Les examens

Yesterday evening we had our final French exams. I spent a few hours of the morning revising under the sapodilla tree at the bottom of the garden.Le sapodilla: mon arbre favori dans le jardin
The sapodilla: my favourite tree in the garden.

Pippa essaye d'étudier avec moi.
Pippa tries to study with me."Je ne comprends pas ..."
"I don't understand ..."

A hard but necessary thing to do

Earlier I was upstairs eating breakfast. I came down to find my room festooned with feathers and Jasper sitting on my bed feasting on a small dove (the second he has brought me in two weeks). I darted forward to grab the bird, even though the back half of its body was practically eaten off (open, all the insides outside). As I grabbed it up, I noticed with horror that it was still alive ... eyes half open, body warm, beak open and heaving for breath in my hands.

Despite my horror at the thought, my only choice was to figure out the best way to put it out of its misery.
I used the first heavy thing I saw: a brick in the garden that I had done mosaic artwork on years ago. I put the bird on the earth, closed my eyes and dropped the brick as hard as I could. When I opened my eyes and removed the brick to look, it was still alive ... the head was jerking and twisting as it gasped. I blocked my ears (instinctive reaction to looking at horror). I then quickly took the brick and slammed it with greater force onto the bird. I dug a hole there and buried it, placing one of the few remaining mosaic tiles (which had fallen off with the impact) as its tiny headstone.

R.I.P.

I cannot be angry with Jasper. He is a hunter and gift-bringer and he probably thinks he is treating me. Normally he brings his catches in live and I just release them. On the odd occasion that they are dead, I put them in a bush or bury them (as I did with the dove last week). But this one was a first - having to kill it myself.

I guess the message for today is: If you have to do something, no matter how difficult it seems or feels, just close your eyes, block your ears and get it done.

Or maybe open your eyes, open your ears and do it.

Jasper does Kitty-Casso

Today I got a Christmas package in the mail from my friend J in TO. I waited until I got home from the Post Office to open it. Jasper, who had been asleep on my bed, woke as usual when he heard my car and was perched expectantly at the edge of the mattress when I walked in. He watched as I opened the box, perhaps sensing that it contained something for him. Indeed it did: his very own Kitty-Casso kit so we can do paintings together.

In the above video he has not started painting yet, but it shows him being introduced to the little red mouse toy that came in the kit.

My forlorn feline

Something is up with poor J. He has been very quiet for the past two days or so, spending most of his time on my bed, sleeping a lot, losing weight, shedding hair and feeling listless. Not his usual self. It is clear that something is up when (a) he does not run from my nephew (b) he doesn't try to attack Pandy, the other cat (c) he doesn't try to wrestle with my hand (d) he doesn't bring me gifts.

He is eating though, so it's probably not something internal.

I have seen him like this before (sometimes) when he has been attacked by any strange cat. When he loses the fight, he becomes very quiet and sticks on to me until he gets over the assault. But I don't think it's that.

I think this is to do with his bad leg - the one which was x-rayed and nothing showed up. Tonight he is a bit more spritely, but still not himself. He was at least up and about, limping, then hopping, then holding the bad leg up and running on the three remaining legs.

I explained his symptoms over the phone to a vet friend who told me that it could be arthritis, as he is nine years old. She told me to try out some things. Liquid baby Panadol for two days to so to see if there is any change in his behaviour. If so, then it's pain ... and probably arthritic. For this, there is glucosamine. And, as much as he hates being transported, I'll either take him to the vet tomorrow or call Crystal to do a house call.

Another friend (a cat-lover who once babysat Jasper as a kitten when I was working in New York for 2 weeks years ago) on Friday night told me: "Elspeth, I've gone through this before with my cats. You may have to get ready to say goodbye to an old friend ..."

I don't think it's that time yet! But I do wish I could speak meow and really understand what's going on with the boy.

Hunting season

Around 9:00 p.m. I was on my bed with Satya, when Jasper jumped through the window and sat on the floor, to my left. It's only when I heard a slow crunching noise that I looked down and saw him consuming the lower body of this transparent, sickly-looking woodslave (gecko).

Argh ... good thing I wasn't asleep, because he would have surely brought it under the blanket! I quickly got a scoop and broom and placed the lizard (now half dead) in a bush outside.

First this morning's frog ... and now this. Jaspie's eyes are bright with that wild hunting expression. I'm almost afraid to go to sleep, not knowing what I may wake up next to ...

Although, if I do go to sleep I'll probably have some interesting dreams ...

The poor Boo-boo

Jasper wasn't at all happy today that he had to go to Mount Hope Vet Clinic for x-rays. His limp seemed to have gotten better, but then it was back again. As my sister was on holiday she helped me to take him. While I drove, she sat in the back with him incarcerated in my laundry basket (as we don't have a cat carrier). Otherwise he would have been all over the place.

He howled all the way down ... a deep, gutteral, unearthly howl: "Na-rooooooooooo! Na-roooooooooooooo!"

Had to be sedated for the x-rays and is now staggering drunkenly around my room.

Nothing showed up as being wrong, so the vet is baffled. She says it may be a ligament or soft tissue injury, therefore not showing up in the x-rays. Hmmm ...

Right now, even in his groggy stupor, he looks furious with me. He hates vets.

Feline yoga

Jasper on my yoga mat just after my ... I mean our morning session.
*

Every morning when I am doing yoga/meditation, Jasper joins me. As soon as I sit on the mat, he jumps off the bed or through the window (wherever he is at the time) and stretches out purring in front of me. If I am in easy pose, he often curls up in the basket created by my legs.

I don't know what it is about Breath of Fire, but it drives him wild. As soon as I start to do it, he 'wakes up' and clambers all over me, purring wildly, rubbing against me and repeatedly biting my gyan mudra. Cats are very sensitive creatures and no doubt he is tuning in to the energy.

He will calm down eventually, but purring louder than ever until he eventually dozes off.

When I'm done and I get up off the mat, he takes my place ... as in the above shot.

Sat nam, little J.