Twitch of an ear and flick of a tail

With a flick of the tail and a twitch of an ear, life irrevocably changed.

Once so full of fun, now drear, dull and dead.

Empty…

In the space of one ‘cat and dog sleepover’ to the next, our world tilted… morphed from a happy two pet home to a shell- shocked, solo pet household… struggling to cope and care for our lost and lonesome kitty cat.

That fragile state of affairs teetered far too briefly, before totally toppling.

With little no warning, big bro (Labrador) Huds unwillingly abandoned his little feline sister. Mia was left to fly the flag and bear the mantle of Family Pet for another eon year month week.

Despite having cheated Death every year or so during her eventful eighteen years, every time was just that bit harder to pull off.

A dozen years and a couple of thousand kilometres ago, a pack pair of neighbouring dogs hunted her. She scrambled to safety, under our Ute’s bonnet and curled tightly atop the air filter. Despite a ripped off mud guard and dented bonnet, our terrified kitty evaded and foiled their attack. She escaped unscathed.

Just a couple of months ago, she surprised me at dusk, by coming when summoned. However, my delight swiftly turned to alarm at the sight of a basking snake, stretched between us, full length across the garden path. Deaf to my yells, Mia made a steady beeline cat-line towards me… blind to the threat at her feet. Snatching up a short length of black poly pipe, I prodded her out of harm’s way. Most likely she thought “What’s my crazy mother doing now?” Another of her lives was used up.

Was it only a few weeks ago that she miraculously escaped certain death when she accidentally casually wandered into the neighours’ yard and clambered up under their house, sparking a cacophony of frenzied barking from their two rescue dogs? Her hearing and vision impaired state, not to mention rickety gait made it all the more incredible she survived.

Flukey dooks… just as well for her, the incessantly barking dogs drew her big sister and her dad out and to her rescue. In deep distress, poor little Mia cat bit and clawed the hand that fed her. Later, that same hand needed antibiotics and a tetanus shot… a small, price to pay to save our feisty feline. That fiasco knocked a bit of stuffing out of her… took her a while to recover but recover she did. She wasn’t prone to giving up easily… too stubborn for that! She was, after all, a cat.

A week later, someone — who shall remain nameless— generously foolishly gave her a chunk of chicken as she was rather fond of chicken and yoghurt and cheese and… pretty much anything the dog was offered.

Anyway, being arthritic, she forgot didn’t bother to chew the chicken, just swallowed it whole, as you do, if you’re a geriatric, forgetful cat! Not our best move! Instant choking sent Mum and Sis into First Aid mode. Sis repeatedly performed the Heimlich manoeuvre. Things were looking grim until Mum googled cat First Aid and held Mia by the scruff of the neck, in mama cat style.

One final chest thrust and out shot that pesky chicken chunk! Afterwards, the poor darling just sat under the dining room table, gazing into space for quite some time. Just who was most traumatised? Yes, another cat life was used up, just like that… how many remained, none of us knew. She always had others carefully tucked up her sleeve fur coat, but still, it was concerning. She’d always been invincible.

Mia’s work was cut out for her, that sad week following Hudson’s departure. She slept on beds even while they were being made; sat on each and every chair just as a family member was about to sit down; diligently attempted to eat all her biscuits (which hitherto were tossed into Hudson’s dish when leftover and stale) and drank copiously from his water dish (she never could get enough of his dog slobber). Oh, how she missed her friendly black Lab. Missed the challenge thrill of sneaking past his nose, into their shared bedroom garage.

Barely a week 627 cat naps later, she had a seizure furry fit, followed by a few vet visits. For the first time in her life, she was totally unstressed about them. Obviously, something was drastically wrong! She tried her utmost to stick around, but after a weekend of cuddles in the lounge room, interspersed with aimless wandering and staring blankly at walls, it all became too much. Finally, it was her time to join her big bro, Huddy, in a long sleep.

Weirdly, they each were suddenly felled by brain tumours… his at the base of his skull and hers in her frontal lobe. United in death, as in life.

So, in the space of two short long weeks, the entire face of our home changed. Hudson and Mia now lie forever — together — under the tall gum tree, facing the rising sun.

For us, life must go on, but how? Every glance outside, is swept bare of a smiling black dog. Every room echoes emptily… no smoochie cat in sight. Breakfast is silent — lonely — without a kitty neatly sitting by my ankle, staring upwards, hopefully… wondering if a spoonful of yoghurt is heading her way. Spare time abounds… without a pet or two to fill it.

Week 1: sans pets… we gathered our courage and plodded out on a dog walk. We hugged our favourite fellow dog walkers and their affectionate pair of pups, at Poppy’s fence line. Poppy — the young black Lab — adored Huds. Arriving back home — much later — the driveway stretched vacantly before us, no patient kitty lounging, awaiting our return. Her Dad kindly came out in her stead… nice try, but not the same.

Nothing is the same.

We all wish we could leave home; bulldoze the house; sell up; swap houses with our neighbour. I asked him, but sadly, he’s strangely unwilling.

But life rolls on and on… in our case, minus our dynamic duo: Hudson and Mia. How blessed our lives were, for 12 and 18 fleeting years. We ask ourselves; did we appreciate them every minute of every day, year and decade?

All we can do now is give thanks for our multitude of memories.

It’s time to smile about and share myriads of their stories.

*

Unbelievable but true… within a week of each other, Mia and Hudson each made an unexpected exit from our lives.

Mia’s big bro, Hudson’s farewell…