Mechtild's

Hi, Este! Sorry to reply so late. We went for a family visit from June 28 - July 6. We got back last night.

Your relationship with Sparkey sounds like Rachel's with Raoul. He never has loved any of us as much as he loved her, or succumbed to anyone's will like he did with her. They were a pair.

I have never kept birds, myself. When I was a kid, I couldn't imagine having a bird. I wanted a pet I could take to bed with me (see? it started early....). But as an adult I met many interesting, engaging bird pets. I'll bet you miss them. But your allergies are no joke. You will have to do without them.



Edited at 2008-07-08 01:35 am (UTC)

Oh, Ann, thanks so much. I've been away the last nine days, for a sort of family reunion for the week of the Fourth of July (in the VA suburbs of D.C., not that far from you). It was a lot of work, since my sister and I did the hostessing (food buying/preparing and serving/clean-up, entertaining) for the people staying at my mother's house, but I think it was a success, which pleases me. I'd hate for the people who'd flown in to have had a bad time.

Raoul, our darling Elder Statesman, was eased into death on June 19, the week before we left. It sounds odd, but it was sad but beautiful, the vet so nice, and Glen (my husband) able to be there this time, to attend Raoul on his leave-taking. When he died he seemed to be very relieved, as if we had truly given him a "euthanasia", a happy death. We found ourselves weeping over Raoul in the following days, in the midst of work or at home with each other, but we felt, after the fact, that we had done the right thing.

Our feline survivors, Pixie (the one with breast cancer) and Angelo, were disoriented and lonesome for him, expressing it in their disparate ways, but they settled down enough for us to feel at ease about leaving them in the care of the neighbour, who came over twice a day while we were gone. That was a HUGE relief, since we thought Pixie and/or Angelo would still be sick enough to require drops or pills, which would mean hiring a clinic worker from the vet's to come over, because they know how to give meds. We got back last night, and both cats looked really good, even Pixie. You'd never know she had a fatal illness, or had had a big surgery just over a month before.

Anyway, thanks so much, Ann. You are very kind and compassionate to post to this entry. And I don't mind a bit that it happened later. It's nice to hear you speak of it, like a compassionate echo.

Thanks for commenting, Melyanna. It's always hard when beloved pets die, but they are so wonderful to have, knowing them and being with them, it's worth the heartache--or at least one feels that way in retrospect, after the sorrow has lightened. Siamese cats are not consistently one sort of personality; my mother had one that was notably anti-social and mean-tempered, but in my experience he was exceptional. All the others we've had have been very affectionate and gregarious (liking the company of others, people or other pets), whether on the shy side or extroverted, speaking occasionally or talking all the time.

I am very fond of the breed, but they do seem prone to cancer. The vet confirmed it, noting that purebred pets in general tend to get more cancer, perhaps because their gene pools are smaller. But he also said that as more and more pet owners keep their cats indoors and take them to the vet more consistently their pets live longer, increasing their chances to die of cancer. So it was not just true of purebreds, but of cats and dogs generally.