General Chat

Yes, Joylouise, the loss of their cat or dog by other people makes me very sad, your surmise is true. All we can do is cherish the memories and the laughter, smiles and comfort they bring to us.

Once he goes then my chances to complain softly about oh in his ear, to look into his deep golden/copper eyes, to admire his skills, his annoying pickiness with food, his loud yelling for breakfast at 7am will go with him. Our home will fall silent, I will be able to take back control. Right now we are listening to Mozart from the proms but snr cat likes Ravi Shankar better which is on next.

Thus I am giving him all of an August that he can take with him. An English August of blue skies and scudding clouds, blackberries, slow worms, ripening fruits, noisy birds and grassy half mowed lawns.

Twenty five years ago almost to the day I was going through the same thing with the death of my father from cancer. We brought him home for those few weeks something I have never regretted. He loved cats too.

He seems better at forecasting than the BBC as he went out for his walk and taking the air before the thunderstorm. He was out again this afternoon. Now he is back indoors enjoying the sun lolling on a snooker table. I know he is not on top form cos he leaves the snooker balls in peace.
We are treating him with prednisolone daily, sub hydration once weekly , mirtazapine 48 hrs, Webbox catfood 300-400gm daily, vitamin B,. Potassium supplément. Hé gets the pills using a gadget as carer needs all her fingers. I hold him in an old towel. Luckily none of this takes long.
His cancer advances and slowly the Lord of the Leaps has to plan a couple of feet from chair to table. He remains funny , alert and affectionate between snoozes.

I will be glad when oh gets back from Spain. She was supposed to be in Barcelona yesterday but changed her mind and left her phone at the flat I was doing my nut until I got hold of her. Now I feel guilty.

Been following your thread Rollo and Snr cat.

Our pets are so precious to us, long may he reign <3

Snr cat now has a GR following. We are willing him along to snooze on your lap Rollo.

Hopefully we will get a glimpse of HMS Elizabeth tomorrow when we cross from Gosport to Portsmouth. She looms like a real ship. And I always thought HMS Eagle was large when OH served on her.

Rollo, "One day I suppose he will not tap me on the nose for breakfast but not today."
:-( That sentence had the same effect on me as "When winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see" always does ( I have to skip over that when re-reading LOTR nowadays). Pass the tissues please someone.

Long may this summer last for Snr cat and those who love him. <3

SnrCat, a BritishBlue, even in the decline of Empire, soon recruits a fan club. He is very affable.

So yesterday, leaving sncat with his carers, at some ungodly hour my mobile alarm went off... I had an invite to join the huge crowd of rubber neckers for the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth. I always thought that HMS Ocean looked a tad oversize but the new carrier is something else, video goes nowhere near. Whether the UK can or should try and operate two carrier groups is another question. For the day time is rolled back a couple of generations flag waving at its best.

During the summer of 1940 my rellie snr Fleet Air Arm officer on HMS Glorious lost his life along with hundreds more thanks to bumbling incompetence from the Admiralty. Let us pray the gods favour the new ship. After a longish queue excellent fry up in Southsea.

SnrCat was OK when I got back really tired. Now Thursday, is the day for his hydration treatment. The vet did the last one hope I can manage it.

He remains alert, interested in what is going on, even playful despite shrunken horizons. I am happy that I did not follow vet advice, SnrCat is enjoying his last summer. One day I suppose he will not tap me on the nose for breakfast but not today.

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I am slowly getting my head around it. Especial thanks to Nyx.

Thinking of you Rollo and Snr Cat, enjoy the time you have with him,. <3

Hope snr cat is having a good day. Thinking of him, you and Mrs Rollo <3

What greater gift than the love of a cat? (Charles Dickens)

Thinking of you, Mrs R and especially of Snr Cat. Hope it's a good day for all today.

Sorry to read this, Rollo. treasure what time you have left.

Rollo, I am pleased that you have enjoyed sharing your life with your cat from which I should think you will be able to fall back on happier thoughts when the inevitable happens.

From these posts it seems that many people understand your feelings.

Two of my siblings have recently lost cats, one by accident and the other to old age so, although I have never had a cat, I know how you feel at the moment.

I wish you well and I hope your obviously adored cat does not suffer.

As we go along lifes journey we are loved & love in return .our beloved pets never ask for anything but just a cuddle walk. food & water they Give unconditional love & are very special in many lives .Thinking of Snr Cat <3

So sad for you, Cherish. <3

"Stately, kindly, lordly friend,
      Condescend
Here to sit by me, and turn
Glorious eyes that smile and burn..."

It's the young ones which hurt the world spins on indifferent indecently busy and uncaring enjoying themselves the sun shining when you want a storm to stop the clocks stop everything while you scream your hurt but you don't because nobody is listening.

So we continue to pretend
That life will never end
And flowers never bend with the rainfall.
The line is thinly drawn between joy and sorrow.
- Simon

It is quiet no TV traffic far away just the ticking of a clock liberated from Koln in 1945. And the soft sound of a cat purring. We have had a good day.

I'm so sorry to read about your cat Rollo.
Losing a beloved pet is like losing a family member.

Thinking of you and Mrs Rollo <3

I would Rollo, read to him and even if he doesn't understand it all ( and he probably will) he will enjoy listening to your voice. :-)

Thank you very much Nyx for that. I googled a bit and have bought the Cat's Abc 1st ed 1960 Jonathan Cape who published a lot of top notch stuff notably in this context Hugh Lofting.

Shall I read it out loud to snr cat?
He is having a good day yesterday was a bit tough.

"“Often, when I have been feeling lonely, when a book as been thrust aside in boredom [...] I have lain back and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, wondering what life is all about [...] and then, suddenly, there is the echo of the swinging door, and across the carpet, walking with the utmost delicacy and precision, stalks Four or Five or Oscar. He sits down on the floor beside me, regarding my long legs, my old jumper, and my floppy arms, with a purely practical interest. Which part of this large male body will form the most appropriate lap? Usually he settles for the chest. Whereupon he springs up and there is a feeling of cold fur [...] and the tip of an icy nose, thrust against my wrist and a positive tattoo of purrs. And I no longer wonder what life is all about.”

Beverley Nichols, Cats' A. B. C