My MADISON Avenue P*ssy

Many years ago there were a number of cat colonies in my neighborhood. These feral animals serve their purpose. They help control the rodent (and to a lesser extent, reptile) population. On the minus side, they use your backyard as their litter box so you can forget about growing root vegetables because who wants carrots or parsnips that have been saturated with cat urine?
One spring a black female whelped on my front porch. She had a litter of four black cats and one gray male. Cook, my housemate at the time, decided to take in the gray male and the longhaired black one. The mother did try to rescue them from us, but Cook made a point of keeping her outside the house. After a few days, the mother disowned her own. Cook fed them by hand and they became indoor/outdoor pets.
The male was named Grayson because, well, he was gray. He once followed me when I took the dog for a walk (just to see what that was all about). One day the cat took off and simply never returned. Cook refused to have him neutered. He was a true love.
The black longhair was named Madison. I chose the name after the fashionable avenue in New York City. And yes, I called her my Madison Avenue Pussy Cat. I'm uncertain as to what year she was born. It was in April and I guess somewhere around 12 or 13 years ago. In the later years she befriended another feral cat who spent time in my yard. The cat would come into the house and eat Madison's food. This was the year that Madison got fleas.
A few weeks ago I had noticed that Madison was losing weight. And her hair was spotty (from scratching the fleas). It took over a week for me to get an appointment. By then i told the vet that she was not eating or drinking much. He had asked me about her elimination and I told him that she did everything outside. The vet took labs and gave her a flea treatment and charged me > $700 for the trouble. I was expecting him to tell me that she was all and that euthanasia would be appropriate. Instead he sold me hope.
I took her home. She sought shade outside. I brought her in and put her near the food. She licked at the water. That evening she dragged herself from the bathroom into the living room. She struggled to breathe. It was 2::00 am and there was no one to call. Besides, I was going on a week trip for work. A driver would be by to pick me up at 2:30. I brushed her and spoke to her gently. She licked my hand with what little strength she had.
At 2:30 I had left her. My tenant sent me a text message before 3;00 that Madison had died.
I instructed him to bury her quickly on the property. You can't leave her exposed or she would become scavenged. I already miss her.
I never wanted her because I have allergies to cats. Every time I would be with her i would have to do thorough handwashing. Her hair as in the carpet, on my sheets, on my clothes. She would knead my stomach as if it were dough and sometimes her nails would jab into me. She posed for the camera during ZOOM meetings.
On the bright side I will now be able to keep the door shut year round since there need not be concern about free access between the indoor food and the outdoor world for the feline member of the house.
I haven't lived without an animal in the house in over 22 years. it will be an adjustment.

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I did get a phone call lab report from the veterinarian. He expressed sympathy for my loss. Madison had a low red blood cell and high white blood cell count. The low red cells would deprive her of oxygen and nutrition. The white cells would indicate infection. And she had fleas which could have been carrying disease.
She is buried on the property where she was born. She was a love and a joy. She will be missed and she will not be replaced.