Too Soon? You Be The Judges

Some of you will be so pleased for us, some might think it is a little too soon.  We are just happy.

We have a new cat.  He arrived into our lives around  9 p.m. last night.

When we lost Tinker yesterday our grief was heartfelt and we had thought that was the end of a long chapter.  We will always miss him, he was unique as all animals are.  They are all characters in their own right and you do not replace one with another.

The fates have always worked in a strange way in our lives.  The sudden decline and loss of Pip last year was totally unexpected, not only by us but by the vet himself.  He had given Pip another 18 months in his assessment.  Yet, had Pip not left us when he did we would never have had Jack.

We had not expected that Tinker would pass away yesterday.  One again a strange quirk - Mike brought in the local paper.  Something he does not usually do.  We used to have it regularly but with all the free newspapers being pushed through the door, t.v. and the computer we felt it was a waste of money.  When he returned he found me sitting in the garden staring at Tinker's grave, my eyes red and sore from weeping.  He told me to have a look at the paper to take my mind off and that is what I did.  I read some interesting local news and then....................it was inevitable, I found myself looking at the Pets section. 

I called to Mike.  I told him how typical that now, of all times, when we had spent years looking, there were ginger kittens for sale.  Mike asked me if I would like one providing any were still available.  This surprised me because Mike has always been more a dog man.  He said he thought it would be just what I needed with my radiotherapy coming up, a new young life in the house, something to play with, and when the radiotherapy makes me tired and I lie on the bed, a kitten could curl up beside me. He said it would be good therapy for me and take the edge of my grief.  Mike is such a wonderful husband.

I heard myself saying yes despite the fact that I felt I had been run over from the events of the day.  We rang the number.  We did not get the usual "sorry, they have all gone." 

A very nice man said he had three left.  He admitted that they were not completely ginger, they did have white on them. I said that was no problem as long as the colour was predominantly ginger.  He promised to hold them until Mike went along.

Mike, bless him, rushed through his dinner and took off.  I asked him to ring me when he got there and tell me what the kittens were like and whether they were healthy.  Well, he did ring but only to tell me that he was on his way home with a kitten, he had fallen in love with him and knew that I would as well.

He was right, I loved him from the second I saw him.

This morning he has been to the vet.  Perfect kitten, he will be a small cat like his mother according to the vet.  Too little to have his jabs yet, wait another couple of weeks.  So now I have regular feeding to do and, of course, I cannot stop petting him and stroking him.

It is strange though that this happened and not for the first time in our lives.  We were meant to have this little creature, it was destined to be.  I know that Tinker would be pleased for us, he was a gentle cat with not a bad trait in him.

So, my friends, I hope you will be pleased for us.  I know that some of you have never been able to face getting another pet. I understand that.  But, this little bundle found us - just as a couple of you commented - that a cat would find us.  I hope he has a long and happy life and I am sure he will speed me on my way to full recovery.

So, without further ado, I will like you all to meet

LEO  aged 8 weeks - the new man in our lives.

You can see how small he is next to my mascot bear which is less than six inches tall.

Who could resist this little face? He moved slightly just as I took it so it is not as clear as the two other pictures.

I truly did not think we would ever have another cat.  I never envisaged that something like this could happen so quickly but I truly believe that it was meant to be.

Well,  I must go and see what he is up to, I need eyes in the back of my head now!

P.S. I would like to thank the following journallers and friends for sponsoring Julie in the Race For Life.

Guido
Sybil
Terry
Antonella
Jenny

This means so much to Julie and myself.  If anyone would still like to sponsor, please see the link on the left under Other Blogs - it is at the bottom.  Thank you.