SKY GRAY COMES HOME

SKY GRAY COMES HOME [APRIL 28 2008] HUNTER GRAY / HUNTER BEAR -- WITH UPDATES, PHOTOS, COMMENTS

NOVEMBER 22 2008: SKY GRAY: TAKING ON THE CLOUDY TRAIL [HUNTER GRAY / HUNTER BEAR] WIDELY POSTED

Published by Edward Pickersgill in these two web journals:

http://www.mytown.ca/outsiders/

And Edward also writes: Well mention to Sky that there will be many more enjoying
and affected by the magic.... I post the column teasers now
also in that frenetic Facebook whirled where I now have 726
and counting "facebook friends". I suspect most of them will
enjoy the adventure.

When Cloudy Gray died suddenly in late September 2006, there was a great

emptiness at our home, a profound loneliness, a very depthy sadness. We

settled in to await her Return. [Yes, indeed, we believe in That.] In the meantime,

little Wooly Cat, advanced in years, took up and carried things as best she could
until she, too, passed on in late March 2008.

http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm

http://hunterbear.org/sky_gray_comes_home.htm

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The other night, I was awakened by a small but jarring crash in my room.
Arising immediately, I was not surprised to note, in the dim of our night-light,
that Sky Gray had pulled and shaken several things from the lower shelves of

my major office bookshelf -- in her by now well established goal of reaching its

very top, crammed with many items of interest. Her sense of logical strategic

progression is, frankly, splendid and she pursues all of her goals in a systematic

step by step fashion -- seeking to remove one obstacle after another.

In this instance, as in many others around the house, Eldri and I
amiably bolstered The Defenses yet again -- consistently petting our Good
Kitty. And I finally went back to sleep, soon joined as always by the
very closely cuddling Sky. Several high up dimensions in our living room
bookcases --large and heavy notebooks full of personal papers and related things

-- are "protected" by crushed-up newspapers in grocery bags, more to gently

discourage and safeguard her than the encased archival contents.

We've often said, now for almost half a century, that we'd much, much rather
have our quite intelligent, if occasionally a bit problematic, offspring and emergent
grandchildren -- than docile and pliant creatures. And that, of course, also holds

quite true for our Furry Friends.

Sky, from the first moment of our encounter at the local animal shelter,
became an extremely special personage. This great and signal development
was super stimulated by an "out of the blue" and overwhelming feeling by me on a
Thursday at the end of last April -- a powerful awareness that our great
late Cloudy was, for whatever reason, unable to reach us in her new incarnation.

And that great burst of light was followed less than three days later by the equally

powerful feeling on my part that we should get to the animal shelter first thing

the following morning, Monday.

And we did just that -- well before it opened for business.

And there, of course, we encountered the litter of four playing kittens that
had been deposited by their owner -- on that just past Thursday when they were
exactly two months old. Immediately, Sky saw me, stopped and looked intently for a
moment, then separated herself from her three still-playful littermates, and
began to frenetically climb the bars on the cage, again and again, outstretching one paw.

And so, Sky Gray came home with us. [Her three siblings were all adopted
within two or three days.]

She is now about nine months old, still in the process of all-around growth,
filling out with naturally deliberate speed. Although her overall appearance and
demeanor resemble that of Cloudy -- long body, very powerful legs,
broadening head and comparably spaced conspicuous ears with black pointed
tufts, long whiskers, the beginnings of a winter ruff, and a deep throated purr, there
are some physical differences. Her eyes are, at least at this point, a lighter shade
of green and her fur is considerably shorter. Some of her leg striping is
suggestive of some of Cloudy's -- but only Sky's basically white underside
contains the black spots common to Bobcat heritage.

Her leaps are truly tremendous. Awesome.

And, like Cloudy, while she gets along nicely with all family members:
human; other furrys -- feline and canine and rabbit; and the turtle -- she
is, most definitely, a One Person Cat.

And that, of course, is me.

And that's just how we both like it.

I am only infrequently out of her sight -- though she sometimes does
her afternoon nap in a secluded "cubbyhole." Obviously psychic
like Cloudy, and capable of the very same steady quasi-hypnotic gaze,
she "takes care" of me with the greatest faithfulness and
affection, day and night. We regularly eat breakfast together -- as was the case with
Cloudy -- next to one another at the table. Since Sky has a marked
preference for can-fresh tuna, so now do I.

She is mostly always with me.

Even at my computer -- helping at the key board, seeking to grab
the mouse, and frequently endeavoring to catch the cursor [both on
the monitor screen, and occasionally reaching a paw behind it.]

She has had all of her shots -- and through a glitch at the vet's -- two
rabies shots. She's been spayed -- an occasion comparable for us to the
understandably high tension that always occurs when an offspring is
a'borning.

And, like Cloudy, she has, of course, an obvious Bobcat strain. Cloudy
was half Bobcat, Sky is less so -- probably about one quarter.

A quite respectable blood degree.

On that note, I am always a little surprised at the few people who solemnly
proclaim that Bobcats and Domestics cannot inter-breed and reproduce. I
cast no aspersions on their skeptical motives but their conclusions are
puzzling. Years ago, with respect to Cloudy, I wrote this [now slightly
edited] on a discussion list peopled by those with full-blooded and
mixed-blood feline entities:
_________________________

"This is the first time I've posted on this very interesting List. I'm
Native American, with a life-long background in wilderness settings. . . .

It's always been my understanding that Domestic cats and Bobcats, and
Domestic cats and Lynx, can easily interbreed and I've certainly known the
offspring. . . Usually, this is a night-time relationship with the
participants not inclined to compose and file documents. I'm a little surprised at the
skepticism on this that's emerged.

We have a six and a half year old mix [Cloudy] -- a female from a litter
that developed in Northern Minnesota. I should add that not only are the Bobcat features
striking but so are certain behaviorisms. She's been spotted as
substantially Bobcat -- without our saying a word -- by several experienced
woodsmen.

Her coat is Bobcat -- with Bobcat markings. Her ears are tufted -- and her
feet are quite tufted between her toes. Her head and face are Bobcat, eyes
are green. Her tail is long. Her back legs are unusually long and
powerful -- and she runs in huge leaps and bounds, climbing a tree in
seconds. She's a one-person cat [me] and can get extremely quirky in
temperament around any other people. She is very quick to use her claws.

. . Our vet, who spotted the Bobcat heritage the first time Cloudy was in,
has advised that she be kept leashed while outside and we generally follow
that advice. Bobcats and Housecats mate and reproduce easily -- and Bobcats often come
close to and even into what some people call "civilization" -- thus often
encountering Housecats. Maine "Coon Cats" and "Norwegian Forest Cats" come out of this
kind of mix of House Cats and Wild Cats. Bobcats [or Wildcats] weigh between 15 and 25
pounds.

There are Bobcats [and Mountain Lions as well] very close to our house right
here in Eastern Idaho. Perhaps we'll find Cloudy a relationship and 3/4s
blood offspring. But she will always be with us. In fact, she camps at this
computer whenever I'm here.

Anyway, no question in our mind -- or anyone else's. We don't see anything
unusual."
___________________

Well, very sadly indeed, we never were able to find Cloudy her Bobcat mate -- but we do
have her in full reality yet again. And, one of these days, we shall once more have
our faithful Little Wooly who left us late last March [We shall always be grateful for the many fine

notes of condolence and encouragement in each of these losses -- and for those happy ones welcoming Sky.]

So now a Great Canyon has been traversed -- reaching out from one far and shining rim to the other.

And a Broken Circle is restored.

In the mountains of Eastern Idaho

Nialetch / Onen

Hunter Gray [Hunter Bear]

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'

COMMENTS: [MUCH MORE SKY GRAY MATERIAL LIES BELOW THIS COMMENT SECTION]

STEVE PROCTOR:

Hunter, what an inspirational piece to wake up to this Sunday morning. I will have no second thoughts today, about continuing my pattern of very, very occasional Church attendance, in favor of meeting a client in crisis this AM. With your permission, the spiritual message contained herein, may at some point comfort a grieving parent. I believe as you do, Broken Circles will be restored. Thank you.
Steve

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TIM MCGOWAN:

Hunter,

Enormously de-Lightful ! Just wonderful.

The song that came to me at the close is "May the Circle be unbroken, bye and bye Lord, bye and bye...

Tim

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MARVIN VINING:

I love your writing style, Hunter. Cassia does, too. You have the storyteller's gift.

I'm one of those folks who believes in the Return, too: dog, housecats -- everyone. In many cultures, it's common to say of a newborn child, "Grandfather has returned." In my family, we typically named all our dogs the same name because we sensed they had returned to us.

I did a radio interview tonight and my research on early Christian reincarnation beliefs came up, as it always does.

I haven't really studied it, but I suspect reincarnation is a commonly held Native American belief, yes?

Marvin

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JYRI KOKONNEN:

Hunter,
Good to read about Sky Gray. Just loved the thing about the cursor. Any pictures? . . . .

Jyri

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ALICE M. AZURE:

Hi Hunter,

At the moment I am without the eloquence with which you eulogized Cloudy Gray--but later I hope to write about my little beloved Merry Christmas, who came to me November 28, 2001 and left today. Two weeks ago she started sneezing awfully and stopped eating altogether. We never could coax any more water or food into her--all her favorite smelly stuff. She was from the brambles, ledge and woods of southeastern Connecticut. Our office had a broken cellar window and she must have been trying to get away from some other wild critter and jumped through that glass down into a moldy basement. We wound up taking her home--and she became more like a dog, sometimes. Her favorite spot was the stove top--and she was our black 5 o'clock AM alarm clock--without fail. All day yesterday we kept our fireplace going for her, and she stayed in front there--hardly able to walk anywhere else. The vet said it was most likely cancer. I have always had my cats a long time--Paha Sapa at 18 1/2 years. We had Merry Christmas for only 7. I miss her layouts on the computer keyboard--a sure signal that she wanted more attention. She purred for us right up to the end.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your happiness with your new cat. I thought I had saved your recent email about how you got her at the shelter--but evidently I lost it. Maybe we will be lucky enough to be mightily moved--or called--to the animal shelter to find another reincarnation of our wonderful cat--in the tradition of Groucho--that tuxedo cat you and Eldri gave us a long time ago.

Alice M. Azure
Maryville, IL 62062

Response By Hunter:

We are all extremely sorry, Alice, to hear of the passing of Merry Christmas. Only people who incorporate Furry Friends into the family in the fullest sense -- well beyond the status of simple "pets" -- can even sense the poignancy when one of them passes on.

We do understand.

You may have to wait awhile -- we waited for about a year and a half before the Feeling suddenly enveloped me -- and a few days later Sky was home. It'll happen, some way, some how -- just as Merry Christmas suddenly appeared.

Each day after her passing, I spent a minute or two talking to Cloudy. Now we await our good little Wooly.

Sky's story to date: http://hunterbear.org/sky_gray_comes_home.htm

Our best thoughts and powerful prayers to all of you -- including Merry Christmas.

All best,

Hunter

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JULY 22 2008:

Sky runs and jumps in great leaps and bounds -- as did Cloudy. And she has, more than any feline we've ever known, the most frequent, loud and compelling cry/yowl -- especially when there is something she desires. [And, of course, she always gets Whatever, forthwith.]

MAY 28 2008:

We were pretty certain of this when Sky came -- and now, after a month with her, we definitely are: We have another Na´shdo´i´ba´i´ [Navajo for Bobcat.] Sky is most obviously substantially Bobcat.

We'd love Sky, no matter who or what she is. From the moment of our very strange connection, it's quite clear that I am definitely her person and rarely out of her sight -- but she gets along very well with every family member here, whether Human or Furry. She's obviously extremely intelligent, intuitive to the point of being psychic, extremely strong and active. She's grown considerably in less than a month. Taking no chances on anything, we keep her indoors, of course, and she's already been to our vet for additional shots and checkup. Aside from one slightly sensitive eye area -- most likely because of the considerable dust around these parts and even within our 'way up high home and for which the vet has given us salve -- she's in top-flight physical condition.

She looks and acts very much like Cloudy. She does have a thick, shorter coat. She can often wave her tail as wildly as did Cloudy. And, like Cloudy, she often seeks out very "hidden" places and high perches -- leaving those, however, if I should momentarily leave her view.

And she consistently takes very good care of me.

Her ears are tall and distinctive, heavily furred therein, and tipped with black tufts. [This latter point is not too easily seen in photos but is conspicuous to anyone viewing her directly and up-close.] Her whiskers are long, her body long and lean, and she has longish and powerful legs. Her paws are proportionately large. Her eyes are green. Her white underside is characterized by a number of dark and rounded spots common to some species of wild felines, including Bobcats.

And when Sky purrs, which is often, it's like Cloudy's: very deep, gravelly.

Bobcat/Domestic Kitty mixes are not especially rare. There are Bobcats aplenty all around here -- as there are in the Red River of the North region [North Dakota and Minnesota], Cloudy's point of origin. Mountain Lions, vastly larger than Bobcats, are plentiful hereabouts, occasionally entering the outlying parts of Pocatello. You can bet the even more numerous Bobcats, not nearly as easily seen, do this far more often and go further into town than Lions. Generally, these wilderness friends wisely travel under cover of darkness.

We always wondered what our great little Cloudy -- who came to us when she was a year or so old -- had been like as a kitten. Now we know.

SKY GRAY [MID-MAY 2008]

APRIL 28 2008:

My bedroom office has now been completely taken over by Sky Gray -- a female kitten exactly two months old. She's sharp, intuitive, active -- and, as I say, domineering. Taking that a step further, it's clear from her behavior that she owns me.

She's also taken over every place in the room that was a favorite of Cloudy's, save one -- and she'll probably be into that one, the closet, before the day's over. She seems especially fond of my cushioned office chair, which was Cloudy's great place.

It's been a long time since Cloudy left us -- in late September, 2006. The void that remained for all of us was, as most know, enormous -- especially for me. A month ago, good plucky little Wooly, who had valiantly taken up Cloudy's support roles re myself, died after a long [but not painful] illness. Like Cloudy, she carried on her work to the very end of her life.

I had decided that, if no little stray came to our door by, say, June, we would go to the city/county animal shelter and see if we could locate someone -- with the understanding that, if a little wanderer later arrived, we would open our door.

And then suddenly, last Thursday, I was enveloped by a powerful feeling -- even as I was watching the political news on the tube. The feeling was, at one level, a great sense of lonliness and loss with respect to Cloudy. And then a deeper level surfaced, transcending everything. I called our family members together and told them, "I have an extremely strong sense that Cloudy is tremendously distressed, distressed because she cannot make it back to us."

I was somber, even brooding uncharacteristically -- until, again suddenly, early Sunday afternoon, I had another powerful feeling. So again I said to our family members, "We have to go to the animal shelter tomorrow morning -- just as soon as it opens."

Four of us, Eldri, Maria, Josie and I went there first thing this morning. [Josie, with a bad cold, had taken the morning off from her social work job.]

And there we found a litter of four very young kittens. Two of them, kind of tabby-like, but with distinctive black markings, drew our attention. Both were females. But only one of those, upon seeing me, climbed frenetically up the wire on the cage door, again and again, her paw outstretched. When I held her, she went wild with joy.

And that's mutual.

You'll have to draw your own conclusions. We've drawn ours. I named her Sky -- Sky Gray -- which isn't, of course, that far from Cloudy Gray.

While we were completing the paperwork, I asked one of the key staffers, "When did this litter come in?"

She thought for a moment, "Thursday," she said. "It was definitely Thursday."

Yours, Hunter Gray [Hunter Bear]

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Lois Chaffee: So there is something to reincarnation. I always suspected it. And I share your pleasure that Cloudy's spirit has found its way back to you. It would give me great joy to find Suzy again, in some body or other. Regards, Lois.

Sheila Michaels: Just to say you should never ignore those signs & feelings. Looks like you got the right cat. May you both enjoy a long life together.

Reber Boult: Kittens from the shelter, or who were otherwise abandoned, have been really fine additions to our family.

David McReynolds: Good news - and I send the report on to my little cat list. Welcome to Sky Gray, we hope for further reports.

Sam Friedman: This is wonderful news! Both our cats came from the local shelter, and are very caring too. Sky Gray sounds like a terrific kitten.

Hunter Gray: Virtually every animal friend we've ever had, cat or dog, has been either a stray or in some way abandoned. We're not a bit critical, of course, of pet stores. Once Maria got a kitty from a Grand Forks pet store who produced a number of litters and who is known in legend as Momma Cat. Her daughter, Wiggle, had at least 12 litters, including at the end, our late Wooly and her still surviving brother, Acoma. Cloudy was a wanderer who made her way resolutely to us. Our dog, Hunter, was a stray who came and ate spilled rabbit food in our then open garage; we got the Australian cattle dog, Homer, via the animal shelter. [That was their name for him so we kept the moniker.] We also have a very venturesome cat, Django, [named for Django Rhinehart, the gypsy musician whose "swing music" so infuriated Hitler -- and concurrently Django Mulholland, one of Joan's sons. ] Django came to us as a kitten [then named Dodger], brought by a young Sioux woman desperate to find a home for him -- since she'd been told by the UND dorm people that she couldn't keep him. We haven't had kittens for give-away for a long time, but that could change. Whenever we have had litters, we've been very careful to whom they went, and have always had a complete returns policy.

My great coyote, Good, was saved from a large litter in the Nebraska sandhills, killed for bounty via the county courthouse.

Maria, I should add, often does volunteer work at the animal shelter.

Good to get the best wishes and/or good thoughts on all of this from all of you. Been a very good day.

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HUNTER GRAY TO DAVID MCREYNOLDS:

You're quite right, David. Looking back from higher ground one can see the rough and tangled uphill turf through which we all have come. But looking ahead, we obviously still need our mountain boots. And, of course, we always will. [On the ages-old struggle for human rights.]

On a more localized and sunny note, a signal void has been well filled here with the arrival of the Kitty. It's been a good while since we have had a kitten in our nest. In keeping us all on our toes, she's making us younger -- and refueling our basic optimism.

I often wish I were a Cat.

And thanks very much for putting the good news on your Cat List. We all need to know from kindred spirits that good things can happen, that -- as we said when Cloudy passed away, "It will all be all right."

Our very best,

Hunter

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DAVID MCREYNOLDS TO HUNTER:

There is nothing in this world quite like a kitten. I am delighted she has come into your life. (And you into hers!).

David

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HUNTER TO DAVID MCREYNOLDS [IN RESPONSE TO PHOTOS OF CATS]

Thanks, David.

Rustie is a great Cat -- and obviously a firm and sparky Socialist!

No one knows better than people like ourselves that relationships with Cats are powerfully intuitive. It doesn't matter a whit whether the Kitty is mixed or pedigreed. If it works for us and our Cats, that's the bottom line.

Sky awakened me at 1 am because she was lonely, After playing with her for a time, I adjourned for some coffee and water. When I returned, she was sound asleep. But, as you note, I'm much awake.

She sounds like your very fine Shaman. You both are quite fortunate and Rustie and the Socialist Party both benefit from their mutual presence.

Take care, amigo. A Cat, of course, is not just a Cat -- the the invisible spirt forces work hard, I believe, to arrange proper match-ups.

All best, H

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HUNTER BEAR: MAY 6 2008:

With our wonderful new addition, Sky, having romped earlier this morning and now returned to slumberland [briefly], I'll see if I can get this off smoothly and with dispatch. She's fascinated by the computer -- or anything I'm doing -- and tries to assist me in anything I take on.

It's worth mentioning that she looks very much like Cloudy in some significant ways: e.g., tallish ears with black tufts. Not as much fur, at least at this point. Some behavioral patterns unique to Cloudy are quite evident to all of us. We'll have photos as soon as we can get Josie's digital properly hooked up to a computer. [Their's recently crashed.] Sky's arrival has been a major, major boost for me -- and for all of us here. . .

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JYRI KOKKONEN:

Dear Hunter,

Good to read about Sky Gray.. and how it was all arranged.

My late mother had a similar experience many years ago in Sweden with Jussi, a dog that joined the household about a week after Oswald her trusty old guard dog was run over by a car. She suddenly just "knew" that she had to go and get the dog from a family that couldn't keep it for reasons of travel abroad. She told us it was a very strong feeling that just cancelled her previously definite decision not to get a new dog.

We're wired for much more than we think we know. No doubt about it.

Any pictures of Sky?

Jyri

PS Saw something new on the weekend at the country place: a mother squirrel carrying its young in her mouth from its nest, or whatever it's called, under our roof to a new nest in the forest. Three of them, one at a time, with the mother following exactly the same route each time. Quite a sight. Even temporarily changed my view of squirrels as pests making themselves cosy in the insulation layer of our roof. I made sure no one was left, and put in some stronger metal netting. The squirrel had chewed and clawed its way through the old one.

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SAM FRIEDMAN;

October is a wonderful month in much of this country. Sounds like a good time to me! [Sycamore Canyon trek]. And, a big plus, you will miss less of Sky's brief kittenhood by waiting.
best
sam

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ROBERT LIVINGSTON:

God bless you Hunter--

I was looking forward to it too-- always good to hear from you,

Stay wise and journey when the time is right.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Livingston
San Francisco

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DALE JACOBSON:

Glad to hear the news about your new family member, Sky,
and hoping you regain strength in all ways soon, Hunter.
Loved your description. Dale

My all good wishes for your newest family member, Hunter!
Sky is a very light-filled name, lovely.

Out of touch, apologies. Taking care of my parents.

Dale

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STEVE PROCTOR:

I'm very happy for you that you found Sky. I've had my eyes peeled for a long while.
Steve

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BARBARA SVEDBERG:

Dear Hunter, Thank you for letting me know about your health. You inspire me
with your courage in keeping the fight up. I was really pleased to read that you
have Sky. My darling Patch keeps me sane. When she is lying against my leg I can feel the energy of the universe. It is good to know such a spirit near you.

So here's looking foreward to a walk in the canyon in the Fall. Barbara Svedberg

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DAVID MCREYNOLDS:

Sounds as if you have a remarkable cat in hand - or she has you in hand. We wait for a picture of her.

David

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ALICE AZURE:

Your email of April 28 about the "new" Sky Gray was wonderful. That previous weekend, we had been up to Geneseo to see Patti and her husband, Dave, and to go to their son Bo's piano recital. On the night-stand in our guest bedroom was a picture of that wonderful cat we got from you and Eldri--Groucho--a tuxedo cat; Patti was holding him in that little picture. He was a special cat. He died the day Patti got married in 1988. Our current cat, Merry Christmas--who found me in southeastern Connecticut, is another little queen. Her specialty is licking plates--and cheese, and she prefers to sleep under the covers on my side of the bed.

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SAM FRIEDMAN: [ 5 / 22 / 08]

Wonderful photo of a very smart looking cat. You better treat Sky right, or I expect all the local cats will show up with picket signs and fancy slogans to meow and hiss at you! And then the lovely mountain air will reek of cat breath, and much woe will be upon the land.

sam
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DAVID MCREYNOLDS:

Sending a copy to my cat list - the web site has the photo of the kitten, with discussion.

Invaluable for cat people.

David

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BARBARA SVEDBERG:

Hunter, Thank you for sending this. She is beautiful and I loved the poem. Barbara

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CYNDI [HYBRID CATS DISCUSSION LIST]:

I’d like to comment on your webpage for Cloudy – I read it completely and ended with tears in my eyes over the loss of such a wonderful companion – I’m so sorry for you and then to lose your other one this year – it hardly seems fair. You wrote a beautiful and very touching tribute to Cloudy. I’m so happy that she has returned to you in the newer form of Sky. We had quite a discussion a while back on the intuitive abilities of our cats – your description of Cloudy and Sky is just another point in it’s confirmation of their psychic abilities.

AND SEE PREVIOUS PAGE FOR CLOUDY GRAY: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'