With great regret and much sorrow, we announce that on September 24, 2000, our cat mascot, Poppy, was struck by a car and killed.
It was one day in August 1999 that we noticed an orange tabby cat, six or seven months old, roaming in The Field at MEMBG. This tabby was napping in our raised beds, and we figured that it was capturing birds or mice to eat when it was hungry.
Now, we have had many other stray and feral cats pass through the botanical garden, but there was something special about this one. The young cat's eyes were friendly, and it seemed approachable, but we couldn't touch it yet. Staff members started putting out food and water, and, as most stray cats will do, it ate heartily but cautiously. Gradually we approached and learned that it was a female. Occasionally we were able to touch her. Our goal was to tame her, take her to the vet for shots and spaying, and find her a good home. From The Field we captured her one Friday evening and took her straight to the vet in a carrier.
During the next four days that little tabby spent at the vet, she tested positive for feline leukemia. She didn't necessarily have the disease; she might be only a carrier. She seemed very healthy, but we learned that she could not be allowed near other cats, and she had to be kept inside at night. So back she came to MEMBG, to a new penthouse in the lathhouse that the staff built for her on our own time from spare wood and chicken wire. At that point, we administered a 30-day herbal treatment program, which has cured other cats of feline leukemia. Unfortunately, when she was retested after 30 days, there was no change in the results. You probably have guessed by now that the staff had grown very fond of the cat, and we decided to keep her at the garden.
Her penthouse was spectacular by feline standards. It had a separate area for food and water and another twosections for sleeping areas, with planks for getting from one level to another. The upper berth contained a very soft pillow with two blankets, and the lower one, at ground level, was her carrier, door always open, equipped with a comfy quilt and blanket.
As everyone has gotten to know Poppy--we named her that because she was orange and a California native--we all discovered that she was a remarkable cat. She shared the lathhouse with mascot BeeGee (our macaw); the staff, volunteers, and visitors just loved to give her pets and hugs when they found her. One of our volunteer gardener even sang to Poppy when washing the planting pots! When I gave volunteer gardeners an orientation tour, Poppy followed me through the garden as would a dog. I could call her name and she came scampering to catch up. And she loved to come into the garden with us when we do weeding.
However, Poppy behaved like a cat also. When she captured small mice, she wanted to play with them, picking them up, dropping them, and then chasing them again. I rescued them unharmed and released them back into the garden. She loved to play with lizards, too--the same game. And squirrels...she chased them over the lathhouse roof, inside the lathhouse, and out by the office.
Poppy was a wonderful friend and mascot, and we miss her very much.
JOAN MUENCH, MEMBG Nursery Technician