In Memory of Mickey 8/10/2014 – 4/21/2025
Many of our Shadow Cats are rescued from the streets where they lack food, protection, or are in dire need of medical care due to various medical conditions. Very rarely, if ever, do we take in surrendered cats. But Mickey The Magnificent, aptly named, was hardly an ordinary cat. He was eking out a living in the countryside and was rescued by someone with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, it turned out that Mickey was diabetic, and this person had no means to care for him. He was at risk of succumbing to a very manageable medical condition. We just couldn’t stand idly by and let that happen.
So, to Shadow Cats he came, singing the song of his people the entire way in August of 2021! We learned very quickly that precious Mickey had quite the set of pipes on him. If he ever had the chance to audition for America’s Got Talent, we’re honestly pretty convinced he could’ve done his best rendition of My Heart Will Go On and wowed the judges into an immediate golden buzzer.
That boy LOVED to talk! He was the undisputed King Chatterbox. If you were in any rooms adjacent to Harmony, it was guaranteed that you’d hear his pterodactyl screech echoing across the back building. He’d activate it if you were paying attention to another cat, when he was hungry, or when he wanted entrance into Harmony from the Workroom or vice versa. He was a master of communication! Loud communication, at that. It was perpetually amusing. If you were trying to record a video in Harmony, it was very likely that at any given time, you’d hear his raspy meow-scream in the background. Mickey wasn’t one to tolerate being ignored!
And we, naturally, can’t talk about Mickey without talking about his dearly beloved Darby. Darby originally was committed to Elliott. Clearly, she had a thing for older men! He was 22 when he passed away, and when we were worried about how poor Darby would cope, she quickly found herself attached at the hip to Mickey. Mickey was a very cool cat, of course, and he couldn’t be bothered to appear affected by Darby’s feminine wiles. She would often snuggle up to him adoringly, with hearts in her eyes, and Mickey would pensively gaze off into the distance or be napping impartially. Still, he wasn’t a snuggly boy to begin with, so his allowing that much from another cat showed the depth of their bond, we think.
Mickey went into diabetic remission after six months of receiving insulin and being put on the diabetic management diet. Later, we decided we could finally move the happy couple outside of the special diets room. And so, to Wildside, Mickey and Darby eloped in a shotgun type wedding, where we knew Darby would be happier. She’s always been a bit more shy, so we felt that she would appreciate quality time with the other feral girls in that room.
Every Christmas Open House since the couple became attached, one of our staff would put up what we dubbed “The Love Shack.” Cute little Christmas lights adorned atop condo, where Mickey and Darby loved to perch and watch the goings-on down below. We even put up their little Christmas stockings, one for each, and it was just precious to see them cuddling together in the wintertime. It was one of those things that just warmed the cockles of your heart to see.
Unfortunately, there came a time when Mickey’s diabetes returned. We were all surprised to see his values skyrocket, nearly a year after moving to Harmony. If cats are going to come out of remission, they usually do so within the first 6 months. Mickey managed to be in remission for 2 years, which was a little eyebrow raising for us. We wondered what exactly caused this change. He had to move back into Harmony, where we have our microchip feeder setup, and leave his precious Darby behind.
Darby had become very attached to Heidi especially, and loved Wildside so much that we couldn’t bring ourselves to move them together. Mickey had always been an independent boy, far more involved with people than he ever was with other cats, so we knew he would cope. We put him back on the diabetic management diet, began his insulin regimen again, and gave it our best. In the back of our minds, we had our suspicions about why his diabetes returned.
Over the months, despite trying multiple kinds of insulin and even putting libre devices on him to do constant glucose curves, we couldn’t get his diabetes under control. It came to a point where we knew our sweet boy had something else going on, as illness or cancer can cause insulin resistance issues. He was losing weight, wasn’t his normal chirpy self, and had even developed fevers toward the end. We knew that diabetes alone wouldn’t cause this sudden of a change, and worked closely with our veterinarians before deciding ultimately that Mickey was telling us that it was time to go.
Our chatty boy became more quiet, and much more needy. He was never a big snuggler, even when he loved people so much, but became far more snuggly toward the end. It was yet another reason we knew our time with him was coming to an end. It broke our hearts. We never know their true age when they have a questionable background, but knew Mickey was at least ten years old, if not older. We, perhaps selfishly, always hope to have more time with them than life usually allows. Mickey’s body had other plans.
For his last few days, we decided he deserved the peace of the break room. We spent time with him during our lunch breaks, and laughed at his silly antics as he enjoyed the drugs that kept him feeling good through the illness. With blown pupils and little paws kneading the carpet, Mickey enjoyed the extra attention, the snuggles, and Marty our office cat kindly tolerated the intrusion for a few days. Mickey even got to sample the delicious Fancy Feast he’d been missing since being put back on his diabetic diet.
The dreaded day came, but we always make a point, through the veil of our sadness, to honor the tremendous life they live. We talked about Mickey’s raspy little screech, like letting air out of a balloon from the tiniest hole. We talked about his and Darby’s whirlwind romance. We talked about how, in the 4 incredible years he spent with us, Mickey kicked down the door to our hearts rather than ever bothering to knock. He ingratiated himself in our routines, so much so that now that he’s no longer with us, we’ll miss all the little things he did to make us smile on the day-to-day.
It’s never enough time, but we can confidently say, as we can with them all, that we gave Mickey our best, and he matched it. Mickey could’ve succumbed in a field, or to an unmanaged medical condition without ever being given the tools to try and fight it. Instead, Mickey passed peacefully, humanely, in the arms of those who loved him the most. The timeline of his life could’ve looked so different, but instead…he was happy. He was joyful. He knew love, and he knew it in spades. The grief that we feel at his loss is proof of the love that lived within us, and that will continue on through memories, through a laugh, a smile, and a stray tear streaking down our cheeks.
Mickey has left us to ascend to a plane where there is no cancer, there is no diabetes, or illness. The treats are plentiful, and don’t need to be diabetes friendly! Eternal sunbeams warm the soul, canopies of trees filter a dappling of light through the shade they provide. In a liminal glade, stretching beyond the furthest reaches of the forever horizon, generations of Shadow Cats bound through grass that always stays green.
As Mickey approaches the rainbow bridge, several familiar faces wait to guide him across. His old roommates, Elsie, Rafiki, Poptart, Elliott, and Ruby all stand at life’s final crossing. A group of warm welcomes and catlike grins wait to guide Mickey across each step and to the grass his paws surely have missed. Mickey enters eternity as he left it, loved, surrounded by so much love he’s surely carried by it even now in the beyond.
Thank you to Mickey’s incredible sponsors, Janet B, Jonai T, and Ranelle M. Thank you to the lovely volunteers who brushed Mickey, who gave him a lap when he wanted it, who came to visit him in his final days to shower love down upon him. Thank you to the incredible staff who, with love and ache in their hearts, treated Mickey through it all in the hopes that he could overcome, who stood by him selflessly when he couldn’t. Thank you to Vista Vet for the incredible care he received. Thank you to anyone who ever heard his little pterodactyl screech and got a good chuckle out of it.
We love you, Mickey. We always will.
Mickey had 3 Sponsors
Janet Bushey
Joani Tompkins
Ranelle Meroney