The New Toivo

Lots of Toivo pictures ... she always has been the camera-happy kitty around here!

But with Musta gone, I'm intrigued by her behavior changes. I didn't realize how much I must have been Musta's 'territory'. Now that the territory is open for re-claiming, Toivo's stepping in. This is the cat that would disappear - where I could never figure out - between breakfast and supper and again between supper and breakfast, making short appearances and meowing for a scritch some times.

But now I've created a bed (M & A, do you recognize Lady's old bed?!) on the bed and she spends a lot of time there. I used to keep two sleeping spots on the bed; one always remained empty.

And last night, much to my surprise, she tucked herself timidly between the covers: something she never ONCE did before and something which Musta did, every single night once the weather turned cold, carefully making her way between the top sheet and the comforter, never under the sheet. Toivo didn't stay long under the cover.

Still: very interesting ...

How to Stay Warm

... on a chilly day: make a home under a lamp!

Aha!

A man at the Tower Grove farmers market today identified Lady's breeding! Tere's no question in my mind anymore, Lady is part black lab and part Croatian sheepdog. So many of her physical and temperment characteristics are explained:

• the curly fur
  
• the tail curled over top (though apparently they're often docked)
  
• the upright ears
  
• the long face
  
• the fox-like legs
  
• the intelligence and energy
  
• need for human companionship
• need for exercise
  

Desk Cat

I hadn't realized that my desk was "Musta's territory". Toivo would jump up every once in awhile, stay a minute then leave. I just figured she wasn't interested, she's more 'cat' than Musta ever was, seems not to need or even want more than a small amount of human contact (except at supper time ...) But since losing Musta, she spends a half hour or so, every day, perched somewhere on the desk while I work. It's nice ...

And So the Basket Stays

With Musta gone, I wondered if the basket on my desk, where she so often slept while I worked, should go. I think not. For the first time ever, Toivo has climbed in ... and so the basket stays.

Calling All Bird Watchers

Look what settled onto the fence for a good 30 minutes this morning! Here's a couple of close-ups for identification purposes ...

Toivo and the New Back Scratchers

... oops, I mean the new rugs, the ones that now stretch -- perfectly, to the inch, not one inch too many but not one too short, either -- from Lady's crate in my office to Lady's crate in the downstairs bedroom where we'll soon move in, through the kitchen to the back door, through the dining room into the family room to Lady's open pen -- all in preparation for next week's surgery so that when she's home again and less sure-footed, she doesn't slip on the wood floors ... many thanks to my Dad and IKEA for the rugs, they're just perfect, if not perfectly matched (to one another or the house decor)

Musta's Last Day

Musta Kissa II
1989 - 2006

And so The Herd becomes two ...

Musta was definitely not herself when I got back from the family reunion weekend. She stayed in the red chair, didn't come upstairs to cuddle for the night. The next day, she seemed okay, just lethargic and stand-offish. Who'd guess I miss her getting in the way while I work at my desk? By Tuesday, I knew something was up. She tried really hard to use the litter box, going in and out and then in again. We made a fast trip to see Dr Julie, who found both constipation and dehydration, also considerable weight loss. When I picked her up later, Julie said her kidneys were failing, her numbers, whatever they are, were 100x worse than our last visit. And so I brought her home, for just one last night, a long one, nobody sleeping, Musta lying still, no purrs, no spirit. And so this morning ... she made her trip 'over the rainbow', her head resting on my hand as I held her.

She's buried beneath the fir tree in back ~ though since she's joined her kittenmate Toivo I, I think it's now the 'fur' tree, another named tree, joining the Mother Dogwood and the Father Birch.

She was a sweet cat, a rare kitty who craved human company, who wrapped her paws around my neck, who purred and purred and purred when she tucked herself beside me or at my feet or on my chest or yes, between my chest and the keyboard on the desk while I worked.

And I wish right now that I were a cat, like Toivo, who sniffed Musta's still but still-warm body, sniffed again, and then walked away, understanding, accepting, not missing ...

She is remembered, these last years ... for playfulness, posing, sleeping nearby and always finding the sunny and warm spots.