In Memory of Dixie 7/1/2022 – 1/1/2026
In 2023, roughly an hour from us in Kyle, TX, was a street cat in need. She was young, barely a year old, and with little to celebrate on the normally joyous occasion. She wandered the streets, an old flea collar dangling from her thinning neck, dehydrated and hungry. The collar was a remnant of an old life, perhaps, one where she had known the love of a home or a caretaker. We will never be sure, but the reality stood before us: she needed our help on the tail end of a feline leukemia diagnosis.
She was taken to the vet immediately upon rescue, and after receiving some fluids and undergoing a general workup, she bounced back right away! That was when her journey to Shadow Cats Rescue began. She arrived at the sanctuary in July of 2023. She was only one at the time, and was ready to show the world her sparkling personality.
Dixie, we named her, was about as full of energy as the namesake cup! She tore a path through Cookie’s, snuggled with the best of them in the prime era of Cookie’s Place Cuddlers, and sprawled out on a lap like it was her day job. She was revered for her beautiful calico tabby hybrid coat and her striking green eyes. She even had the most precious little freckle on her snout, though it wasn’t her most prominent feature.
Dixie notoriously gave anyone and everyone a look that made you question your safety, or perhaps whether or not you’d accidentally caused the inception of an otherworldly portal, invisible to the naked eye, behind you. Her eyes took up a generous half of her face as though she were the star of a Pixar movie version of The Shining. The chances of a cat being your end are usually comfortably resting somewhere in the 1%. With Dixie, it may or may not have climbed up a few points.
She was known for this stare, and it was especially amusing when she’d hit you with it, peering through the door at dinnertime. It was hardly an empty stare, like our sweet Crinkle Fry is afflicted with, but more the stare of a mastermind. We saw this in action several times in Annex, specifically, where she scaled the shelves and knocked over the Temptations box to the delight of all of her housemates. One of those times, we’d blamed it on poor Morris! Dixie never crossed our minds, just how she’d like it.
Despite her wild streak, though, Dixie was sweet. She was affectionate, with an independent attitude. She’d captured the heart of our Sanctuary Manager, Kearstin, long ago, and she vehemently supported her rights and her wrongs. We loved Dixie for her sass, her spirit, her playfulness, her snuggliness, and even when we’d feel the pull of a particularly wide set of eyes on us propped up atop one of the Annex beams just out of sight.
She was a character, a staple at the sanctuary, and had been around through so many changing tides of cats coming and going. She was one of the feline leukemia kitties we were sure had an ironclad immune system, and when she was put on weight-gaining medication to ease her mouth inflammation, she certainly acquired the armor to support it!
But Dixie was suffering from more than just mouth inflammation. We suspected IBD, but an ultrasound revealed not only IBD, but the probability of her having the dreaded GI lymphoma. We did for her what we do for them all. We supported her with amazing medical care, we made sure she had a wonderful quality of life, and she kept truckin’ for quite some time. Her spirits remained high, and we were tickled by her scheming ways.
Until, slowly, Dixie began to tell us that she was ready. This spunky girl was more lap prone than ever, happy to snuggle and even tolerating the rogue Christmas sweater during the cold season. We knew that, strong as she was, she was telling us she was ready. Surrounded by those she loved, held in the arms of those who had raised her from kittenhood and beyond, Dixie left us, but she also left her petite little pawprints upon our hearts forevermore.
Dixie, free from pain, free from feline leukemia, from illness, from worry, stands at the threshold of something incredible now. In the distance, green knolls ebb and flow like curling waves dappled in sunlight and wildflowers. In the field ahead, with their feet romping through the grass, are so many of the friends she’d said goodbye to during her stay at Shadow Cats. With the freckle that always made it look like she bore a smirk, Dixie struts across the rainbow bridge and into the beyond. She can play, she can be free. Perhaps she can even find a tree, riddled with goodies, and find out how to knock down its treasures for her new roommates to enjoy. Or perhaps, with her signature stare, she’ll survey the surroundings of her kingdom and know in her heart that the stray cat that once knew no love is now surrounded by it. She always will be.
Thank you to Dixie’s wonderful sponsors, Amy J, Hillary R, and Anne K. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who always made sure Dixie had ample string toy time. Thank you to our lovely staff who loved and treasured Dixie through every shade of her life, even the troublemaking shade! Thank you to the wonderful care she received from the Vista Vet staff. Thank you to everyone who ever felt Dixie’s eyes upon them and wondered if someone was watching them. She probably was!
We love you, Dixie. We always will.
Dixie had 3 Sponsors
Amy Juried
Hillary Rodgers
Anne Llana Koob