The Grief of a Cat

How long does a cat grieve over the loss of a soulmate? A week? A month? Longer? Oliver and Bertie were constant companions for more than fourteen years. Oliver is now 14½ years old. His soulmate Bertie died 11 days ago. Oliver seems - lost. He still wanders the house and garden - alone. He looks for Bertie. His mood has changed. His demeanour is sorrowful. His eyes are sad. Mood changes - listless. How do you mend the broken heart of a beloved cat? It breaks my heart to see Oliver like this.

I miss Bertie so much, Oliver, as you do. I wish I could bring him back. But I can't. I know you are sad. So am I. I will comfort you as much as I can because I love you too.

And Riley is trying to be your new soulmate. I know he doesn't understand bereavement. But I think - deep down - he misses Bertie too. 

It's time to move on Oli....

Time to dream...

To sleep, perchance to dream... Do cats dream? It is said that when their paws twitch during sleep cats are "chasing rabbits". How do we know though? Riley does it. He is asleep now in what we call the Banana rest. It is made from dried banana leaves apparently.

Riley has lived with us now for almost six months. He is adorable, a wonderful, gentle natured animal. Rescued from a lonely existence to a home full of love. He is so worth it...

A New Gas Fire

Remember the TV advert? A new gas fire? I have a vague memory of it. Our gas fire in the dining room suddenly smoked the surrounding wall, all in a matter of hours. Called the gas fitter we knew. Call out fee £45 ($67.50). Condemned the fire and, after a smoke bomb test, said the chimney needed sweeping - and we needed a new gas fire and a cowl fitted to the chimney top to prevent further debris entering the chimney. OK....
New gas fire £600, chimney swept £50, cowl £65, fitting £15, take away old gas fire £10, fit new gas fire £140. So, this beautiful new Robinson Willey Firecharm gas fire has run up a bill of £925 ($1,387.50).
And after fitting and turning on, because of the 'newness' it generated enough 'smoke' to set off every smoke alarm in the house having me running around like a headless chicken to disarm them, whilst my three cats were diving for cover...
'Smoking' doesn't cover it....

The Guest Cat

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Guest Cat is a wonderful novel about a visiting cat who brings joy into a couple’s life in Tokyo. Winner of Japan’s Kiyama Shohei Literary Award, The Guest Cat, by the acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide, is a subtly moving and exceptionally beautiful novel about the transient nature of life and idiosyncratic but deeply felt ways of living. A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo; they work at home, freelance copy-editing; they no longer have very much to say to one another. But one day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. It leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. Soon they are buying treats for the cat and enjoying talks about the animal and all its little ways. The book brims with many moments of staggering poetic beauty, but then something happens…. At times I was completely blindsided by Hiraide and one short paragraph of just 39 words, so full of heartache, left me with eyes brimming.

I cannot stop thinking about The Guest Cat. Captivating. A must for a 2nd read.

View all my reviews

The Eve before Christmas Eve

It has been a quiet day for me. The eve before Christmas Eve. A time for contemplation. My wife enjoyed her firm's Christmas lunch so I had only to cook for one this evening. Me. My only chore today was to buy Brussel sprouts and Chantenay carrots to complete the ingredients for Christmas lunch. Time then to enjoy some comfort time with our three cats - Bertie, Oliver and Riley. Peace on Earth, at least in my home...

I enjoyed a lunch of boiled eggs and a buttered, fresh baguette, followed by two satsumas - plump and juicy. I listened to the wonderful music of The John Tavener Collection, spiritually uplifting, particularly the track entitled 'The Lamb', performed by the English Chamber Orchestra, the Temple Choir and the Holst Singers. A uniquely significant choral work. Music for Christmas. Music for quiet contemplation.

Presents are wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree. I cannot wait to see my wife's face when she unwraps my gift to her. Something I have wanted to give her for so long. A diamond solitaire ring. Diamonds are forever as we are for each other. You have always shone bright for me, Ros...

So, for now I would like to wish you all peace and joy at this special time of year. May your Christmas be perfect.

More on Riley

I visited 'the village' again yesterday and finally learned the true background to the plight of Riley. I saw first hand where a local resident had provided a cardboard box lined with a towel in his narrow porch, open to the elements, that Riley had slept in until the wind driven rain had reduced it to a sodden mess. I learned the true account of the so called 'owners' who are beneath my contempt. I reaffirmed my promise to re-home Riley, to provide him with a loving home, a permanent home away from the elements, a home where he will receive all the attention he needs, where his welfare will come first along with our other two cats. I know that Riley is just one cat amongst thousands that need a home. We cannot help them all. We can help Riley. And we will - this Friday. All the locals who have fed Riley on occasion want Ros and me to home him. I have heard all the reasons why those who have fed him cannot take him in. Well, we will. To all the nay-sayers your nay-saying is noted. But it makes no difference. We are going to take Riley and provide him with the home that he so desperately needs. That's it. End of.

Riley - volte-face

For those of you who have followed the tale of Riley - the cat who lives in Rye Harbour village - and my intention to re-home him, I received the following email from the person who led me to believe that Riley had been abandoned and left to his own fate. It has completely taken me aback as it is a complete turnaround from what I had been led to believe. I will be meeting with André on the 14th October to discuss the situation further. It has left me completely deflated, although if the content of the email is true then I have to accept that Riley will be happier in the environment that he knows, roaming as a free spirit. I will still have questions about the permanence of shelter for him when the weather gets colder. The following is the email I received:

Hi Mike, sorry to not have responded sooner, just lots of things to take care of recently.

At the moment I can tell you that Riley is well and he does seem untroubled by his life here. He is fed by the girls at the pub, and I understand he goes home at night for his dinner.

A Hungarian visitor at Harbour Lights mentioned his arrival and gave him milk and I found someone else giving him milk who lives on the other side of the pub. It seems Riley knows his way in through the window and makes himself at home there too with the owners blessing, as he seems to do wherever he goes.

I think he has the same nature as the other tabby Bengali that lived at the back of me, who was in every house and garden in the near locality. He often spent hours here and at my neighbours.

If I thought for a moment anything were untoward, I would be in touch straight away. I can only say he seems well and not at all bothered as he is always relaxed, never nervous or worried.

I don’t actually know the name or the person who owns him, and I feel you would get a negative response, as all the feedback says she doesn’t want to give him away.

I have to remind myself that the lady in question did post a “cat missing” message on the local Rye vets website, but in fact he was at the pub most of the time, where the fresh fish was plentiful.

I certainly would be in tune with you and Ros adopting him if I felt he were in any way at all compromised by his life here, as I know your feelings. As you quite rightly say he is not my responsibility, but several people, including myself, have always looked  out for him, ever since he made his presence felt.

My reservations are calculated. If you were to approach the owner with your name and address as a potential home, I am sure you’d get a refusal.  Should the hypothetical situation arise that he appeared less well and cared for in the near future, and then as it were, I were to inform you, and he disappeared, it may be obvious what has occurred.

I have purposefully not made myself known to the owner in case Riley ever needed cat-napping at some future point. Also I am concerned now, that I feel I may have painted a bleaker picture than is the reality; he is at the moment doing well roaming around all the loving locals who he treats as a cat stop on his travels.  

He does seem such a free spirit, and believe me if I thought there was something wrong I would be in touch immediately. I did initially feel that he needed a home, I feel the reality is that this was the natural conclusion of a cat lover who finds cats on their doorstep, freely feeding, curling up and going to sleep. He just seems at home wherever he finds a cat lover, willing to provide saucers of milk and bowls of food. He does the same here, which is why I wondered if he had a home. The reality is, he does, and just uses it as he pleases.

Obviously it’s not for me to say what you might do to satisfy any inferred concerns. But if you were to meet the owner (sister of owner) she would tell you he comes home every night gets fed and goes off on his rounds again. This is the local feedback. She may even wonder why there should be any concern for him. As I have said already, I have purposely not approached sister of owner, I haven’t tried to find out a name; it’s a small village, news and gossip travels quickly, and I thought it counter productive for any future plans.

I can only repeat that currently Riley is fine, and I am a bit concerned about transmitting what may well be an overreaction about a cat with a roaming spirit  to you and Ros.  

I am more than happy to have a pint and a chat should you feel you wanted to visit.

Best wishes  André

World Cat Day

Friday 8th August is World Cat Day. It was founded in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups.

Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world. Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere in the world. Cats are a common companion animal in Europe and North America, and their worldwide population exceeds 500 million. In 1998 there were around 43 million cats in Western Europe, 33 million in Eastern Europe, 7 million in Japan and 3 million in Australia. A 2007 report stated that about 37 million US households owned cats, with an average of 2.2 cats per household giving a total population of around 82 million. In contrast, there are about 72 million pet dogs in that country.

So, if like me you are owned by a cat or cats, give them a special hug today!

Preoccupied

I had to take one of our beloved cats to the veterinarians today. Oliver. Our wonderful Oliver. Now in his fourteenth year. A constant companion. A wonderful black and white cat that we homed from a rescue almost thirteen years ago. A gentle soul who loves to 'hide' beneath the jasmine, who 'chatters' at birds in the garden but has never harmed one. He wouldn't. He lies next to me now as I type this post. I will keep him safe as long as it takes.

Oliver has been losing weight. Two weeks ago he weighed just 3.69kg. Today, at the vets, he weighed 3.61kg. A loss of 80gms. "That's less than a sachet of food" I told myself. Our veterinarian, Matt, palpitated Oliver's abdomen, looking for a 'lump' that our other vet, Paul, reckoned he could feel two weeks ago. Matt was not convinced. But Oliver has been suffering with diarrhoea for two weeks, on and off, and I have noticed some blood in his motions....

We steered Matt away from a full CT scan. I didn't want Oliver subjected to the rigours of full anaesthesia. But we agreed to a full geriatric blood screen. Our lad had to have both sides of his neck shaved to obtain sufficient blood for the tests.

This is when, as an animal lover, as someone whose pet is helpless, who relies totally on you, this is when your bottom lip gives way. Ros and I have shared our lives with cats for forty years. We have experienced the heartache of losing treasured family members too often. That feeling of loss never changes.

I look at Oliver now as he lies beside me, on the table... and I well up. I cannot stop thinking about the 'phone call' I will get tomorrow from Matt with the blood test results. I don't want to hear anything sinister...

I just love Oliver too much.

The Love of Cats

Most of you that know me know about my love of cats. Ros and I have shared our lives with cats for some 37 years and in that time we have experienced the loss of many as age has overcome them. The grief experienced when a cherished pet dies is always hard. None are ever forgotten. But we have always found space in our hearts to adopt rescues to fill the void of the loss of cherished individuals. We are all slowing down now, entering the September of our years. Our two 'boys' are approaching 14 and 13 years respectively. They enrich our lives every day, help us to grow older. Help us to remember why we love animals for the joy they bring to our lives. Here are our perfect two that currently hold sovereignty over us!

Oliver in his Vermeer pose

Wistful Bertie

Happy is the home with at least one cat......