Gabes with Soapbox the teddyI will be two years old on 9th April. I’m growing up fast and something happened this week which made me decide that it’s time to put my catnip salad days behind me. My mom has been a bit unwell for a few weeks, and it didn’t help when she lost her beloved Himalayan Lynx, Dumpty two weeks ago.

She seemed to be gradually going downhill, but I didn’t really care as I’m a kitte.  As long as mom feeds me and I have my toys to play with I didn’t really notice. My absolute favourite toy, is Nigel, my mouse, who I like to scoop up and drop in my drinking water so he can learn to swim. My other toys I take into the kitchen and line up on my feeding station so mom will think there are more mouths to feed and put down extra rations. Biting, I love biting. My mom’s wicker chair is my current project in process as I reduce it to a pile of matchsticks. A new leather Radley handbag has now been accessorised with a few designer bite marks, so too has her laptop. I don’t care, I’m fierce!

I bite my mom, her toes, her fingers, her ankles especially if I think she’s a bit slow putting food down for me. I just have fun.

I have my sister, Chav Cat, who I chase round and annoy till she growls and rounds on me. I run off chuckling. I just adore running round being naughty and there is no end to my naughtiness!.

I didn’t realise my mom was also very sad. She almost threw Soapbox, Dumpty’s teddy bear, out when she tidied up after Dumpty’s funeral in the garden. But at the last minute he got a stay of execution and was put back on mom’s bed.

On Wednesday, I’d been shut in the kitchen. It was about midnight but as my alter-ego - Captain Buggernuts of the Friday Night Freddie Brigade - I had escaped and thundered up and down the lounge duffing up feathers and catnip mice. I heard strange noises, so wandered into the hall to investigate and saw, through the windows of the front door, a big yellow vehicle on the drive with flashing blue lights. I pushed the bedroom door open, and stood in shock. A man dressed in green had machines on the bed, all flashing lights and blipping noises. Mom was connected up via little pads and wires to these noisy machines. She turned her head on the pillow and looked down at me on the floor, but she couldn’t talk to me as she had a mask on, noisily pumping gasses and what looked like steam, into her.

There were tears in her eyes which fell silently as I looked up at her. On her chest was Soapbox, the teddy bear.  She was tightly cuddling him. And he had damp patches of tears on his fur.

My heart just stopped. In that moment I realised that I could lose my mom. I also realised that it should me that was being tightly cuddled by my mom, comforting her when she needed me. That was my job and I wasn’t doing it. I growled at the person in green, but he just laughed. I tried to leap on the bed to get to my mom, but ended up tangled on one of the wires which hooked her up to one of the machines.  As I fell from the bed, I tore one of the wires off the pad on my mom’s skin and all sorts of loud alarms went off.

I panicked and dashed back to the kitchen and a dish of yummies. But I had no appetite. I sat down and felt heartbroken.

Gabes and Soapbox the teddyLater, my mom was in bed, all very quiet and alone. I silently jumped back onto the bed, sniffed the duvet where all the noisy machines had been then snuggled up to Soapbox. I snuggled up tightly to him and spent the next few hours just watching my mom doze and I made up my mind that from now on, as I really love my mom and could have lost her, I am going to be her protector and look after her.

For the past couple of days I have been following her round like a little lamb. I haven’t bitten her once, but I have been starting to chatter to her, instead of giving her the usual silent treatment.

At night when we snuggle down, it’s a bit of a battle as to who gets to cuddle Soapbox!!

Till the next time,

Gabes

 

In the Middle of a World...

"In the middle of a world that has always been a bit mad, the cat walks with confidence."

Roseanne Anderson