11/24/2024
UPDATE: We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for Stoney. Between both in person donations and online, we have covered the entirety of his bill. Thank you all for your extreme generosity!
This is a post that we have never wanted to make. This morning, our beloved barn cat, Stoney, was found with a catastrophic leg injury. He was rushed to the emergency vet, where he unfortunately made a turn for the worse and the decision was made to let him go peacefully.
Those who have met Stoney know that he is so much more to us than just a barn cat. We acquired Stoney upwards of 3 years ago through the diligent work of an animal control officer who worked to place at-risk cats in barn homes. Stoney was found at a south Jersey shelter on death row, scheduled for euthanasia due to showings of aggression and behavioral issues that would make him unadoptable as a house cat. Stony, however, proved to be anything but; it is hard for us to imagine him as something other than the loving, personable cat we had come to know so well.
Stony was a very talkative cat. He was the first to greet us in the morning with a warm meow. If you were late for breakfast or dinner, boy, did he make sure you knew it. If you were to call his name, he always made it a point to respond with an assertive mew. He loved to help out with barn chores, passionately following our self-care boarders up and down our (very long) driveway to turn horses in and out. Some of his favorite pastimes included claiming the nearest lap for scratches or brushing (making sure to needle you in the process) and stealing meat from your lunch if you left it unattended for even a second too long. He was not the world’s greatest mouser (sometimes being known to bring mice from the field IN to the barn) but he made up for it tenfold with his affectionate nature and giant personality. Stony will be missed beyond measure and has left quite the cat-shaped hole in all of our hearts.
The cost of veterinary attention today was significantly beyond anything we had planned for. As Stoney was owned and loved by us all, historically, we as a barn community have contributed to his routine veterinary care costs. If you would like to donate toward’s Stoney’s medical bills for this final time, any bit is greatly appreciated as we lay him to rest. The link to do so is posted below. Thank you. (Goal was met and the link has been removed ❤️).
