Kaira Moody

Mercedes Moody

August 12, 2025

Kaira passed away on November 1st, 2024

I knew I wanted to work with animals, and that I had an immense love for cats in particular, since I was three years old. My family preferred dogs, so whenever we were in a place we could have animals, we had dogs. I had been waiting a very long time to be able to get a cat. When I moved out on my own, my first thought was, “I better start looking for a cat.” I was working at a vet hospital at this point and figured I would leave it up to fate to bring me a cat. Kaira was brought into my life in a trap for a Trap Neuter Release program. Kaira was not even a little scared or nervous that day. When I placed her into a kennel, she curled right up in the middle and fell asleep without a care in the world. I fell in love with her instantly.

Kaira was a “compromise”. Chad wanted a black male cat, and I wanted a white female cat. So we “compromised” and got a mostly white female cat. We laugh about it a lot now because she will always be the best cat we could’ve asked for, regardless of her color or gender.

Kaira was such a bright spot in the little apartment. She was always SO talkative, you could have full conversations with her. She learned early on to “flop” on her side as opposed to gently lowering herself like normal cats. This resulted in times when she was upset she would throw herself onto the floor with a THUD and huff loudly. She was extremely playful and needed a lot of play time to be happy. She learned how her toys worked and learned how to predict the movements of wands and any other toys very quickly, so it was difficult to keep her entertained for long! She had such a huge personality that nobody else got to see.

Kaira loved to shove her face in my hair when I was reclined on the couch or laying in bed. She would curl right up against my head and purr so loudly. Kaira wasn’t a very cuddly cat normally, so when she curled up in my hair it was always special.

As she got older, Chad and I were the only people in the world she didn't dislike despite how carefree she was when she was a kitten. Kaira was the only cat I’ve ever met that was a two person cat. She would hang out in the same room with Chad or I if one of us were gone, but she would mostly nap and wouldn’t meow much. When both of us were home were the only times she was outgoing, loud, and playful. We had a friend that would come over every other weekend for years, and she never warmed up to him or let him pet her.

One of my favorite memories of her is when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I was very sleepy after taking the pain meds and was curling up on the couch for a nap. All of a sudden a loud crash happens behind me and I turn around to see that Kaira had knocked something off the kitchen table (where she knew she wasn’t allowed to be). She immediately ran over to me, jumped on my chest, and shoved her face in my hair and started purring. She knew there was no way I would scold her when she was acting so cute!

Kaira taught me so much about kidney disease, feline care, advocating for our feline patients, and about being the best vet tech that I can be. She fought so hard and lived so much longer than she should have, and I’m so grateful for the time I had with such a special cat. Kaira was 11 years old when she passed, and I still miss her every single day.

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