I wrote about our Cat, Oliver, and how I hoped he would provide solace for my wife when I shipped out as a result of my cancer. You can read the original article here.
Well, things have changed somewhat since March last year. I’m still here, much to my surprise but, unfortunately, Oliver isn’t. He had a heart turn one evening and the vet wasn’t able to treat the problem. So Oliver went to join Casper in the great cattery in the sky.
This left the Korau household in somewhat of a quandary. Who would console Mrs Korau when my time is up (still no date, but the oncologist tells me that I’m unlikely to benefit from another round of radiation). What to do??
Mrs Korau has given small amounts of money to a local cat rescue group for some years and she called them to see if they had a cat who might take Oliver’s place. If you read the original article, you will remember Oliver was a free spirit, but also a very good friend when needed.
Enter Milo and Otis. Well, enter Yolande and Ygor as they were called in the rescue society. These two cats were around 10 months old, brother and sister, and the cat rescue people were desperate to place the two together. I was dragged to the society premises and we made the acquaintance of the two of them.
The grey and white female was a very friendly puss who immediately climbed all over Mrs Korau and then me. It was obvious from the start that she had decided we would be providing her new home.
The male was much larger, and we had trouble believing they were indeed brother and sister. He was a startling white and black cat, very shy and retiring. He had a haunted look in his eyes, and Mrs Korau, who is an expert in these things, opined that he would take time and much work, but might transmute into a worthwhile companion. (As an aside, cats have long subscribed to the modern family planning method, that is each offspring can have a different father. We believe this to be the case with our brother and sister cats).
Long story short. They both now live with us and are settling in well. At the time of writing (6 weeks after arrival) Mrs Korau is well satisfied that they will fill the large hole my departure is expected to leave.
You may recall the original article I wrote was about how cats and dogs were different, but both gave great companionship. They have both settled in and Mrs Korau has worked her cat whispering magic on Otis. He no longer has a haunted look in his eyes, and now is affectionate with both of us. He has, however, just given us a weekend from hell. Like the teenager he is, he failed to come home after wandering off on a Saturday adventure. All Sunday we spent the day anxiously looking for him. It was not until around 10 pm when I was on a toilet run I found him peacefully curled up in a cat basket (actually a repurposed clothes hamper lid with an old towel for padding). Needless to say, Mrs Korau was beside herself with relief and Otis joined us shortly thereafter for an extended smooch session in bed.
We have long believed, and this has been born out by experience, that cats do make great companions, But they do require work, as do all worthwhile enterprises. If a cat decides to allow you to reside in their world, you can indeed be a lucky person. But be prepared for the bumps and potholes of life; the highway is truly just like New Zealand’s roads. They will get you where you want to go, but you can’t fully pre-plan because of the detours, potholes and stop/go signs along the way.
Both the new cats have shown they will ease the step when my time comes. But in the meantime, they have given me a much-appreciated lift with my health.
I don’t plan to bore you with any more stories of our furry companions. We are the same with your baby pictures and stories, but they have a habit of creeping into the narrative at unexpected moments, so I can’t promise absolutely there will be no more episodes.
Thank you both, Milo & Otis.
(PS. Photos taken on my Samsung A12 phone, and resized using GIMP).