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1. In between Xmas and New Year Ellie Kat ate something which disagreed with her, leading to explosive diarrhea and a trip to the after-hours vet tight-as-a-drum with gas.
Whether this was cause or effect isn't clear, but after she recovered she had lost control of her bowel movements; she was unable to "hold it in" and had to squat and drop wherever she was. Another trip to the vet later and the cause was most likely that the bones spurs in the base of her spine had reached the point that the nerve to that are were no longer able to do their job properly. Reluctantly, because she had become very dear to D in the ~18 moths we had her, we chose to have her put down.
E was in Wellington for the whole of this, which was probably a mercy. While Gytha was a very trusting cat and the vets had no trouble getting the cannula in, Ellie was /not/ a very trusting cat and eventually had to be sedated. It was not the peaceful end we had hoped for.
I buried her up by the back fence, in another spot which will get a bit of sun.
~~~
2. #FuckCancer. I did not expect to be attending another funeral, but another decades-long, though not close, friend passed away mid-January. Initially diagnosed with myeloma? (a blood cancer) ~2018 which was initially beaten into remission, then returned a few years later, Robyn was nearly five years younger than me, and had accomplished more in that time than I possibly ever will. She was wickedly intelligent, scarily organised in most areas of her life, went all in when she set her mind to something and incredibly generous. Physical legacies that she has left (mentioned at the funeral) include in her over 4000 memorials and 50,000 photos contributed to the Find a Grave project, contributions to veterinary science (aquaculture) and climate science, and she is the only person I know who has had a charity event re-named in their honour. She was another of those truly good people that most of us can only hope to be.
Robyn packed as much as physically possible into her last few years, and according to her last few Facebook posts had an absolutely perfect Xmas and New Years to round things out. It was noted by more than one attendee at her funeral what a great coincidence it was that it occurred the same week as many of her out-of-town friends were in fact back in town for an an annual SCA event, and so were able to be there in person and grieve surrounded by a support network of mutual friends.
Rest in Power.
Whether this was cause or effect isn't clear, but after she recovered she had lost control of her bowel movements; she was unable to "hold it in" and had to squat and drop wherever she was. Another trip to the vet later and the cause was most likely that the bones spurs in the base of her spine had reached the point that the nerve to that are were no longer able to do their job properly. Reluctantly, because she had become very dear to D in the ~18 moths we had her, we chose to have her put down.
E was in Wellington for the whole of this, which was probably a mercy. While Gytha was a very trusting cat and the vets had no trouble getting the cannula in, Ellie was /not/ a very trusting cat and eventually had to be sedated. It was not the peaceful end we had hoped for.
I buried her up by the back fence, in another spot which will get a bit of sun.
~~~
2. #FuckCancer. I did not expect to be attending another funeral, but another decades-long, though not close, friend passed away mid-January. Initially diagnosed with myeloma? (a blood cancer) ~2018 which was initially beaten into remission, then returned a few years later, Robyn was nearly five years younger than me, and had accomplished more in that time than I possibly ever will. She was wickedly intelligent, scarily organised in most areas of her life, went all in when she set her mind to something and incredibly generous. Physical legacies that she has left (mentioned at the funeral) include in her over 4000 memorials and 50,000 photos contributed to the Find a Grave project, contributions to veterinary science (aquaculture) and climate science, and she is the only person I know who has had a charity event re-named in their honour. She was another of those truly good people that most of us can only hope to be.
Robyn packed as much as physically possible into her last few years, and according to her last few Facebook posts had an absolutely perfect Xmas and New Years to round things out. It was noted by more than one attendee at her funeral what a great coincidence it was that it occurred the same week as many of her out-of-town friends were in fact back in town for an an annual SCA event, and so were able to be there in person and grieve surrounded by a support network of mutual friends.
Rest in Power.
