nik newark

Dead Cat

Regular readers of Kittenhead will be aware that we have had, until very recently, three cats: Lazslo, Moko and Bam. Devoted Kittenhead readers will also be aware that Lazslo vanished without trace last month, and is presumed to be no more (or at least, not coming back).
We have grieved, as is common when a loved pet passes on, but the odd thing is that the Moko and Bam also appear to have been grieving. For the first few nights, they would sit forlornly by the door waiting for their brother to return. Lately Moko has started wandering around the house in the middle of the night, Mrowling loudly and pathetically. Last night, we could bear it no longer. After several attempts at fussing over her and giving lots of affection had failed to quash the mrowling, I shut her in the conservatory for the night. I felt a little guilty about this, as it was her birthday the next day (and deep down, I'm sure cats keep a track of how many times they've revolved around the sun, and believe this to be Deeply Significant). So, the next morning, I retrieved her from the conservatory, gave her big cuddles, a bowl of delicious cat food, and then let her out to run around in the garden.
Fast forward to 8.30, and I leave for work. At the corner of the road, is a freshly squashed spotted ginger tabby and my heart leaps. I park the car in the nearby bus layby and jump out. I check the body - it is Moko. Her head is squashed, she has blood dripping from her mouth, and she is stiff. I drive back to the house, and tell Tosha that Moko has killed herself due to depression. Tosha gives me a blanket to go and collect our furry baby, and bring her back home for a burial. I bring back the body, and lay it in the conservatory. Tosha comes to say goodbye, and spends a few minutes petting poor dead Moko.
After tears have been shed, I suggest that we should bury the body. Tosha (who has read a long article about how cats grieve), suggest that we should let Bam see the body, so that he can recover more quickly from the loss. So, I go out into the garden, and call for Bam. Nothing. I call again. Nothing. Finally, I hear a scuffling in from a tree, and a friendly meow, and out jumps….Moko!

So, it turned out, Tosha had spent five minutes petting someone else's dead cat, that just happens to be a Moko's doppelganger. I'm not sure what we'll be doing with it, but if you're interested, check out eBay later on today…