Lost My Feral Friend Leo Yesterday

The photo at the bottom is of my feral pal Leo, who I knew when I lived outside. It was taken this fall, so it captures him in old age. In his prime, he was an amazing sight -- all blazing red coat and mane! You just don't see a lot of cats like that, let alone in an alley in Washington, DC.
In November of 2008, just after I moved indoors, our human companions took Leo to get neutered and vaccinated. Leo had always been quite a fighter, though he and I always got along. Unlike me, Leo clearly wasn't going to be happy living inside with people; after his neutering, he was returned to the alley where we'd all lived. That's called Trap/Neuter/Return, and it's done a lot here in Washington, DC. For almost 3 years, Leo has continued to live in our alley, and our human companions fed him every day. But by the end of this past summer, Leo's health began to fail visibly. He'd always kept his coat looking splendid. By August, however, Leo was scruffy and thin, and looked worse by the week. About a week ago, our human companions noticed he was unsteady on his feet. There was no sign of him on Monday or Tuesday, which is unheard of -- Leo loved to eat! Then yesterday he reappeared in the alley for breakfast. As he ate -- his appetite stayed strong -- they noticed a serious wound on his leg. Leo was so weak that they had no trouble getting him into the cat carrier, and they took him to the vet. Before then, it had been impossible to catch him without a trap! The medical news was the worst -- not only was his leg injury serious, but the vet could feel tumors in Leo's abdomen. The vet said Leo was in pain and there was no chance he'd recover from his injury. So our human companions made the hard choice to have him euthanized. They spent a some time with him in the vet's office to say goodbye, and let him go. I was very sad to hear that mighty Leo the Lion Cat is gone, but I know very bad things can happen to a dying cat alone outside. Reluctantly, I've concluded they made the right decision for Leo, and I hope they do as well by me if the time comes to face that decision. Rest in peace, friend.