A tribute to Pilot and Basil ð§¡

Not all trapping trips end in happily ever after.

Not all strays are trapped in time for them to enjoy the comforts of a home for long.

Meet the late Pilot and Basil. ð½

Two older ginger tomcats from Kulin.

Both trapped around the same time.

Both felt very feral to start with and then began to enjoy some gentle pats.

Basil especially became an absolute smooch! ð¤

And they both absolutely LOVED their food! ð»

It was the highlight of their day.

They put on weight, their coats became a little softer and they relaxed into the routine of foster care.

No doubt they were related.

Father and son perhaps? ð¤·

Brothers maybe?

They most likely lived their whole lives on the outskirts of Kulin.

Their territories ranging from bushland to the streets of town.

Scavenging for food, hunting and fighting for survival, creating kittens by the dozens every year.

That was their life for over a decade.

They had only been in our care a little while before they both declined rapidly in health.

First Pilot. And today, Basil. ð

That’s the way it goes sometimes unfortunately.

Savvy stray cats will only go in a trap when their health is declining and they are desperate for food.

From the symptoms observed and speed of decline, I’m personally guessing chronic kidney failure.

But we don’t really know for sure.

And there aren’t enough funds available for testing to be done on every elderly stray tomcat.

As it is, we pay about $220 for humane and gentle euthanasia of rescue cats.

No-one owns them.

But then, that just means that they are everyone’s responsibility…

Right?

So we trust our vets to make the right call in each individual situation.

And we are so grateful for the heavily discounted medical attention our foster cats receive. ð

We also trust the cats to let us know when the best way we can help them is with a peaceful passing.

Pilot and Basil have now both left us.

And I can’t help but feel their loss. ð¥º

Friends for a short time but I’ll always remember them.

I made them healthy wet meals every day.

And helped Basil learn how to smooch as he was SO awkward at first lol.

He loved to rub against my legs.

Then he would look at me as if to say

“is this right?” ð¤

Pilot really showed his sweet side the day before he left us.

He would have been a gentle companion cat if circumstances had been different.

But instead, I gave him what I could.

I brushed his coat and kept him comfortable and listened as he told me that he had lived a long life and was tired now.

And ready to sleep.

Farewell boys. ð

I’m sorry we didn’t meet you sooner.

But know that we respected and loved you, both as ferals and friendlies. ð§¡ð§¡

And that we will keep trying to help your family, who are still out there in the bush.

Waiting for their own rescue stories to begin.

#ThisIsRescue and #WeNeedHelp

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A tribute to Pilot and Basil ð§¡