i think my cat has been reading my diary...

V and I received some scary news today - our lovely kittycat Jade needed a trip to the vet, with a suspected bladder infection, but the vet seems to think she may have a kidney stone. And if that's the case, she will need surgery :(

My last cat passed away at the vet's surgery, aged 13 years. She wasn't eating, and they wanted to x-ray her lungs, which required her to have an anesthetic. She just never woke up. The single biggest regret of my life is that she died in the cold, sterile surrounds of the vet surgery rather than peacefully, on my bed, where she belonged.

And I am absolutely petrified that the same thing is going to happen with my lovely Jade. That I am going to get the call telling me she is gone. Or that the vet will call tomorrow and tell me its not actually a kidney stone, its kidney disease, or cancer, and she should be put down. I am trying not to freak out, trying not to cry - focus on the positives.

So this is my lovely Jade...

She is 9 years old. She is a tortoiseshell tabby. She is named Jade for her big, green eyes. She looks like she is wearing eyeliner and mascara. I think she must put it on at night when I’m asleep – wouldn’t do to be caught with an unmade face!

I adopted her from the RSPCA in 2002, when she was just 10 months old, not quite adult, but no longer a kitten – apparently the Rangers found her walking along the side of the highway, halfway between Goulburn and Canberra. I liked that she was gutsy and looking for someone to love her, even after being dumped. I picked her up and she just grabbed me, her eyes saying, “Please take me home with you”.

She is the sweetest, most affectionate cat I’ve ever known. She has to sleep under the covers of our bed at night, curled around my arm – if I refuse to let her under, she cries. She likes sitting on my laptop, or the newspaper, or a book, if I am wasting time blogging or reading or working, rather than cuddling her.

She is playful and very kitten-like in her behaviour, despite being a “mature” cat. She loves lying on the top step of our carpeted starcaise and slowly sliding down, like a big, furry slinky. She will plays for hours with a piece of scrunched paper.

She is a wonderful big sister to Jasper, after the initial shock had worn off (when we first brought him home she beat him up every day and refused to speak to us for weeks). She grooms him and cuddles him, when she thinks we aren’t looking.

I love her. Please keep her in your thoughts tomorrow.

xoxo