Our dear young feline friend and companion, Mystick Quickpaw Followcat Shields, has suddenly left the Earth plane. He was born on April 8, 2006, and was killed by a car in the wee hours of Friday, October 2, 2009. Perhaps he’s now frolicking with Huzzah in the green fields of the Summerlands.

Mystick was a majestic and elegant tuxedo cat who was the guardian of Whippoorwill Lane. He was the king of the barn, and adopted Aunt Peg into his immediate family. He liked to follow us when we went for walks in the woods. Mystick was an accomplished hunter, and kept the barn and grounds (mostly) free of rodents.

When Mystick came home from one of his many adventures, he always smelled really good – like pine or woodsmoke or flowers, or even chocolate chip cookies. He loved catnip, and playing with his canine friend Star. When he came in, he’d race us up the stairs to get his dinner. He had a beautiful long black tail, and expansive white whiskers. Mystick liked to have the area around his whiskers scratched, but he would let you know when he was done being petted. There are so many things I love about sweet Mystick, but the suddenness of his departure has left me at a loss for words. Instead, I’ll let these pictures speak for me.