The morning once I got home went so quickly but this afternoon it feels draggy. I find myself doing things as if Buddy was still here and just not in my heart and thoughts. Coming in through the backdoor, prepared with something to block her attempt at an exit. A delivery arrived in one of those plastic mailing bags. Buddy loved to chew on those and we had to keep them out of her reach cause chewing on petroleum bags is not a good thing. The front and backdoor to the porch are open getting a good breeze. Buddy, would be in her element. I noticed on the way to the vet this morning, the way the clouds were low on the mountains and into the valleys, the scenary perfectly fit my heart and the breaking of it. Beautiful but a melancholy look. Buddy and I had lots of adventures. She had more frequent flyer miles than I have ever hoped to have. When we had her with us driving back to Texas in 2019, Buddy got loose from her carrier. We had stopped in Chattanooga and Roy didn't double check the door being latched shut. She ran under a parked car and when I called for her, she came running to me. Most cats take off and we are so thankful that she didn't get away or run over. Roy felt so bad over the whole incident. He asked me not to blog about it until after Buddy had left this earth. Buddy although a rather good flyer was not a road trip kind of cat. Once we figured out that as long as she was sitting in a lap on a road trip, she was good. She didn't mind the collar and leash.
Buddy had gotten down to one sheep. It was originally from a museum in Chicago but once it came home with us, Buddy commandeered the lamb. She did that with so many of the stuffed sheep I had collected over the years. We finally just put them in a wooden box for her. When she would get upset over the fact that we had been gone too long, she would begin dragging out all those sheep and left a trail from the door to the bedrooms. I was Buddy's sheep herder for many years. When she moved up here, she kind of gave up on spreading sheep everywhere, but by the time we got here, she had calmed down quite a bit.
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The description that Dr Sarah gave Buddy was, she has a big personality. Of course now and even at the time I appreciated her saying that. It is a nice description of a cranky, persnicketies in abundance, moody and touchy cat. Sassy was another description she said and I would think that every vet who has come into contact with Buddy up here would think the same as Dr Sarah, but they might not have been as generous in the euphuism, "big personality." The vet in Fulshear, Let's just say she didn't put up with Buddy's shenanigans. She told Roy, I used to race in the Iditarod, tough dog/sled race in Alaska, this little kitty isn't going to intimidate me. She was gentle with Buddy but didn't take her attitude.
I will have to admit, it was so nice getting a full night's sleep. I went to bed around 10:00 and woke up refreshed a little after 6:00 am. I didn't wake up once in the night. Probably the reality in the coming days will reveal to me the how much we change our lives and schedules to adapt to our aging pets. Not complaining at all, but this realization just dawned on me. This morning I didn't have to sneak out to give treats or feed her mortal enemy, The Feral Fam. Last night as I put the keys and my glasses on the nightstand, they didn't have to be moved over to accommodate Buddy's jump onto the nightstand in case she didn't stick the landing. Now, I can read in bed because until the past few months as Buddy's health declined, if I went to bed, she expected lights out, right arm extended for her and nighty night. One time when Lisa was here, we were watching TV. According to Buddy, we were staying up past our bedtime. She sat at the bedroom door and meowed her displeasure. Lisa said, wow, she's worse than a husband.
During these past few months as Buddy aged at a pace I didn't want to be ready for, I didn't blog too much about her. Over the years, like most pets, they give us a scare with health issues or the things we took for granted with them, that they would always do _________. Buddy had certainly narrowed her world. Just until a week and a half ago, you could find her in the front bedroom, either in her bed, on the daybed or in a patch of sunlight on the floor. She stopped sleeping in the window of the bonus room where she could keep watch on her mortal enemies, take in the sun, sit next to me and of course the all important fourth nap of the afternoon. She had taken to the gray chair downstairs, the gray ottoman, and a decorative pillow on the couch. When Beth was here in May, she mentioned that Buddy's behaviors were like her little doggy before he died. Yep, all the signs were occurring, lots and lots of sleep, an occasional little poop here and there, not in the litter box, and her posture. I said all summer to Roy, Buddy is circling the wagons. She is gradually finishing up her stay with us. I really think my family's visit and when Roy was here, that gave her extra strength. She never sat on Roy's lap nor sat next to him until this last trip. She did so many times over those ten days with him. In hindsight, we should have taken it as a sign unto us. She was thanking and loving him, more than just for treats. Buddy had been sitting hunched up for weeks and finally the thought occurred that she sat in that hunched position, all her limbs underneath her, most of the time. Then I remembered how the ones in the Feral Fam would sit like that in the backyard and the others would circle around the sick one. Everyone of those feral cats died within a few weeks. Right now in the Feral Fam, Dean sits that way a lot but at a distance in the garage. The gravel road is not as alluring to this group so I don't know if he does this elsewhere.
One more thing and I will close this post out. I took Buddy's bed from the back porch and put it in a box for the Feral Fam. This morning I could hear all this racket and it was Tippy, Tappy and Cutie wrestling one another in the box with the little bed. They used the flaps strategically against one another. Made my heart glad and somewhere Buddy is happy to see that little bed put to good use. If she was still here even though she had abandoned her bed for the daybed on the porch, she wouldn't want her mortal enemy to have access to it.
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