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MaamJay -> RE: April Roll Call (4/14/2010 6:41:24 PM)
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First congrats to all those for whom good things are happening, and welcome back to some wonderful ladies!
Second, sorry to be a downer, but it hasn't been a great month so far. Master and I did successfully get to Western Australia but now the Chev needs a wheel bearing which is going to cost nearly a grand to fix. Sigh, it seems to be a bottomless pit of money! However the worst thing was that My beloved cat of 21.5 years died suddenly on the trip over. She was fine when we were at the Nullarbor Cliffs and enjoyed a little walk outside to sniff the saltbush. She was fine in the middle of the day when she came downstairs in the van to check out the quarantine inspector at the WA border (can't take fresh fruit, vegies or honey into WA) and she went back upstairs. But that afternoon when we stopped she had collapsed and lost the use of her back legs. Seeing her lying with front legs facing left and back legs facing right, totally twisted in the middle, was a scary sight I won't forget for a long while. So next day Master drove us 700km to get to a large enough town to have a vet (that's a big effort towing a big vehicle over long, straight and boring roads, I was nursing the cat). It was Easter Sunday ... and through some glitch with their phone system, emergency calls went to an answer machine, not to the vet's mobiles. We left 5 increasingly desperate messages but finally just had to find a caravan park site (no easy feat at Easter!) and set up in the dark. I felt so bad we couldn't keep our promise to her to get help when the time came for her to check out ... and this time she and I both knew it was that time. So I sat up with her all night, most of it just sitting in My armchair with her on My bosom, listening to music to keep Me awake, and gently stroking her. She's not been much of a lap cat in years, but she lay there peacefully, sometimes nuzzling My chin with the top of her head, sharing our love. Whilst I would have preferred to have found the vet, it was a very precious night. The vet finally phoned at 8.15am totally apologetic, and made an appointment for 9am ... but my little one died at 8.25am. Those who knew her weren't surprised she chose to go on her own terms though! We took her to the vet anyway so she could be collected and cremated, we will be receiving her ashes this week and then she can continue on our travels. So it most definitely wasn't a happy Easter for us. It's amazing how big a hole in life one small cat can leave ... but she has been with Me for over 1/3 of My life! Poor dog is missing her so much that she won't sleep alone in her room ... she's been on the foot of our bed most nights since! (Yeah I know, we've been suckered ... but the dog's never been alone in her life, first her brother and now the cat for company).
So, Master and I are now thinking about a pair of kittens! We both love cats, they are easier to house train than dogs (which will be good in a confined space!), they will be company for each other and for the dog. Given that the dog is nearly 12, we can't say she will be around for years, so having a pair means they will not be too lonely in the future when the dog goes too. So now I'm hoping the right pair of kittens will present themselves for a long and loving life with us!
On the plus side, because life is never all down, My PhD is going very well, My supervisor is thrilled with the progress, as am I. YAY!
Maam Jay aka violet[A]
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