“I Heard the Owl Call My Name”

This doesn’t surprise me.  When I was much younger, my wife and I had a male cat which was very aloof and not affectionate at all.  One day I had to go through an unpleasant operation.  My wife brought me home in the afternoon.  Although it was an outpatient procedure, the anaesthesia had made me very sick and nauseous and I also was in a lot of pain and having difficulty walking.

Unbelievably, our cat picked up on it immediately.  Not only did he follow us to the bedroom as my wife helped me into bed, he immediately jumped up on the bed and curled up next to me and stayed there until the next morning.  He had never done that before, nor did he ever do it again after.  But you could tell he was concerned.

I think cats know a lot more about what is happening than they let on.

An independant family cat breaks her offhand habits to stay with any member of the family who is ill so this does not surprise me.

Same thing with dogs.  A friend’s dog glued herself to my side when they came to visit, which she had never done before.  My friend said that I must be pregnant, because she did that every time my friend was pregnant.  Although I didn’t know it, I was pregnant.  Amazing.

There was always that story about a black cat crossing your path

The take on the media is that this cat is the ultimate Grim Reaper.  My understanding is that this cat crawled up with the convalescent.  Okay, yes.  The cat could pick up on the fact these people were dying.  But did it ever occur to them that maybe this cat helped put them at peace?  They had a comforting presence and could die in peace. Who wouldn’t be at peace with a cat purring next to you?

ugh. A cat that liked your company on a regular basis could give you peace and comfort. A cat who singles out the dying sounds like a potential source of anxiety and anguish.

This cat should be taken to Lambeth before September 30th. If he curls up next to Rowan, we know the Communion is finished!

Very funny, Spong. Inappropriate, but funny!

Actually, I understand from someone in England that there is a ginger cat in Canterbury Cathedral who turns up at services, graduations etc, watches the congregation from the dais for a while, then wanders off.
Slightly tangential, I read recently of dogs that are being used to detect cancers, so powerful is their sense of smell.

I guess it gives a whole new meaning to having a CAT scan.

Were they dead or just catatonic?

Or on Moggydon? This is getting catastrophic. Time for a paws.

Gordian, this is getting a little hairy.
But, frankly, if I were dying and had no humans, Oscar would be welcome at my bedside.

‘Moggydon’. Gordian, was that an ‘Are You Being Served’ reference? I miss that show.

On the other hand, I had to ban my cat, Lucy the Crabby, from my bedroom while I was recovering from a mastectomy. She insisted upon walking across my chest, the evil little critter. And once the door was closed to her, she took up sticking her paw under it to thwack the springy door stop and make a vile, annoying noise until I crawled out of bed and removed the dang stop from the door. However, 9 years later, we’re still both alive…

“Get that ****ing cat away from me!”