Sunday is determined to be miserable.
And colourless.
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Except for the flash of red-winged blackbirds and the bright orange beaks of starlings in a hedge.
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And some very damp bushes.
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“I’m fed-up. How much longer are we going to have to hang around like this?”
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How often does one commit to a particular chore, expecting it to be problematic, only to accomplish it in record time with no fuss at all?
Moments to relish!
After breakfast, we did a little furniture moving.
Not we of course. I watched, hoping for the best.
Best it was!
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With only 7 cats, we’ve been able to slightly reduce the muddle.
Hard to believe I was once a neat freak.
It’s amazing what accommodating multiple cats can do to one’s standards.
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“Are you saying that’s a bad thing?”
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“Not at all, my little love.”
“I wouldn’t change a thing.”
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Some cats have slightly annoying habits.
How is one to wash dishes with a cat in the sink?
Make her move?
No, no! Cats prefer running water.
So I wait.
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What’s the rush?
One thing any cat can teach you is how to relax.
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After Lucy died, Lily drifted back to me.
In Washington, she was my cat, part of my gang, but when we moved she separated herself and moved into Grant’s orbit.
It wasn’t something to be upset about. Cats do what they must.
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She was still perfectly friendly to me, just not around me as much and she never slept on my bed anymore.
After Lucy died, Lily sometimes came to poke me for attention, the way she used to, wanting to climb onto my chair.
Then Penny and Toby died and suddenly Lily was beside me often, asking to be petted and she slept on my bed again, although she is a true diplomat, sharing her time between Grant and I.
Lily has also resumed a bad habit.
On my desk I have blank paper where I scrawl notes and doodle while I’m on the phone. Lily loves to lick ink which I’d really rather she didn’t.
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Decades ago, my friend Tim gave me this photograph of the Pushkar camel festival, printed on photo-board. It hung above my roll top desk. Kina used to leap up to sit there licking it.
Not good for the photograph but less good, I thought for a pussycat, although Kina enjoyed a long life with the person of his choice.
Lily liked licking photographs too, but now they are conveniently all digital.
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In my experience, animals usually avoid anything that is not good for them although I avoid having plants to tempt them.
The exception was an African violet I once had which was beautiful.
But then Kina the destroyer arrived.
Returning from lunch just now, I found my chair occupied. So should I move the cat or move the chair?
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Moving Muffin’s aside, I dragged another chair to sit awkwardly beside her, but before long she crawled onto my lap and began tapping my hand.
Does she mean to prevent me typing?
Is she critiquing what I write?
Perhaps she wishes to tell her own tale.
Whatever it was, she grew bored and departed, probably to take her siesta in the re-configured living room.
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Blackie is a rare low-maintenance cat. She makes no loud demands and has no bad habits.
For a long time after she “came in”, she wanted to sleep right in my face which I was not keen on.
Years ago, I once got a cat hair in my eye which blew up like a golf ball. It was rather alarming but only temporary.
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Twice I had a cat land on my face.
The first time it was 20+ pound Cisco, freaked out by some noise early in the morning. He jumped from the windowsill behind my bed, landing on my face and then pushing off to continue his flight.
At the time I was still working in an airport, so I did what I could with make-up and carried on.
The scar is still there but barely visible. I have other scars donated by other cats. Precious souvenirs.
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These days, Blackie is content to cuddle beside me and she usually doesn’t stay long, preferring the warm radiator that doesn’t toss and turn.
Blackie was an endearing stray that came to encourage me in my Washington garden.
When the weather got nasty, how could I leave her outside? I left the door ajar and she tiptoed in. Her ear was docked, so we knew she had been spayed and when that is done, the TNR people test for feline leukaemia.
Positive cats are put to sleep.
So we were more than a little dismayed when we took Blackie to the vet, to learn that she was in fact positive.
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In a multiple cat household, this was frightening.
All previous experience had been that Felv cats must be kept apart from others which was really not going to be possible with Blackie.
Our cats are all vaccinated regularly for Felv and our vet did not try to influence our decision.
In fact although Blackie’s test was positive, it was only slightly positive. She has always been healthy and of course we watch her closely.
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There are different kinds of feline leukaemia.
My little tortie Annie was diagnosed with a form that is not contagious and within a year she was gone.
So few of the animals I have known or cared for have died of old age. Kidney disease has been the most frequent killer followed by cancer.
But the hardest loss was Simon who we took for tooth-cleaning. He reacted badly to the anaesthesia and a day later he had a stroke.
Bad teeth can lead to serious problems in cats, but after Simon’s death we thought long and hard about such treatments.
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Ever since our most recent losses, I can’t seem to stop wondering “who’s next?” a pointless form of torture.
You can drive yourself crazy worrying about possibilities that may never occur.
So mostly, I don’t.
It’s inevitable to wonder “Who’s next?” Human deaths seem to come in waves too, or maybe it just seems that way!
I can only laugh at your cats habits. And each of them is so unique. You’re right, one might wonder which cat is going to leave you next … but it’s not going to benefit you. My mother always say: What should be will be and we can’t change a thing about it. Love all the photos of your beauties.
I had never heard of cats licking ink, or photos. I wonder why they do that? We collected Ollie’s ashes in their casket this afternoon. Lots of sadness, and many tears from Julie.
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes, I was thinking about you. It is indeed very sad. Please tell Julie how sorry I am.