I’ll ask for grace as this column is being written with no notes, outline or even a topic on my mind.

Sadly ironic, I just wrote my last column all about how I write columns with what’s on my mind the night before, morning of deadline. Also noted how my thinking would now change as my daughters both live on the other side of the mountains, and they aren’t always top of mind after God. Oh, they are still up there, but as life for empty-nester me and my work, I just look at things differently.

You may have noticed in that column I also mentioned (although not by name) another member of my family who was still hanging around my humble abode, my cat.

For the record, her name was Luna. And more sadly for the record and the reason I write this is Luna passed this morning, literally in my arms as she took her last breath

My little rescue cat, who was purring next to me in bed last night in our before-the-lights-are-turned-off ritual, was gone before the sun came up the next day. So yes, this column is gonna be all about Luna. And while deadline looms along with a few straggling ads and this column is due, Luna takes top spot.

This morning, about 5 a.m. Luna came running into my room. I woke from sleeping because as a dad (yes, I was Luna’s daddy) you notice when one of your loved ones approaches your room differently. With my girls, I got to the point where I’d stay asleep if they were just coming in to tell me something versus snapping awake when I could “sense” something was wrong. With fur baby Luna, it was something different in her gait this morning.

Normally she was a bat-out-of-hell, full-blast running to jump on her perch by the window where she slept away most days and nights, just to look out over her Queendom. Every so often those full speed charges came with growls if she detected an invader in our back yard. Those always startled me awake where another ritual took place. The one of me getting out of bed and turning on the back-porch light only to see some darned cat staring at me. Until I grabbed a rock and pelted the fence to send the trespasser scattering.

But not last night. Last night, Luna slipped under the bed and softly meowed, what I could only describe as a sad moan. I tried calling to her to come out (which rarely, if ever, worked before unless she was hungry or I had been gone a few days), and she slowly appeared. Then, with all the strength she had left, she struggled, scratching and clawing her way up to her throne. Once there I could see something was stuck in Luna’s mouth.

Pardon if this is gross, but anyone who’s ever owned a long-haired cat knows what this usually is, a furball being exited. But this time it was different. My baby was bleeding and struggling mightily. As I reached to try to get to whatever it was, Luna did what she’s always done since being abandoned in a ditch when only a few weeks old. She fought. I have scratches and teeth marks for my efforts. Luna fell to the floor and walked a few steps and collapsed motionless and all I could do was pet her as she took her few last breaths. Whatever was hindering her breathing had already won.

I couldn’t help my baby. It sucked. It hurts. Now the house is truly empty. But while Luna was here, she sure helped fill it.

We adopted Luna from Roice Hurst around Father’s Day in 2019. It was the compromise from my kiddos insisting I get a dog. A rare compromise I won with my girls. Evin found Luna from a picture on Roice’s website, and when Maya and I went to the shelter, out of all the black cats they had (and they were legion), Luna was the one who jumped on Maya’s leg to be held. There was no question who was coming home with us.

Luna was a sweet kitten when we finally got her home. She had to make weight at Roice Hurst before they’d release her. Abandoned kitties tend to be malnourished. But once home, she loved to climb all over the closest human. She even slept at night on my pillow above my head for several months.

As time went by, her “street” attitude came back to a degree. She wasn’t a lap-sitter like our previous kitties, but she’d always sit somewhere nearby in the room the family was occupying. Over the past year she developed a habit of jumping onto my bed each morning and evening for some loving, along with an occasional lap sitting.

Luna was never a problem and had only a few visits to the veterinarian over the years, usually for a much-needed haircut. And she was for all appearances recovering from this last visit. So, what occurred this morning was quite the shock.

And I don’t want to know what happened beyond what I experienced. I only want to put her to rest properly.

Life with Luna, however short, was indeed a blessing.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of The Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com