CoCo's Last Day

CoCo's world was growing smaller. On her last day I held her and we walked in the sun on the driveway. She could hear the birds and feel the warmth of the sun. We walked back in the house and I took her to mom to say goodbye, then to Janet the caregiver who gave CoCo her lunch everyday while I was at work. Back on the porch I gently sat her down and she ate one last cat treat, then I put her in her hut.  I took a pinch of catnip and set it on her pillow, while we waited for her 10:30 appointment with death.

 I sang to her in the car on the way to the vet. The little made up ditties that women sing to cats. I talked and she meowed now and then. A weak little noise, letting me know she was still there. One last look at the day light as she popped her head up from her box.

We sat on the bench outside. Not enough time. They took us in so soon. I could have sat on the bench longer with my little friend, but it was time to go.

----
( We buried her that day under her favorite tree, the Ginkgo, in the backyard.  The picture above is her in better times.... she used the tree as a scratchbox and there was a ring around it as high as she could reach.)

The Spirit is Willing but the Body is Weak

There is something so poignant about caring for Coco, my aging cat whose body is wearing out, her life becoming smaller and fragile. She can hear the birds, but I don't know if she sees them. The Bluejays swoop from the rain gutter onto the driveway and pick up peanuts, while I sit, Coco on lap, in a chair in front of the garage. Each night now she endures "sub-q" fluids. A B-12 shot on Fridays. One meow as the needle goes in, and then she is patient. We are on borrowed time now together. Spending it with the birds.

Scratching Coco

Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.

Joseph Wood Krutch

Things I Learned from the Cat Today

In my hurry to get the laundry downstairs I stepped on Sweet Pea's paw.  She was pretty upset with me for a good half hour.  Scurried under the bed. Meowed at me in a snit every time I went toward her.

But now it's eight hours later.  She is sitting right next to me on top of my desk, climbing on the keyboard wanting to be petted, and oh, it's almost suppertime.  Moral of the story:  Never stay mad at the person who feeds you.

The Sunday Morning Muse, May 6, 2012

Sunday morning is shining through the window as I finish up my second cup of coffee. A woodpecker for some reason is pounding away at the gutter above my window, and although it is amusing to the cat, I must put an end to it. (Pause, hit window, gone)

I'm reading a book called "Suddenly Psychic." It is not what I thought it would be. It was in a bunch of old books my sister was donating to the Salvation Army. Since I'm short of reading material lately, (still re-reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, a nice manual on Trigger Point Therapy, and Wayne Dyer's Wisdom of the Ages), I thought I'd just flip through it while I drank a beer in the sun and take a break. Light reading, as you will.

This wasn't light reading. It was scientific approach to things like getting to the alpha state through the Hemi-Sync method, remote viewing and even remote healing. This is where it got kind of far out to me, when the author attempted to remote heal her cat's kidney problems by imagining herself filtering the cat's blood. (Since I know you will never read this book, I'll give you the spoiler. The little cat wasn't healed, but he did fare pretty well in his last few months. (He was only given days to live when her therapy with him began.)

I'd be the first to admit I'm in awe of the brain and any potential unleashed power that lies within. Science unravels more and more secrets of the brain all the time as we understand how memory works, what parts of the brain affect our senses, emotions, and even how people use their brain to defy pain or reprogram their "wiring" after severe injuries to gain back some of their losses.

Brain function versus mind function are two separate things though. The idea of consciousness. I feel certain that Sweet Pea is conscious, but I don't know if she has a conscience. She steals Sambo's food and I don't think she feels the least bit guilty about it.

Today's Thought

“When my cats aren't happy, I'm not happy. Not because I care about their mood because I know they're just sitting there thinking up ways to get even.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Kittywood Studios

A Brief Moment in Time

This is not a typical scene at the house, but instead one moment of peace. Perhaps they were tired of fighting. Peace in the Mideast can't be far behind.

Free at Last Times Two

"Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

-

Replace the word “Men” with “Cats” and you have the inspiration to open the cat cages in the basement this weekend. It is time to let Sweet Pea and Sambo figure out how to co-exist.

-

Sweet Pea is officially moved in. Sambo is the frazzled little black cat. Sweet Pea is the self assured one. We'll see how it goes.

Apartment Life- Cat Lift

from Cat Ladders Blog

No Meow

It's been six days since Coco was spayed...and still no Meow.

Farewell to Socks the Cat

Sweet Pea and I wish to express our sadness at the death of Socks. Sweet Pea felt a particular kinship to Socks, being that they are both Tuxedo Cats.

Stop In and Pet the Cat

How much money would you spend an hour to get to play with a cat? For some the answer is 7 - 10 dollars. I read a story in the news recently about Cat Cafes in Japan, where it is difficult to keep a pet, and many people choose to "pay for play." They stop in after work to relax and enjoy the company of a furry friend.

Reading the story made me think about the time I spend with Sweet Pea. When I first took her in, I remember telling her at 5:30 in the morning, "These are the rules... Coffee First, Cat food second."

That didn't last long. Now the first thing I do every morning is open a can of cat food. But it's a small sacrifice to pay. She is a dependable alarm clock, and has saved my butt a couple of times when I shut off the alarm instead of hitting the snooze button.

CoCo Update, November 22, 2008

I am so far now from the fear I had of this sad creature on the first day. To think we were ready to trap her and take her away. Maybe even kill her because she was a "threat" to the neighborhood cat and was obviously very sick.

She doesn't have that kind of strength... or teeth, really. She has a mean growl, still... but her meows have become more and more pitiful. More of a conversation with me... all with sad words.

Coco eats four meals a day now. I gained her trust this week. Even stroked her head and felt her body to see if she was okay. She is not. I don't know what horror her life has been these past few weeks but I could feel every rib under that fur. Every nubby on her spine. It made me sad to think how she reached this point, and I'm determined to fatten her up and see what I can do to help her recover.

There is a sweetness to her under all that anguish. I feel bad now for saying that no one would want her. I think she'll make a great human companion once I get her healthy and spayed. She is improving everyday.

The Sunday Morning Muse, November 16, 2008

The Muse is a bit late today. Suffice to say it simply couldn't be helped. I went shopping.

-

The best part was when an old friend caught me staring at the wall of digital TVs in Walmart like I was in a trance. I couldn't hide it, I was. My brain was in wish mode. Yeah, I want this, but I also want to get a computer...and I want new clothes...and I would actually like to buy OTHER people presents... so how much do I want a TV? Especially when every time I turn on the TV I do have the stock market and the economy is all doom and gloom...and the bobble heads on the Sunday shows are saying we could get into a WORSE depression than ever if the politicians screw up the big bailouts. Yikes.
-
No TV for me. Off to save the world!

-

Alas, I can't save everyone. I could however improve the miserable life of this scruffy cat who showed up this past week. It has been hiding under a porch glider after beating up a neighborhood cat. I judged him harshly for that, but I thought about it, and decided to fatten him up a bit and see if his outlook on life gets better. Maybe he'll learn to play nice. I can't take him to a shelter, because no one would want him. I'd hate to see him killed.

-

No that baldish spot on his shoulder isn't mange. But his hair sticks up in the most ridiculous way on top his back. He has a mean growl, too. I'll keep you posted.

Dramatic Cat

...and the cat was watching his favorite nature show when he had this strange feeling that he was being..... watched.

Stray Cat Strut

This one's for Boom-Boom, the Stray Cat out there in Chi-Town.

The Laziest Cat in the World

Another Saturday Night. . . .

Politics of Pets

Petlane is making dog treats in the shapes of little donkeys and elephants. I guess they hope to profit off all the political hoopla and partisanship this year. Here is the article in the PG. It's silly really.

--

Cats so far are not included in this. Not suprizing. Cats are not interested in politics. Sweet Pea is neither a Democrat or a Republican. She is an Aristocat.

Black Cat's Lament

A black cat will definately cross my path Friday the 13th. And I don't expect Sambo will bring me bad luck, since I see her every day. I have been reading about black cat superstitions, and apparently, owning a black cat is actually considered good luck. Even having one cross your path can be good luck instead of bad, depending on where you live. If you can believe what you read.... in Britain and Japan, having a black cat cross your path is considered good luck, but if you live in the USA it is thought to be bad luck.

"Whenever the cat of the house is black, the lasses of lovers will have no lack." ~ English Proverb

"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." - Anonymous

"A cat's eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world." - Irish Legend