Not more than 5 minutes after the loveliness of this morning’s dawn, the bright lights turned off and a blanket of grey wetness unravelled.
So wet, that the cats decided to cancel their morning walk.
Toby put on a brave face and quick-marched to the garage, but returned hastily and found himself a warm dry perch for a snooze.
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It is not unusual for Toby to sleep on my bed and I have seen him lie down close to Blackie, but I have never before seen her curl up close to him.
Which is entirely different!
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Yesterday Willow did the same thing.
Cats are creatures of habit, so when something changes we look for reasons, but you can drive yourself crazy trying to work it out.
Are the girls keeping vigil for Toby?
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Toby spends most of the day with me and I keep a sort of vigil myself, watching periodically to see if he is still breathing.
It has been two years since Toby’s first journey to the edge and he has been there twice since.
Last time it was over a holiday weekend. I was convinced the following Tuesday we would help him finally, to cross over that edge.
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But Toby has his own time schedule.
He seems confused that his legs don’t work quite right but he is almost always the first one out the door in the morning and he is always hungry, for kibble or treats, please.
When that time comes, I hope he does just stop breathing.
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Willow is unlikely to be keeping vigil. She lies on my bed quite often:
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It’s more likely she is staking a claim.
“This all mine!”
For a long time she would not sit anywhere near another cat and Lucy loved to appropriate whatever bed or blanket Willow was keen on.
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Even before Lucy went blind, I think these games had lost their appeal.
After 5 years of these cats sharing quarters, maybe they all feel secure enough at last.
Lucy’s bed is adjacent to mine at night now and Willow is not bothered.
“Anything to stop her wailing!”
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Patches likes to rest her chin, preferably over someone’s arm but if none is available, the edge of a box will do well enough.
She sits on my bed only if I am in it, which Willow would once have taken issue with, but no longer does.
Patches remains reading with me for an hour before going off downstairs for the night, with Grant’s 4 other fans.
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Patches and her sister Sophia used to have a cuddle-club. They could always be found curled up with Bob and Bu, Moma and Baby Girl as well if there was room, but all of those dear friends are long gone.
When we moved here, Patches discovered that she liked to wander about but Sophia was too scared to venture beyond her safe place.
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Lily keeps Sophia company now.
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Creatures of habit, when it suits them would be more accurate.
But we can count of Tinkerbelle being totally consistent.
She sat the other day on a chair just behind me, so I turned and took her picture.
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Her eyes narrowed.
“Did I say you could?”
She asked in a low growl.
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She recently invented a new sort of vomit to add to the list of:
Projectile
Spluttering
Dribbling (down the side of what was once a nice piece of furniture).
Now we have circular vomit.
To efficiently cover an entire rug all in one satisfying, prolonged hurl.
Cleaning up vomit is just one of our daily pre-breakfast activities.
Thank you, Carolyn, for your stanning pictures of the sky! And for your eloquent thoughts on cat’s
personalities. I share your wishful thought about a peaceful death, I too would love just stop breathing!
Joanna
Thank you, Carolyn, for your stunning pictures of sky! And your thoughts on workings of the cats’
personalities. All your photos are splendid!
Joanna
Pussycat politics is so complicated!
Indeed!
I always look forward to reading your posts — especially because I know the cats are loved and well cared for. I too wish Toby a peaceful passing at home.
Gladys
Well, with such a nice soft blanket I would also like to lie on your bed often 😉. Beautiful close up photo of Tinkerbelle … or actually I should say, beautiful photos of everyone. Toby looks so content – it’s a picture you always want to remember when one day he’s not there anymore.
Toby reminds me of Ollie. Good days/bad days, me checking he is okay when he is only sleeping. They are both hanging on until they know deep down it is time.
Best wishes, Pete.