RIP Muswell Hill
Yesterday, I had a pretty good Valentine's Day, despite the lingering effects of the traditional February cold. A year ago yesterday was the worst Valentine's Day ever.
The February cold hit me worse than usual that year, but fortunately I had some cats to curl up on my chest and purr me better:
That's a rare moment of cooperation between the three cats. The orange one and the dark gray one don't get along too well. But Muswell - the one in the middle with the big, broad white chest - was able to keep the peace between them. Everybody liked Muswell.
It was especially gratifying when Muswell cuddled up to me like that, because it was so fleeting. He really loved to make biscuits on my chest, but he had no sense of proportion, so it basically he would stare into my eyes while purring and punching me in the breastbone REALLY HARD. But I treasure that punching, because it would never last long. After a few seconds or minutes he would suddenly panic, smack me in the face, and run. He had huge emotions, and they confused him greatly.
Cats all have their own personality, and Muswell had the personality of a nervous but inquisitive little child. He was always sticking his snout into things trying to find out what was up. The first Halloween after we got him, I had some friends over to play Arkham Horror, and he kept jumping up and messing with all the cards. After that we kept joking that he was a little introverted geek boy - he didn't know how to relate to people, but he loved games with little mechanical bits.
We joked that he loved board games, dreamed about punching bad guys, and wanted to be a wizard. I know that was projection, but it just seemed to fit him so perfectly.
Just look at that chest! And that round face with those stripes!
While Googling around once, we found a Facebook post from someone who does reiki for cats. No name given, but it was clearly him:
Reiki for Kitty Cat in Montreal that Pees on the Bed
November 1, 2009 at 3:05pm
We received a request from a Mama who is staying with a cat that is around 5 or 6 years old. She told us he may have some kidney problems and is also overweight. She asked for mental and physical healings for him.
This kitty was quite interesting and quite complex. There were a lot of layers to him. He wanted us to see it from HIS point of view. While he did take in the Reiki and found it relaxing. He showed it in a movie form of how other cats were coming in his house, touching his stuff, his Mama so he was marking. That’s why he was peeing. (we did suggest Feliway which helped my cat when we had an addition to our family) He told us he knows he is overweight but he was used to eating when and what he wanted. Then it was just taken away and these changes made him sick. He said what boy wants to be healthy? He doesn’t have any issue with his weight. (Quite funny, boys are so funny) SO he got angry because he wasn’t getting enough food.
I have to say, they really nailed him. He DID have a lot of layers. He WAS quite complex. And he loved to eat. He would never turn down treats. What boy wants to be healthy?
Here he is keeping my company while I work. It took a long time to gain his confidence, but once I did, he was very loving.
Although that photo is labelled, "Begging daddy for food," so it may not have been entirely love and devotion that led him to be there.
A couple of days after Muswell helped nurse me through my illness - February 14, 2014 - we woke up to find him lying on the bathmat, with his little back legs not working. The vet said it was a blood clot, and his only chance was surgery - but it only had about a 30% chance of success, and we would have to bundle him into a cab and drive across town to a specialist. He would have hated that. He was already stressed from being at the vet, and we didn't want his last moments to be even more miserable, so we fed him a treat - he ate it while growling at the vet, like he always does - and then put him to sleep.
I'm glad he got a last treat before he want. I wish I'd thought to give him more. What boy wants to be healthy?
When Diva died, I put a memorial post up almost immediately. But Muswell's death was so sudden, and unexpected, that it took a long time before I could face the task. I still miss him a lot. Our new cat is very sweet, but Muswell was... complicated, like the reiki lady said, and that made him even sweeter. He was a special little boy.
Good night, sweet prince.
The February cold hit me worse than usual that year, but fortunately I had some cats to curl up on my chest and purr me better:
That's a rare moment of cooperation between the three cats. The orange one and the dark gray one don't get along too well. But Muswell - the one in the middle with the big, broad white chest - was able to keep the peace between them. Everybody liked Muswell.
It was especially gratifying when Muswell cuddled up to me like that, because it was so fleeting. He really loved to make biscuits on my chest, but he had no sense of proportion, so it basically he would stare into my eyes while purring and punching me in the breastbone REALLY HARD. But I treasure that punching, because it would never last long. After a few seconds or minutes he would suddenly panic, smack me in the face, and run. He had huge emotions, and they confused him greatly.
Cats all have their own personality, and Muswell had the personality of a nervous but inquisitive little child. He was always sticking his snout into things trying to find out what was up. The first Halloween after we got him, I had some friends over to play Arkham Horror, and he kept jumping up and messing with all the cards. After that we kept joking that he was a little introverted geek boy - he didn't know how to relate to people, but he loved games with little mechanical bits.
We joked that he loved board games, dreamed about punching bad guys, and wanted to be a wizard. I know that was projection, but it just seemed to fit him so perfectly.
Just look at that chest! And that round face with those stripes!
While Googling around once, we found a Facebook post from someone who does reiki for cats. No name given, but it was clearly him:
Reiki for Kitty Cat in Montreal that Pees on the Bed
November 1, 2009 at 3:05pm
We received a request from a Mama who is staying with a cat that is around 5 or 6 years old. She told us he may have some kidney problems and is also overweight. She asked for mental and physical healings for him.
This kitty was quite interesting and quite complex. There were a lot of layers to him. He wanted us to see it from HIS point of view. While he did take in the Reiki and found it relaxing. He showed it in a movie form of how other cats were coming in his house, touching his stuff, his Mama so he was marking. That’s why he was peeing. (we did suggest Feliway which helped my cat when we had an addition to our family) He told us he knows he is overweight but he was used to eating when and what he wanted. Then it was just taken away and these changes made him sick. He said what boy wants to be healthy? He doesn’t have any issue with his weight. (Quite funny, boys are so funny) SO he got angry because he wasn’t getting enough food.
I have to say, they really nailed him. He DID have a lot of layers. He WAS quite complex. And he loved to eat. He would never turn down treats. What boy wants to be healthy?
Here he is keeping my company while I work. It took a long time to gain his confidence, but once I did, he was very loving.
Although that photo is labelled, "Begging daddy for food," so it may not have been entirely love and devotion that led him to be there.
A couple of days after Muswell helped nurse me through my illness - February 14, 2014 - we woke up to find him lying on the bathmat, with his little back legs not working. The vet said it was a blood clot, and his only chance was surgery - but it only had about a 30% chance of success, and we would have to bundle him into a cab and drive across town to a specialist. He would have hated that. He was already stressed from being at the vet, and we didn't want his last moments to be even more miserable, so we fed him a treat - he ate it while growling at the vet, like he always does - and then put him to sleep.
I'm glad he got a last treat before he want. I wish I'd thought to give him more. What boy wants to be healthy?
When Diva died, I put a memorial post up almost immediately. But Muswell's death was so sudden, and unexpected, that it took a long time before I could face the task. I still miss him a lot. Our new cat is very sweet, but Muswell was... complicated, like the reiki lady said, and that made him even sweeter. He was a special little boy.
Good night, sweet prince.