April 4, C is for CAT

Over the years I’ve have had many cats but when I married my husband wasn’t keen on us having a cat. He comment was, ‘no animal inside, unless it lives in a tank or cage.’

That changed one night back in 1992.  Our elder daughter was a Guide leader and a stray kitten walked into the hall, all the girls wanted it and to be fair, she brought it home to us. Her and her sister really worked on their Dad and after a vet check, the cat was hers.

Now for a name! Easy!  As she had come home literally clinging to her uniform jumper, the name was obvious; Clingon!  Nothing to do with Star Trek.

Clingon invaded all our lives, with gentle nudges, sharp swipes and even not so gentle scratches.  And a purr so loud, that my husband thought she should have been called Evinrude, after the outboard engine!   First up had to give her biscuits and make sure her water glass was full. Yes, a yellow plastic tumbler was her preferred source of water. If you weren’t quick enough or had slept in, she would knock it over and lick the water of the floor. Many a time I walked into the kitchen, straight into a puddle.

When she was inside, she would sit in the windowsill and make, what we called, ack, ack noises, at the birds she could see. A ladder was something she had to climb and then she would  try and catch her tail, through the rungs.

When our elder daughter married, the cat stayed.

One morning in 2007, our younger daughter woke us with a yell. Clingon was acting very strange, unable to stand, unable to see, very confused. We bundled her into a pillow case, called her ‘mum’ and we met at the vets. The vet thought that she might have had a fit or stroke during the night and there was nothing that could be done.

With heavy hearts we said our goodbyes, as she slipped peacefully away.   We had had 15 wonderful years with her, a small stray that had been dumped.

What does your cat do, to get your attention?

Bye for now,

Lilian