Wednesday 16 May 2012

A celebration of old Merlin

We had to have our old cat put down today. The siezures he's had for the last few weeks were not improving and although he plugged on as gamely as always it was taking its toll. Watching him being put to sleep with an overdose of anathestetic was harder than I imagined and I'm afraid I didn't cope too well. An animal seeps into your life in ways you don't fully understand until they're gone. I've never known Fiona without him, 12 years now, and she had him for 15 years in total, initially through a rough period of her life, so especially bad for her.

We need to celebrate a great catty life though. He was a rescue cat when Fi got him in 1997, when he was around 2. He had a long, happy and contended life and he was a great character - grumpy and distrusting of everyone else, especially other mogs, but loving and trusting towards us. A house cat initially he got to roam and wander in the second half of his life, always determined to be top cat in his neighbourhood. He'll be well missed, but even better remembered.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Molars and Mogs

The recent fight by 'Mrrr Andersooon' to save one of my teeth came to an end today. It was just too infected and likely to always be trouble. I wasn't surprised as it had continued to give me problems even after the last course of treatment. I now have two back teeth missing from the lower back of my mouth and five have gradually bit the dust in total. Hope it doesn't lead to a misshapen jaw.

Last night we took the old cat up to the vet after his recent worrying spasms which briefly twist his face. He shakes them off pretty quickly but I always feared the likelyhood of strokes and the impossibly young-looking female vet pretty much confirmed it. Nothing we can do really. He's a resilient old boy but he's 17, about 85 in human terms and its likely that his time is just approaching. It'll be a sad day when it finally comes, after all this time, and Fi in particular will be devastated. We just need to hope it will be quick and he doesn't suffer.