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MoetOne morning I was busy playing in the bedroom and suddenly mum gets out these big square boxes with wheels. I can hear them but I can’t see them. But my sisfur Luna seems to know what’s going on. She sits on the ‘cases’ endlessly and sometimes meows. Very strange.

The next morning, my mum wheels the boxes to the door and gives us lots of extra cuddles. She then leaves saying “goodbye girls, see you in 2 weeks. Be good for Deby” (the lady who will come and feed us twice a day). The door shuts. All is quiet. OK, she does this when she goes to “work”, I guess I’ll play and nap and play again until she comes back in 10 hours.

Play, nap, play nap. Then a key in the door. Yippeeee, mum is home!

But when I go to the door, the smell and footsteps aren’t familiar. I run off back into the living room. This is NOT mum. What’s going on?

Now I’m not very good with strangers because I don’t see and everybody tends to spook me, especially if they are noisy and move around too much. But once I get to know most people, I’m as happy as pie. I like being happy by the way.

The lady came in and said her hellos. Hmmmm..do I trust her? I tentatively edged towards the kitchen as she went in and started preparing what must be our dinner.  She then took our brush and started to brush Luna. Luna loves anybody who feeds and brushes her. But I wasn’t so sure. Mum brushes me a certain way, tickles my chin and tummy in a certain way, gives me food served just the way I like it and tells me ‘good girl Mo-Mo’ if I pause while eating or if I’m unsure. This wasn’t right and suddenly I wasn’t even that hungry. The lady coaxed me to eat so I nibbled at my dish of food. But quite frankly, I wasn’t in the mood.

I squeaked at her, “can you tell me where my mum is?”.

MoetNo response. Just more encouragement to eat. She then went off to clean our litter boxes, so I skulked off to my new-found bed – something mum called her ‘fruit bowl’. It fits me just perfectly and since there is nobody called ‘fruit’ in our house, I figured I could claim it as mine.

I decided to take a long nap and wait until mum got home after the lady left. But I waited and waited and she still didn’t come. Surely it was time for her to sleep, so that I could have playtime on the bed with my favourite feather toys, then go off to play a bit more before curling up next to her. But no. The night passed and she still didn’t come. I had to sleep on my own in my bed and as I drifted off, I hoped that she’d be there for breakfast.

I woke with a start to the key in the door. Yay, mum’s home finally! But no, again it was the lady who came. The brush felt different, the food was still not quite to my liking but I nibbled at it as I was very hungry by now. The lady played with us a bit but I wasn’t much in the mood. I went off to lie down and take a bath. After my bath I played a bit. I tried to get Luna (my sisfur) to snuggle with me but she’s never interested.

I wanted my mum back. I was lonely.

The days came and went and the loneliness persisted. What had happened to make mum leave us? I started to ‘stare’ slowly into space, dreaming of times gone by. My mum coming home and the excitement, the tummy rubs, the fun. Her carefully removing my knotted fur with her gentle brushing, the attention, the running around the apartment chasing my mouse with mum. The endless strokes and love, the small-talk, her retrieving my lost toys and encouraging us to have fun and explore. And even the crazy chase-play with my sisfurs. Even they didn’t want to play much any more.

Then it dawned on me; maybe I did something wrong and she doesn’t love me any more so she went away. Oh dear, this made me more forlorn. What was I to do? My heart ached for the good old days.

Slowly, slowly I started to get more used to the lady. The belly rubs still weren’t to my liking, but I got used to the brushing and the food got a bit more appetising. But still the evenings and nights were cold and unwelcoming. I tried in vain to carry my feather toys to mum in bed, but she was never there to play and cuddle me. I loved my home, but now it was beginning to feel like a lonely abode for me and my sisfurs to eat and sleep in.

Pace, nap, play, wash, pace, squeak for mum, nap, eat, try to enjoy the little attention I got from the lady, wash, nap, repeat.

I’d now resigned myself to a life of loneliness. It had been 2 weeks (I think). OK, I guess I’ll survive. We’d all be ok. But my heart was heavy.

It was very early one morning when I was woken with a start. A key in the lock. Hang on it’s 5am, what is the lady doing here so early? Oh well, I suppose I’m hungry. And then, my ears and whiskers pricked up… I KNOW those footsteps and before my brain could register what was happening, I heard… my MUM!

Oh my days, I was just beside myself. In she came with her mummy-call to us. I was first to the door and she showered me with strokes and nice words and all the belly and chin rubs I wanted. She turned to the door and for a moment I thought she was going again. No! But she brought in her boxes with wheels and shut the door and sat on the floor with us, just stroking us while we purred.

The rest of the morning is a blur. Food, brushes, playtime, extra strokes, new toys and treats and I never left her side. My heart filled up with love again… no going away EVER again mummy. And that’s an order! Now I have to figure out how to shred those boxes with wheels.

 

You can follow Moet on Twitter: @Moetblindcat

Facebook: facebook.com/MoetBlindCat

And on Instagram with Luna and Lily, her two sisters: @Muscats

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