and steady presence. Kozmo is survived by Jo Jo, Marvelous and the Hairy Slobbery Sister Nutmeg. His Peeps, Mom Barb and his human brother Alex are morning his rodent dispatching skills, his throaty purrs and how he loved to lie on your chest and nuzzle your chin. We also now have an empty spot on the couch that will take a long time to fill.