Musings on a Small Life

These were snapped on Boxing Day (Dec 26) 2007, five days after Derry came home. It was the first time I let him out into the enclosed back space. It was a grand adventure for a young cat! I don't remember what he was looking at here (below), possibly Nicki or Annie. It's hard to believe he was ever that lean. :-D Nicki came over to see what Derry found so fascinating (dead stalks). Below, Derry looks like he was talking up a storm to Nicki, but he actually had been chewing on one of those dead stalks. I have so many picture of the boys that my next post will still be from December 2007, their first outdoor tussle the next day, on the 27th. 💕

As always, these are from my Pinterest feed. 

First, I'd like to express my gratitude to Ingrid at Meezer's Mews & Terrieristical Woofs for this beautiful memorial graphic: It was such a surprise and touched my heart deeply. Thank you. ♥ ******** As for Monday Mancat Memories, I thought I'd try posting memories chronologically, by month. This one is from Derry's Gotcha Day, December 21, 2007. About 20 - 30 minutes after Derry came home, he and Nicki started tussling. Derry was six months old then, and Nicki was fourteen months old. They never stopped their tussling, as long-time followers (of Fuzzy Tales) know full well. They certainly were entertaining! It always felt to me that when Nicki passed, he took all the energy in the house with him. I can only imagine their antics now.  :-) Below, still Derry's Gotcha Day: Derry was playing with a toy, obviously, and Nicki was hiding out in a cat "cave", waiting to pounce. Silly, precious boys. 💖💖

I'm not feeling particularly lighthearted or chipper, but it's been such a lousy week that I wanted to post a few Pinterest funnies to lighten my mood for a few moments, and maybe yours too. I do this one, below, too often! Take care and keep well. I have a "Monday Mancat Memories" post scheduled for the 23rd, featuring the boys of course. I hope it will help me remember all the good years, not the sad and difficult times. Peace.

My deepest, heartful thanks to all who have left such loving words of condolence, and to those who reached out by email and text as well.  A special thank you to Ann of Zoolatry, who made this beautiful Rainbow Bridge image of Derry, below. I will try to reach out to everyone on their blogs when I'm able to, though that will take time. I'm still feeling very raw and shaky both from grief and from lack of sleep, so am trying to be kind to my myself, trying to give myself the space and time I need. It's very strange to be without any furry companionship after 22 years. I've been a cat mom for so long that I'm not quite sure what to do now. I guess, like everyone else, I just have to take it day by day. ****** I thought that perhaps next Monday, or another Monday if I'm not ready, I could do a "Monday Mancat Memories", rather than Friday Flashbacks. I like posting the funnies on Fridays, hope to continue that. A mancat Monday would be a nice way to rememb...

I made the agonizing decision, after a sleepless night and torturous morning, to let Derry go this afternoon.  The bloodwork didn't show anything dire, though I personally feel he might had bladder cancer, not cystitis, as he did not have the typical symptoms of cystitis that he has exhibited in the past. Either that or he was just done, after his latest vet poking and prodding on Tuesday. He had 10 vet trips in 2022 and 7 or 8 in 2021, what with the IBD, the chronic eye problem, the Diabetes and now this. He just shut down after his Tuesday appointment, stopped eating and took to hiding. Not even Cerenia, Buprenorphine and Gabapentin, along with multiple doses of an appetite stimulant, got him eating again. Yesterday morning he refused even his treats, and he lived for his favourite treats. I know I could have extended the life of his body with multiple daily pharmaceuticals and frequent vet trips for sub-q fluids and Cerenia injections, but I also know in my heart that was not th...

I debated on waiting to post until I get the results back tomorrow (Thursday), but then thought it might be better to give readers a heads-up on the latest with Derry, in case the news is the worst-case scenario. As he's gotten older, he's become a bit messier in the litter box when he pees, and I frequently have to wipe his backside, otherwise he does it himself--usually on the carpet. On Sunday I noticed that the colour of the urine on his butt fur was brown, not normal. I told myself not to panic, but the same thing occurred on Monday. So off he went to the vet late yesterday afternoon, for a urine analysis and full bloodwork. They took a look at the urine in-house (just a "quick" look) and there IS a lot of blood in it. The vet said that Derry's bladder looks irregular, possibly a benign polyp, or possibly a cancerous tumour of course. (I brought up the cancer possibility first.) He's NOT exhibiting any clinical signs of cystitis or a blockage such as bein...

The first week of the new year is almost done and I'm so ready for spring! Only three+ months to go.... I should have taken the week off work; there were only two of us holding down the fort, as it were, out of eight. Might as well have kept the office closed! Anyway, here are a few Pinterest "funnies" to start the new year. Below: Annie and Nicki were the attention seekers, Chumley was a hider, as is Derry. :-) Below: I've tried a number of recipes and almost everything has ended up in the compost bin. You can do gluten-free, you can do sugarless, and you can bake without eggs and dairy, but you just can't do all three together and have it anywhere close to the "real" thing, IMO. Below: I also find this to be true sometimes! 🤣