No, not another dead pet. Hurrrrrrrrrray!
Kitty, shadow, psycho, whatever you want to call him – our black cat is not dead.
After no sight nor sound for several days, we thought he had come to a possum-like end on the road, like Marcella and Fluffy before him.
I resisted the urge to write about this when I talked to you this morning. But after I pushed publish, I decided to go for a wander down the road to find the body.
There was no sign to the north although a bunch of pine cones gave me the wobblies for five minutes (is there a term for a bunch of pine cones?) Every funny looking tuft of grass made me queasy – I SO did not want to pick up another carcase with a spade and have a funeral procession to the nice, shady spot behind the magnolia (actually I have no idea what the tree is, but it sounded pretty).
Waving to passing traffic while looking earnestly into the long grass (reminds me of golf actually), mournfully calling out “kitty kitty” and not really expecting anything to come of it.
Well! Imagine my surprise when I hear a pitiful meow from a huge blackberry patch about 200m south of the house (and fortunately, strong enough to allow me to think it wasn’t nursing horrible and death-defying injuries from being introduced to the front grill of a speeding car). In fact, I think I got just as many scratches getting him out of the blackberry but they were licked better by my grateful little feline friend on the walk home.
He doesn’t just have a purr now – there’s a freight train a’comin’!
Now I can’t wait for the kids to walk through the door this afternoon (now that makes a change doesn’t it!)
Kitty (as opposed to our other cat Puss) but otherwise known as Shadow or Psycho Shadow, depending on his mood!
rivettingKateTaylor 
Heh Kate
Really enjoy listening to your comments on the farming show,Guess you can’t lose your voice anymore,know what you mean about dead pets so far have buried 3 cats,4 dogs and 2 guinea pigs. Anyway we are working our butts off with 2 businesses and 2 jobs .Check out the website & click on Otago this is our business that Gabrielle manages, and works as relief for the manager @ a rest home in Dunedin 2 days a week. I operate a lawnmowing business in Clutha and am trying to break into the lifestyle block servicing market on the Taeri as well as driving a tractor for a silage contractor and we juggle looking after 3 primary school children and occaisonly Gabrielle’s 19 yr old son who is studying @ Otago.
Look forward to hearing you again soon
By: Patrick Mills on January 5, 2010
at 6:08 pm
Great to hear from you! It has been a long time since I lost my voice – it used to be a monthly occurence for those southern Young Farmers trips! HOpe you like some of the blogs – I shall have to dredge up memories of National Conference 1993 in Ashburton (NOT! I have no memories of it!!) lol
By: Kate Rivett-Taylor on January 5, 2010
at 7:16 pm
the sad news is that Shadow went missing (again) a few months after this post and was never seen again. Very sad. Puss, the older kitten, is loving not having competition and has even become relatively friendly towards the children since the demise of Shadow. At least, he doesn’t disappear between 3.15pm and 8.10am (when the kids get off the bus and get back on it again!)
By: Kate Rivett-Taylor on May 28, 2010
at 4:18 pm