Well, first things first: I apologize for the lateness of this post!
I went on vacation to Japan, and nearly two weeks of travel threw me rather roughly off of my routine. Normalcy is slowly returning, and I still have 430 photos to go through — no time for that just now, though! We must talk about Patches.
First – the travel report. While I was away, my boyfriend very kindly agreed to keep up her daily care and watch after her. Being the absurd worrier that I am, I gave him a long list of important people to contact should anything happen, ordered by which person to contact first.
As it happens, nothing happened. It was just an old cat demanding the attentions of the next-best human in the room. As she does with me, Patches perched upon his desk like a ragamuffin gargoyle, raspily meowing at him in hopes of soliciting some neck scratches.
See below: “PET ME.”
The moment I arrived home, she was back on my desk, perched before me, raspily meowing at me in hopes of soliciting some neck scratches.
Two things have transpired since I returned home, both important. First – I’ve felt that the slow progression of Patches’s aging clicked up a few notches, particularly in the last couple of months. Upon coming home from work, her presence felt particularly quiet and subdued; I phoned Junior Vet Tech Jess about it, and she came by to check Patches over.
Her immediate vitals are good: hydration, lungs, heart. She’s eating. These are the bare minimums we need for survival. The next level is to thrive and to enjoy quality of life. Patches still has that, and with all of my capability, I will provide her the best quality of life that I am able to.
She lives – my sweet girl, she lives.
The second thing that I will mention is a cat, and not a thing, and his name is Fred. I recently adopted Fred. He took to my home faster than any other cat I’ve brought in; he and Patches met nose-to-nose and decided they really didn’t care about the other’s existence. Patches ignores Fred; Fred ignores Patches. (Hilariously, with Fred over 20 pounds and Patches just over five, Fred was initially afraid of her.)
Later this month, we celebrate her birthday of 22 years. Cats don’t often make it to such an age. Something about Patches is quite special… but we knew that already.
Happy May, dear sponsors, and thank you for your continued support.