Loyal Cat Stays At Owner's Bedside Through Sickness And Grieves After She Passed On

It wasn't until Sarah became very ill that the family realized just how close the two had become

Stephanie

• Published in Animals
• March 30, 2019

It's fair to say that cats aren't necessarily known for their loyalty. We tend to associate dogs with loyalty more so than cats. But one special little cat named Trooper may have just changed that.

Trooper was found by Alexis Hackney and her family back in 2014 whilst they were flipping a house. They went to investigate after hearing meowing coming from the basement. “She was inside the wall, and my mom and sister had to get a sledgehammer, and bust out the sheet-rock and get her,” Alexis said. “She was about 2 weeks old. Her eyes were barely open.”

The family fell in love with Trooper and decided to take her home with them, where she formed an extra special bond with their 96-year-old grandmother, Sarah, who lived with them.

It wasn't until Sarah became very ill that the family realized just how close the two had become. Trooper stayed by Sarah's side most of the time, sleeping with her and bringing her gifts from around the house.

When Sarah sadly passed away, Trooper was inconsolable. She stopped eating and the usually non-vocal cat began walking around the house crying all the time.

Trooper is doing a lot better these days, but she still misses Sarah very much and often still brings gifts to Sarah's old room.

“She was about 2 weeks old. Her eyes were barely open.”

“My grandmother would bottle-feed her, and she’d sit there and talk to her, and tell her how cute and sweet she is,” Hackney said.

“She was never the kind to pick up toys and move them around the house or anything, but when my grandma couldn’t move around as much anymore, she would bring stuff to her — whatever she’d find on the floor, like socks or a straw.”

“When my grandmother started getting to the point where she couldn’t communicate anymore, I think that having Trooper there was definitely calming for her.”

“Trooper was always by her side — always there — and she would accidentally hit her or squeeze her too hard, and Trooper would never fight back."

“You can tell that she definitely misses Grandma.”

The items that Trooper leaves in Whaley's bedroom to this day

Watch Sarah and Trooper's touching story here.

Stephanie