Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Now Ferds seems happier, I thought I would ask him. Was there an earth tremor?

He made a trilling noise, and put his face under his paw. Perhaps Mary is right!

Kerren, did you ever see again that poor cat you rescued? The one who visited your porch for ages?

Well done Jude, for rescuing those poor kittens; how horrible they were handled so cruelly! I hope poor Muffin is quite recovered from the dog ordeal. Oh... vet's bills!

Thank you all for the thoughts on Ferdinand's night activity! Hoping for peaceful slumber for all our cats tonight!

The firework season, which appears to have already started, won't impress feline and canine friends...

Quite agree. Curtains closed and lights on and internal noise to distract them.
No Angela I heard no more about my little rescued cat - though I drive through his new 'home' twice a day (Ford Open Prison) I have not caught sight of any cat, let alone him!
Hope Ferdinand has a quieter night tonight..

cats are incredibly sensitive to lots of things - mine know when I have exhausted myself and literally PIN me to the bed in an effort to stop me getting up! They then "herd" me back to bed! Now and again they bounce on my bladder (not the best place for me in the morning!) which is a "get up NOW! type of call.

When we had the Dudley earthquake, all 4 of the cats we had then, went totally mad, I tried to wake Chris up to say we were having an earthquake - he told me to stop being stupid, we don't have earthquakes here blah blah!! Strangely come the morning he and Sarah charged into my bedroom yelling "Mum!! we had an earthquake last night" - I looked at Chris and he did agree I wasn't mad (then) afterall

Like now - I am stressing about the fact I have an echocardiogram tomorrow for a heart murmur that is stopping me having surgery on my neck, and 3 of the cats are actually on me - I am getting very stressed as I have to be in Gloucester Hospital by 9am, which means getting up insanely early to get there in time due to traffic etc... So I guess it's early night if I can sleep! Then home again to rest as I have had oink oink flu! So back to cats - they can almost "predict" things that are about to happen, or how you are feeling yourself. Give them all an extra stroke, cuddle etc just for being there to protect us!

kerrensimmonds wrote:Nothing shown on the BGS website, though there was one off Lizard Point at 17.17 on Saturday...
There Mary, even I am now taking you seriously!

I really did take her seriously.

Maui cat, who lived with us in earthquake prone NZ would always sense the tremors seconds before we did, and we learnt to interpret the eathquake-specific behaviour.

Adelaide experienced a reasonably severe tremor some years ago. I was driving home at the time, so didn't feel anything, but my son reported being very scared by our dog's behaviour: she had frantically barked at the floor.

xx

Not quite the same I know but I'm very aware that our animals are very sensitive to emotions. Our first Beardie Razzle used to leave home if Mick and I ever argued or even raised our voices. It was quite embarrassing because she would always go to my friend Jenny's house about half a mine away and Jenny would ring up and say, have you two been arguing again?? Razzle taught us lots about rational discussion and not losing one's temper!!

At the moment we have our oldest Beardie lady Jess lying bedbound, almost on her way to leave us. This is doubly hard because not only is she a wonderful friend in her own right, and at 14 years old a VIP family member, but coming only weeks after the tragic early death of Blaze the Magnificent it re-opens wounds that are nowhere near healing.

So as you can imagine this is a tearful time.

And little Ragdoll cat Kit, who rarely sets foot outdoors, has picked this time to do a runner! No doubt he's scared....

I sometimes wonder why do we have these animals? Do we really need the heartbreak and stress??

Liz

Liz Jay wrote:
I sometimes wonder why do we have these animals? Do we really need the heartbreak and stress??

Liz

Better to have loved and lost Liz

Big hugs from Down Under: we buried Bernie two Saturdays ago, after he passed in his sleep beside my bed.

On the up side, we now have four horses. Minti managed to manipulate her way into our lives, possibly with some connivance from Guy. Fee was vet checked this morning and is off to stud in a couple of weeks. Paddock service, so we'll leave it up to her to decide whether she wants to go through with it. Fergie, the clydie cross is, according to Jess, the bestest pony ................. ever. Although Jess should take the credit she deserves for her excellent handling and training skills.

Plus, Jess should finally take receipt of a wolfhound pup in a couple of weeks.

Thinking of you all, and may your Jess pass as peacefully as Bernie when her time comes.

xxxxx

Liz Jay wrote:Not quite the same I know but I'm very aware that our animals are very sensitive to emotions. Our first Beardie Razzle used to leave home if Mick and I ever argued or even raised our voices. It was quite embarrassing because she would always go to my friend Jenny's house about half a mine away and Jenny would ring up and say, have you two been arguing again?? Razzle taught us lots about rational discussion and not losing one's temper!!

At the moment we have our oldest Beardie lady Jess lying bedbound, almost on her way to leave us. This is doubly hard because not only is she a wonderful friend in her own right, and at 14 years old a VIP family member, but coming only weeks after the tragic early death of Blaze the Magnificent it re-opens wounds that are nowhere near healing.

So as you can imagine this is a tearful time.

And little Ragdoll cat Kit, who rarely sets foot outdoors, has picked this time to do a runner! No doubt he's scared....

I sometimes wonder why do we have these animals? Do we really need the heartbreak and stress?? Liz

I'm sorry to hear that you are in such pain from your dogs death, and Jess also close to leaving - but remember they never really leave us - or us them, we hold them in our hearts, our souls and look - they are in here now, so you have shared the love you have for your pets with others. I still cry when I think about Kitania my first real (as an adult) cat - I was training to be a nurse, she was covered in fleas and in very poor condition when I got her, so I would clean her, feed her, and gradually she grew into the most wonderful soul mate I could ever have had in my life, she went through marriage, children (never scratched them once in anger, only in an accident in the car), divorce, house move after house move, and then suddenly one night when she was 14, she got all kitten like with me, kept coming over and nuzzling, purring, chasing fingers it was wonderful. The next morning she was no where to be found, she didn't come to calls, and it wasn't until I looked in a box in the conservatory that I found her curled up and dead. We buried her in the garden there, with her favourite toys, both the children were in a state, and wrote letters to G-D for her, and to her as well, and we put some flowers in the box as well. (if the writings gone weird it's because I am in full flow here). Although we have had many cats in our life, and many who have passed on, Kitania was my rock, my soul mate, my everything. I miss her now, and she has been gone for over 14 years, and I have photo's of her to look at. She was a member of my family, and altough I love my current cats, and hate anything to happen to them (even getting wet!) Not one has ever come so close to my soul than Kitania. I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful friend, soul mate in my life, however, she set a standard so high it's unfair on the others I have!

OK - I need to go and get some tissues and have a rest now.

That was lovely, but extremely sad, to read, and brought back some still-painful memories of burying our dog last year when she was only 5 years old (much, much too early! ) When we lost Lilly we were all shocked and inconsolable, and, like you we buried her in the garden with a blanket, toy, treats and photos of our other dog (her full sister) and the family. I hated the final goodbye, but a friend of mine told me that it is only goodbye to her body, the love we felt for her and the love she felt for us will be with us forever. She told me that the pain of losing her will never go completely, but that is how it should be, because it shows how much she meant to us.

It helps to have her buried in the garden, although I do wonder what the neighbours think when I say 'hi Lil, love you' out loud as I put the washing out!

Despite indications to the cotrarary -- I LIKE Cats ------- provided they are mot one of the 7 who live within 25 yards of my Gardens !! --- in this area, I am ruthless -- and I chase 'em !
When I visit their houses, socially, I nurse them and stroke them, whern on THEIR territory.

Now on the subject of the Wolfhound pup ---- WOW !--- Wonderful.
As an ex Irish Guardsman, I remember the Regimental Mascot --- which was enormous, and looked after by a "Detailed" Drummer Boy ---- who smelled TERRIBLE !

The Wolfhound or the Drummer Boy

BOTH !!!

All of our 3 cats' bodies are buried in the garden, & we still say Hello! They were all unwanted kittens, and all enjoyed long and happy lives with us. Fred, our barmy, people-crazy & home-loving old ginger, just missed making it to his 21st. birthday; he died in May 2007 and we buried him near to the back door because he was in & out of it all the time.
I do agree about their sensitivity to moods and feelings. Acid, my partner's huge black long-haired semi-feral male (neutered, as they all were - it does annoy me when people don't bother), took a while to get used to me but once accepted I was surprised how he would actually sit by me if I was a bit "blue", or poorly. Normally he behaved as if any show of affection was cissy!

NEILL THE NOTORIOUS wrote:
Now on the subject of the Wolfhound pup ---- WOW !--- Wonderful.
As an ex Irish Guardsman, I remember the Regimental Mascot --- which was enormous, and looked after by a "Detailed" Drummer Boy ---- who smelled TERRIBLE !

Brenna will be raw fed: she will, therefore, smell delightful . Photographs arrived yesterday: oh so cute, but already the size of an adult terrier (or maybe it was just the angle of the camera).

I agree Caroline - raw fed dogs (and cats) smell so sweet compared with their junk-food counterparts.

My poor old Jess is panting off and on but despite her advanced age NO halitosis and her teeth are pearly white!

So sorry to hear about Bernie, he will be missed I know. They all leave pawprints on our hearts don't they? Jude's post summed it up....

Liz