We often publish remembrances about people who have died; tonight, we have one about a cat. An extraordinary cat, as her human companion Dr. Jean Nokes-Ghivizzani explains:
For over a quarter of a century, a 6-pound fluffy calico cat named Luna has graced Falconridge Farm in the Highland Park area of West Seattle.
She was the greeter, the guardian, a rider of horses, and put the rodents on notice. She was one of a litter of kittens abandoned in South Park and brought to Falconridge as a young kitten, arriving mid-April 1994 on the full moon.
Luna became a celebrity and was a feature on the International Discovery Channel, appeared in the Seattle Times, the West Seattle Blog, and KING-TV. Because Luna was an amputee, she had a fan club of other amputees for whom she was an inspiration.
Just before submitting her Great Animal Videos TV audition tape, Luna came into the barn dragging her hind leg, which had a compound fracture, and after 2 surgeries, it was finally removed. Prior to that time, Luna had spent about 16 hours each day on a horse.
She slept in the middle of their backs at night, curled up in their hay where the horses gently nibbled around her, rode out to the pastures on her equine friends, jumped on passing horses and rode double behind the surprised riders.
Luna was practicing sitting on a trotting horse for TV shortly before her accident. What had occurred was not clear but what was clear was that Luna was not going to be held back. 2 days after returning to Falconridge after her amputation, she was up on top of the stall dividers, and yes, back on a horse. Her balance was off a bit and she would go backward, but one of her Falconridge friends took her to her own chiropractor. After a few weeks of adjustments, Luna was much improved and resumed riding, although she preferred her mounts to be walking or dozing.
On September 16th, 2019, her solitary hind leg gave out. She went home with her human Mom and after a night in her cozy bed with care, catnip, and her favorite toys, she made it clear she could not go on. She is mourned, missed, and celebrated simultaneously. Luna is a legend and now has joined the dynasty of distinguished Falconridge barn cats, all of whom lived through their mid-twenties. She left no trainee.
We asked Dr. Nokes-Ghivizzani about Falconridge Farm’s status, since you might recall that it was for sale for a while two years ago. She replied, “Falconridge is thriving. The facility is being used (not leased) exclusively by a horse rescue and all is well, as my late husband used to say. A small part of a feature-length film will be shot there this year.”
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