New Cats

It's been a couple of months now since I brought home my two beautiful new cats. After losing Molly I gave a lot of thought to whether I wanted to get another cat and even whether I could handle having a dog. However, much as I'd love a dog it just wouldn't be fair of me to have one right now. So I decided on a cat, or two. I wanted a mum and kitten if possible so that they could keep each other company while I'm out at work. There was only one place I would get them from and that was the Celia Hammond Animal Trust; the charity that tried to help Molly.

So these are the characters I ended up with. I instantly fell in love with Luna - she was so sweet natured and trusting and obviously desperate to get beyond the limited space available at the rescue centre. She had three kittens; two classically pretty, fluffy tabbies and a very handsome, almost pure black (except for the tip of his tail) male. The fluffy tabbies had already been selected by someone else, leaving just the feisty male kitten and mum; luckily for me.

I brought them home the same day. They were already chipped, neutered, de-flead and wormed. Frodo took a while to settle in, spending the first week in and out of the smallest space he could find in the flat. Luna was much quicker to settle and seemed at home before the first day was out. Both are very much at home now although Frodo is still a little nervous around strangers. He is much quicker to get used to people now though.

The big test was bringing them both to Cumbria with me - a trip I did regularly with Molly. However they have been brilliant, in spite of the large scratch on my arm earned whilst trying to get Frodo into the travel box. Lesson learnt.

So begins a new journey then - I hope it will be a long one.

Luna

Frodo

Christmas in Cumbria

I love this time of year. Getting back to Cumbria truly signals a break from work and brings me right back to my childhood. The garden is alive with birds who squabble and shout over the fat balls and peanuts, but are bold enough to come very close if you have the patience to stand still a while.

This year there is snow. I'm missing Molly, this is the first time I've been back here without her. She'd be hating the snow though.

I love the smell as you walk through the front door of the house and the tick of the clock. The log fire is an added bonus. Happy Christmas to all.

 

 

 

 

Missing Molly

It has been just under 2 months since Molly died. Although I can now talk about it I still have moments of utter sadness and anger for what happened. Worse, I still miss her terribly. I had no idea that she took up so much of my space and time in such a positive way.

On Sunday evening I let Molly out through the kitchen window. Less than half an hour later I heard her crying, not her usual mieow, but my first thought was that she had caught something and was announcing her arrival with gift. When she didn't jump through the window I knew something wasn't right and grabbed the step ladder. Molly was lying below the window with her bib and front legs covered with blood.

I couldn't reach her. She lay there mewing every time she heard me and I went into full blown panic. My amazing friends, Janine and Steve, dropped everything to come over and help get Molly off the roof but just before they arrived Molly somehow managed to jump up to the window ledge and I hauled her inside.

She was lame on one leg and bleeding but responsive. We rushed her to the vet who at that time thought she'd be ok, since her breathing and pulse were good. I left her there so they could x ray her and investigate the leg further.

On Monday the vet called to say that the x ray showed a pellet from some sort of air gun lodged against her spine. This was responsible for making her lame. It hadn't even occurred to me that she could have been shot. It takes some kind of low life to shoot a domestic pet. Worse still she was on the roof when she was shot meaning that the cretin that shot her was shooting in the direction of my windows.

She needed surgery to remove the pellet, but with my bill already at £600 and with no insurance, I couldn't afford the possible £2000 final bill from the surgery. The vet was brilliant and organised Molly's transfer to The Celia Hammond Animal Trust - a small but amazing charity which helps people who can't afford large vet bills but who fall outside of the help of people like the RSPCA or PDSA (who means test).

On Tuesday I picked Molly up and took her the Celia Hammond surgery. The vets there were fantastic and Molly was treated like a VIP, or should that be VIA? They scheduled surgery for Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday 10th June, following a successful sedation, the vets administered the anesthetic. Molly stopped breathing. Resuscitation didn't work. The vets tried to bring her back for over 10 minutes but the damage was, in the end, too severe.

And that was it. One minute she was perfect, and the next she was gone. I was shattered. I knew that writing this would be hard but I needed to tell it. I still miss her, and this is how I will always remember her.

If you would like to make a donation to The Celia Hammond Animal Trust you can do so via their website by clicking the link above.

Molly Doesn't Like Snow

It's been snowing hard in London and I woke up to this magical sight this morning.

I was very excited when it started settling last night, but this morning was a real wonder - I haven't seen snow like this since Christmas in Vancouver! My spirits were lifted even further by the phone call to let me know that the school was closing for the day.

So I donned boots and coat and picked up my iPhone (now my only camera since my trusty Canon PowerShot A75 died last night), and trudged out into the virgin snow.

I was loving it. Molly, on the other hand, did not know what to make of it. It took several minutes of hard thought on the door step before she decided to venture out and then it was with carefully placed paws in my footsteps.

Eventually she found somewhere she felt comfortable.

I left her there for a while but when I went to let her in I found only deep paw prints in the snow leading in a little loop of the garden, and then they vanished. That was when I heard a pitiful mewing from the other side of the fence where I can only guess she fell off! Trauma over. She is back inside and now apparently happy to stay on the sofa all day. I wish I could wake up to such amusement every day!

Last night's snow fall

The snow wasn't so deep last night - but still a little daunting!