Spooky was found as a kitten by the side of the road by a kindly person, who brought her to the vet hospital that we used at the time. They fixed her up and tried to find a home for her, but couldn’t. They were about to euthanize her when Kathy found out and volunteered to take her. That was on July 25th, 2000. Spooky had some problems running because her leg was damaged in the accident and the doctor couldn't get it back to good-as-new condition. But Kathy worked with Spooky and soon she was pretty good on her feet.
Then the doctor offered to stitch up her droopy lip (you can see it in the photo -- it was another injury on the road). The operation was on October 3rd, 2000. Somehow, as they were prepping her for the operation, she had a spasm, jerked off the operating table and fell to the floor, hitting her head. She died right then and there, but both doctors worked frantically and brought her back to life. Unfortunately, she suffered major brain damage in the process. Kathy was beside herself with grief. I was more optimistic, knowing that young mammals have enormous recuperative powers for brain injuries. We worked with Spooky and slowly she improved. She was neurologically blind, but she could just barely make out enough image to get around without crashing into things (except picture windows). She was a very difficult case, because she was always laying down just behind where you were standing; I thought certain that she would be stepped on and killed.
But on March 11th, 2002, while I was away in Germany, the dogs somehow pushed the front door open and Spooky wandered out. By the time Kathy got home, some animal had taken her. We never found her.
She was the sweetest, most endearing cat we ever had. She would lie down in my arms, tummy up, and stare into my face with absolute trust. We still miss her very much.