Floy Morway, the cat lady of Concord, died on Friday of last week at the age of 92.

I met Floy Morway in the late 1970’s when she was living in Littleton, MA with her 70 odd cats.  I had wanted to adopt a cat and someone pointed me in her direction.  It was clear that she was a force and that she was also in need of help.  So I began to come up and help her clean litter pans, her house and de-web her basement which was festooned with cobwebs and cat fur.

One cat led to another and then another and another and by the time Pam and I met we both had about 10 cats.  We figured that before we moved in together, we should let our cat population diminish somewhat.  A few fewer cats later, we did combine households – an extravagant and foolish proposition.  The cats found their balance, as did we and our relationship with Floy continued well into the 1990’s when Pam and I left the mainland for Martha’s Vineyard, about 10 cats and two dogs in tow.  One of those cats was Balboa, a snaggle-toothed, double-pawed force of nature and our last rescue from Floy.  Boa had been found, jaw broken and badly injured in Somerville and somehow found his way to her home and ultimately to us.

Just a few months ago, I stumbled across Floy’s book – tales of her rescue of literally thousands of animals.  I wrote to her son and heard back from one of her devoted friends.  A visit to Floy in her nursing home in Cambridge was arranged.  Floy was nearly blind and suffered from some dementia, but was clearly still Floy – a beautiful woman even at 92, her humor intact.  I am sure that she did not really remember me, but it was profoundly important for me to see her.  Her friends were kind enough to call me when she passed.

Floy’s book is a wonderful one.  It is particularly delicious for me because I remember her telling me her stories and even accompanied her on some of her cat and dog snatching expeditions.  Floy was never one to wait for things to sort themselves out.  She would intervene.  It was always about the animals and her clear and bright sense of what is right and what is indefensible.

Thank you Floy.  Blessings.