goodnight Mama Cat

I came out to the barn this morning and found Mama Cat lying face down sprawled on the floor - I thought she was dead.  She was not, but was barely alive, and as I picked her up I found a large, deep gash in her neck and throat.  I moved her to a comfortable place and she died a few hours later.  Something must have attacked her during the night, my guess is an owl, as the wound was clean and deep, not a bite wound.  There was no sign of a struggle in the barn, no blood, nothing knocked over.  I imagine she was walking around the grounds last night and she was able to get away from whatever attacked her and make it back to the barn. A friend live-trapped Mama Cat and her kitten Mali in 2012 (original blog post here) Mali disappeared a day after we met her, but Mama Cat grew into a sweet, affectionate cat who loved being petted and would follow me all over the farm grounds.  I will miss her greeting me in the barn in the mornings and will always wonder what killed her last night.